Advertisement
Environment

How you can help boost bee and butterfly populations with a new government app

A new app for counting bees, butterflies and other pollinators hopes to boost populations across the country and improve biodiversity.

The government is calling on the public to help boost bee, butterfly and pollinator populations using a free app for counting the creatures at home.

The app, FIT Count, allows users to track the number and movements of pollinators in their local area, with the resulting data used to help protect and increase their numbers. 

It comes as the government launches its new “pollinator action plan” to reverse severe declines in the number of bees, butterflies and other insects. 

In May, a study by insect charity Buglife revealed that insect populations have nosedived by as much as 60 per cent in Britain in the last 20 years, sounding alarm bells over the potential collapse of the wider ecosystem. 

FIT Count, developed by the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) in conjunction with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, asks users to spend ten minutes a day collecting data on how many insects visit particular kinds of flowers, like dandelions and buttercups.

The data will be collated in a database to give the government and conservation bodies a clearer picture of the state of insect populations and decline across the UK.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The app forms part of the government’s new action plan for pollinators, which will focus on several key areas to boost populations, including: 

  • Improving data collection on pollinators to identify trends
  • Managing land more effectively to improve habitats 
  • Supporting beekeepers and bee farmers in maintaining bee health
  • Engaging the public with the issue of pollinator decline and encouraging them to take action

The decline in pollinator populations has suffered from a visibility problem, with large parts of the public unaware of the problem or how severe it is. Last month, The Big Issue visited a nature reserve to explore the issue of “invisible extinction” in the insect world.

Insects have a vital role in food production and the wider ecosystem. It’s estimated that insects contribute the equivalent of more than £500 million a year to UK agriculture and food production.

Introducing the new FIT Count app, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

“We all want to see an abundance of butterflies and bees in our gardens, parks and countryside. 

“We are encouraging people to give just ten minutes of their time to count the pollinating insects they see using this app to help us track their numbers and movements, and support our efforts to reverse the decline of these vital species.”

Other actions people can take to support insect populations include letting grass grow wild, planting wildflowers and avoiding pesticides where possible. 

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

Read All
Where has all the fog gone?
Nature

Where has all the fog gone?

'We're not diesel monsters': Meet the London cabbies going electric to help fight climate change
Climate change

'We're not diesel monsters': Meet the London cabbies going electric to help fight climate change

Water companies' £158m fine over sewage pollution prompts fresh calls for nationalisation
A dripping tap against dappled sunlight
Sewage pollution

Water companies' £158m fine over sewage pollution prompts fresh calls for nationalisation

Sewage pollution levels in this river are 100 times safe 'limits'. The fight is now on to clean it up
Sewage pollution

Sewage pollution levels in this river are 100 times safe 'limits'. The fight is now on to clean it up

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue