Scientists are inviting gardeners interested in helping bees, butterflies and other pollinators to take part in a study to discover how grass mowing can be timed to maximise their impact.

Participants in the Optimow 2024 project, organised by the Brown Lab at Royal Holloway, University of London  will be asked to follow a mowing frequency plan, while submitting weekly counts of the key pollinators sighted in their gardens.

Particpation in the study will take 15-25 minutes a week. HNHS members interested in taking part can sign up and find more information on a Google form produced by the researchers. Information about the research can also be found at the Optimow website.

Morgan Morrison, a member research team, said: "This is the second year of he study. In 2023, we had an amazing 180 participants and saw a 75 per cent increase in pollinator numbers in one of the groups! We hope to build on this work, so we have robust advice to give members of the public about managing their lawns to help pollinators."