Devon farmer Christopher Twose has won first prize in the Campaign for the Farmed Environment’s inaugural ‘Picture a Pollinator’ competition.
The Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE) launched ‘Picture a Pollinator’ to find the most remarkable examples of well-established on-farm flower mixes that deliver pollen and nectar resources for pollinators and are insect-rich foraging for birds.
The winning photograph of a well-established pollen and nectar annual flower mix was chosen from more than 85 finalists. Mr Twose will receive 1 hectare of Kings Basic Pollen & Nectar seed mix for his excellent work.
Photographs were judged by Marek Nowakowski – an industry specialist in farm wildlife and biodiversity – for the diversity of flowers within the photograph, the amount of flora within the field margin and the overall quality of the crop produced.
‘Picture a Pollinator’ was delivered in partnership with Syngenta and Kings Seed as part of ‘Operation Pollinator’. Belinda Bailey, Environmental Initiatives Manager for Syngenta UK, believes that farmers are providing more and more pollinator friendly habitat. The work of CFE and Operation Pollinator has shown that farmers are really engaging with increasing pollen and nectar sources on farm and recognise that pollinators are a valuable part of the farm business. This competition reflects the breadth of pollen and nectar mixes around sown England as farmers voluntarily deliver through the year.
Making sure there are plenty of pollinators on farms is a priority for the CFE. Interest in ‘Picture a Pollinator’ shows it is an important concern for British farmers too. Providing food for insect pollinators and insect foraging birds not only helps the farm business by increasing pollination and so the chances of a large crop yield, but all biodiversity that lives in and around the farm.
