WORCESTERSHIRE Wildlife Trust has been awarded £15,000 a year to work with farmers to help native pollinator wildlife habitats.

The five-year project will focus on enhancing populations of native wild pollinators in two project areas in mid-Worcestershire - the Bow Brook and Shrawley areas.

Funded by the European agricultural fund for rural development through Natural England’s countryside stewardship scheme’s facilitation fund, the project will help both the pollinators and the farmers and is the only one of its kind in the country.

Caroline Corsie, the trust’s farm manager and agronomist, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to work together and make a real difference for both farmland wildlife and the farmers.

“The decline in bees, butterflies and other pollinators is so obvious that when you see a field margin – or even see the lavender in your garden – full of them, it makes you stop and look.

“The aim of the project, however, isn’t just to increase the numbers and diversity of pollinators but also to ensure connectivity across the landscape. We’re working with farmers in two distinct areas to maximise the opportunity to create corridors of suitable habitat.

“To start with we’re focusing on recognising the current wild pollinators on a farm as well as identifying the availability of and opportunity for forage supplies, breeding habitats and over-wintering habitat.

“By taking new steps in the short-term to increase the number and variety of pollinators, farmers will see long-term benefits.

“Not only does participation in the project help with the application of the mid-tier countryside stewardship scheme, many farmers currently have to buy bees that have been bred to pollinate their commercial crops - by providing the right habitats and food for wild pollinators, this will no longer be necessary

“Native pollinators will also pollinate crops that fix much-needed nitrogen into the soil, so there will be less reliance on purchasing synthetic alternatives that reduce the long-term health of the soil.

“Ultimately, we’d love to see a wild pollinator friendly Worcestershire and would hope that what we learn here will be used by farmers up and down the country.”

The project already has 10 farms taking part and hopes to work with at least 20 by the end of the project.

The farms involved range from small orchards of approximately 20 hectares to large arable businesses of more than 400 hectares.

Any farmer wishing to be involved in the project should contact Caroline Corsie on caroline@worcestershirewildlifetrust.org or visit worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/wild-pollinators