ABC TV’s Gardening Australia last week featured our much loved local ‘Neighbourhood Naturalist’ Karen Retra in a great article on insects in the garden. With many of us at home and gardening right now, the article is a great prompt to take note of the insects that are helping us out, and how we can help them in return.

During the week of Sunday 12th to Sunday 19th April, everyone has the opportunity to contribute to wild pollinator insect conservation in Australia, by counting wild pollinators and contributing to a database on wild pollinator activity. 

The national Wild Pollinator Count is a locally conceived project, the brainchild of Karen and colleague Manu Saunders. With two ‘count’ periods a year – autumn and spring – the project is about to record its 12th count.

It’s easily done; all you need is a keen eye and a spare few minutes. You don’t need to be an insect expert and you don’t need fancy gear. Anyone can join in by watching any flowering plant for just ten minutes sometime during the count week.

What better thing to do when stuck at home than sign up, get out in the backyard and see what you can see using the tools provided on the Wild Pollinator Count website:https://wildpollinatorcount.com/