Forget megafauna -- Garden Organic wants us to take stock of the charismatic annelids in our gardens, allotments and urban spaces.
Earthworm Watch is a national citizen science project run by the Earthwatch Institute and the Natural History Museum in association with the Earthworm Society of Britain.
Set up in April 2016, it aims to encourage gardeners, families and school children to get their hands dirty recording soil properties and performing earthworm counts in urban green spaces. The results will provide vital information on the abundance and diversity of earthworms across the UK, the effects of human activity on earthworm populations and their ecosystem benefits.
The best times to count earthworms are in spring and autumn, and Sustain member Garden Organic is urging its members to join in. The survey takes around an hour to complete and simply requires you to dig two shallow pits in two different habitats in your garden, allotment or other green space and count the earthworms that you find there. Part of the survey requires you to do a mustard test, which isn’t harmful to the earthworms, but encourages them to the surface.
Find out here how you can get involved and sign up.
Read more here about Sustain's campaigning work for a greener, fairer food system.
Published Friday 14 October 2016
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
