About

X-Polli:Nation, funded by EPSRC and National Geographic, cross-pollinates ideas, methods and technologies for pollinator citizen science. Our project researches how people and Artificial Intelligence can help each other in citizen science learning around pollination and pollinating insects, how outdoor learning and citizen science can be incorporated into our primary and secondary schools, and how approaches to citizen science transfer to different social contexts. X-Polli:Nation is an actionable citizen science project, that encourages everyone to create, maintain and monitor pollinator-friendly habitats and act as pollinator stewards in society.

The X-Polli:Nation project has been developed by the following organisations:

In Partnership with:

And Funded by:
  

The Team

  • Open University: Janice Ansine, Stefan Rüger, Nirwan Sharma and Advaith Siddharthan
  • University of Aberdeen: Helen Anderson and Annie Robinson
  • Imperial College London: Poppy Lakeman Fraser
  • Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU):René van der Wal
  • Learning through Landscapes: Ruth Staples-Rolfe and Heena Dave
  • St Alban’s CE Aided Primary School, Havant: Julie Newman and the Hive

Background Information

This project was inspired by a range of pollinator citizen science tools and approaches and we have set out to improve the quality of data collected, monitor interactions between plants and visiting insect pollinators, and collect information in new countries. Our team based these resources on:

Polli:Nation: This survey has been adapted to gather photographic evidence, data about the interaction between plants and pollinators, the impact of introducing tailored seed mixes to your outdoor space and for use in new countries.

Polli:Bright: This project funded by the European Night of Research adapts the Polli:Nation Survey into Italian and trials the use of this tool in Tuscany. We will take this a step further by combining the survey with other resources and approaches in X-Polli:Nation

BeeWatch: This bumblebee identification tool has been further developed to make use of image recognition, include butterfly species and to make suitable for younger audiences.

Planting for Pollinators: This digital tool allows you to select which species of bumblebee you would like to attract into your garden and suggests which plant species it is particularly attracted to. It will be adapted for other species in the X-Polli:Nation Survey

Polli:Promise: This campaign led by students at St Alban’s Primary School in Havant encourages you to make a pledge to plant a 1m2 patch. We provide an array of suggestions about how to follow in these student’s footsteps and spread the word about pollinators using #XPolli.

PoMS FIT Count This simple survey collects data on the total number of insects that visit a particular flower, ideally chosen from our list of 14 target flowers. FIT Counts can be done anywhere, including gardens and parks, in warm, dry weather any time from April to September.