Meet the Bristol Team!



Hello, I’m Lynne and I lead the Bristol fieldwork team for the Urban Pollinators Project.  I’ve been working on the project for the past two years, during which time I’ve visited many different types of sites on the hunt for insect pollinators, ranging from picturesque farms and nature reserves, to inner city car parks and road verges!  This year I’m looking forward to working on the urban meadows that we’re planting around the city.  We carried out a trial run last summer and they looked fantastic and were covered in pollinators!  Before moving to Bristol University I spent three years studying bumblebees in farming habitats (crofts) in the Outer Hebrides, and also farms on the Somerset Levels for my PhD.  Bumblebees are still my favourite pollinators, even though I’m now looking after several thousand honey bees through my hobby as a beginner beekeeper!



Lynne checking on the progress on her new honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony


Hi, I’m Ryan and at 22 years old I’m the baby of the team. Having graduated from Bath Spa University with an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science only 9 months ago you might think it’s safe to assume I’m a little green, but those 9 months have been somewhat of a baptism of fire! Since leaving university I have been involved with the Avon Wildlife Trust as a volunteer with the Grassland Restoration Team and an assistant ecologist with AWT Ecological Consultancy. I’ve been a volunteer data enquirer and field surveyor with Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre, and also a research assistant at Bath Spa University. My main interest lies in botany, but I also bring my local knowledge to the team, being a born and raised Bristolian. I look forward to putting my botany skills to use on the project and learning about the various pollinators we will be coming across............if the weather ever improves!

Ryan getting to grips with new fieldowrk techniques on an allotment

Bonjour, I’m Laura. I like cakes, coffee and insects, and that is why I am very happy and excited to be part of the Bristol Urban Pollinators Project Team this spring. I have just completed a Masters degree in Integrated Pest Management at Imperial College London last year and I have a general interest in agricultural entomology and community ecology. More recently I have become very interested in entomophagy, the eating of insects, as it blends two of my favourite topics: cooking and insects (http://bugsforlife.com/). I am looking forward to getting out with a net in my hand and discovering buzzing Bristol and its pollinators, as well as learning more about wildflower ID with Ryan.

Laura getting to grips with collecting insects