We all need to be insect champions

Kent Wildlife Trust, together with other Wildlife Trusts, has published a new report Reversing the decline of insects which shows how people in every part of society can take action to bring back insects. It drives the message that everyone, everywhere, is being asked to become an insect champion and demonstrates how there are already several champions across the country.

They include Kent Wildlife Trust’s Bee Roads and Roadside Nature Reserves projects where, along with partners Kent County Council and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, they have established 146 Roadside Nature Reserves and 13 Bee Roads that are now providing forage and refuge for insects and other wildlife.

Medway Catchment Pesticide Amnesty, coordinated by Medway Valley Countryside Partnership, is helping Kent farmers safely dispose of any expired, unwanted or illegal chemicals by offering free, anonymous collections by a specialist contractor from working farms across the catchment.

There is ongoing evidence of insect declines and the future of insects, and all life that depends on them hangs in the balance as trade deals threaten to increase the use of insect-harming pesticides. The Agriculture Bill progressing through Parliament also presents a unique opportunity to ensure farmers pursue insect-friendly farming methods.

Kent Wildlife Trust is calling on the Government to reverse the decline of insects by setting an ambitious pesticide reduction target, as good as, if not better than, the EU’s target to reduce by 50 percent the overall use of – and risk from – chemical pesticides by 2030

It also asks for no weakening of UK pesticide standards through future trade deals, including the UK’s current hazard-based approach to pesticide authorizations and for the government to support farmers to adopt Integrated Pest Management and other agroecological practices