What’s creating a buzz in your backyard?

Backyard spies are wanted for a new project aimed at shedding light on what’s creating a buzz in Christchurch’s gardens.

The project - code-named Backyard Buzz – is being led by the team at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens who want to gain a better understanding of what pollinators are active in the city.

“Pollinators are in decline globally but are responsible for the production of one in every three bites of food we eat and also about 70 per cent of New Zealand native flora” says Christchurch City Council Ecologist Kristina Macdonald.

While people have probably heard a lot about the world’s most famous pollinator - the honeybee - they might not realise there are many wild pollinators such as native bees and hoverflies who play an equally important role in our ecosystem.

Research has been done in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens about what plants wild pollinators are attracted to.  The Backyard Buzz project aims to expand that research across the city.

To do that, the project needs the help of Christchurch residents.

Participants in the project will be asked to pick a plant in their garden and spend 10 minutes a month, between October and December, keeping a tally of the type and number of pollinators that visit the plant. Identification guides and tally sheets will be provided to help people keep track.

“The more people that get involved, the more understanding we’ll have of how wild pollinators in Christchurch are benefitting our biodiversity, our gardens and our native plants, and in turn how best to support them in the future, so we’re hoping lots of people will sign up.” Ms Macdonald says.

You can find out more about the Backyard Buzz project, talk to insect experts and grab yourself one of 500 hebes that are being given away to project participants during Operation Nature.

Operation Nature is being held at the Botanic Gardens on Sunday 16 September between 11am and 3pm.

You can also go online and register your interest and stay up to date with the project.