IT is the most northerly of the National Trust for Scotland’s heritage gardens where a paradise of unusual and wonderful plants from across the globe unexpectedly grows. Now Inverewe Garden in Wester Ross is believed to be the first in the UK to count its insects using pioneering equipment.
The NTS is installing a series of pollinator counters to measure the number of bugs, particularly bees, that visit the attraction amid concern about declining numbers caused by climate change.
Up to 30 of the brightly coloured devices, designed to mimic flowers, have been “planted” strategically around the 55-acre site with each insect “hit” being picked up and recorded when it breaks an infrared beam inside.
NTS staff and their partner in the project, AgriSound, will then be able to create a “heat map” of the plants and flowers different insects are visiting most and least.
Amateur gardeners will also be able to follow the insect visits as they happen on a screen in the garden visitor centre.
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Inverewe is trialling the counters ahead of International Biodiversity Day tomorrow.
It is hoped the information will help professional and amateur gardeners plan ahead as pollinator numbers decline due to factors including climate change.
The garden’s operations manager, Martin Hughes, partnered on the project with Yorkshire-based AgriSound, set up only last year, through a mutual friend.
He said: “Inverewe Garden is facing the challenges of climate change, which are many, and my team here will use data from this groundbreaking project to help shape future decision-making on how best to protect the garden and combat the effects of climate change for future generations. It’s leading the way in helping inform other gardens, particularly those in the care of the Trust.
“The data we get at the moment is pretty poor but we are hoping this will transform the way we look at insect visitation in the garden, which is essential for it to survive going forward. No-one else is looking at this at the moment.
“The information goes straight to the internet, so in real time we can see where the visitation is in the garden.
“We have a weather station here so will be able to cross-reference what the insects do by weather as well.”
Despite being at the same latitude as Moscow and Hudson Bay, Inverewe benefits from a unique garden microclimate due to the effects of the Gulf Stream, which allowed it to grow more than 2,500 exotic plants and flowers. Inverewe Garden is on the side of a loch near Poolewe in Wester Ross.
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It is also known as “The Impossible Garden” due to its location and because it was created from a barren wilderness in the 19th century.
The garden was built in 1862 by landowner Osgood Mackenzie and his work was carried on by his daughter Mairi Sawyer, who gifted the garden to the National Trust in 1952.
Initially the challenges were to provide a wind break and soil. To solve the problems, Mackenzie planted a mixture of large trees and shrubs such as Corsican pine, Douglas fir and rhododendrons.
Having done so his vision was to grow as many exotic plants as possible and he achieved until his death in 1922.
The garden covers some 20 hectares (50 acres) and has over 2,500 exotic plants and flowers. There is a further 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of land managed for recreation and conservation. The garden also has a large collection of Erythroniums.
Casey Woodward, founder and chief executive of AgriSound, said it is the ideal location for a trial. “We hope the project will give us really interesting data on how the devices perform and the garden will get data on the distribution of pollinators.
“It’s an accelerated trial site in a lot of ways because the diversity of plants there is pretty unparalleled so it creates a great site for some good science,” he said.
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He said the trial could have implications for amateur gardeners.
“We hope to give lots of people over the summer the chance to see the device in action.
“It’s then our ambition to make it available to gardeners and environmental enthusiasts who want to play a part in protecting pollinators who can use the device in their garden or flowerbox.”
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