Dr Beth Nicholls

A photo of an abstract book entitled Growing Together in front of an apple tree

This. Took. Forever. So if you see a typo...no you didn't!

In other news, very excited for our 2-day UK #UrbanAgriculture forum starting tomorrow and welcoming lots of amazing researchers, growers and policymakers to @sussex.ac.uk #FoodSecurity #FoodSystems #Diversity #Community #Governance

Understanding Pollination in Urban Food Production: The Importance of Data Validation and Participant Feedback for Citizen Science Project Design Urban agriculture depends on insect pollination, but knowledge gaps persist due to difficulties accessing diverse growing spaces. We developed a citizen science approach for monitoring insect visits ...

🍅Our new paper in @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social evaluating the effectiveness of #CitizenScience approach for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in urban food growing 🫛 @davegoulson.bsky.social @calacastellanos.bsky.social @leah-salm.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Allotments are vanishing when the UK urgently needs more of them In praise of digging for potatoes.

An article I wrote for @theconversation.com in response to #allotment sell-offs. Featuring evidence from myself and @davegoulson.bsky.social and the amazing work led by Jill Edmondson's team at Sheffield. #communitygardens #urbanbiodiversity #growyourown
theconversation.com/allotments-a...

Applications for Winter 2025 conference attendance grants are trickling in, awarding up to £500 with a high success rate (if eligible).
Deadline isn't until 1st October, but don't forget to get referee statements in by then too!
All the info you need is here:
www.asab.org/conference-g...
@asab.org

Amid this weeks news about Labour's plans to sell off EIGHT allotment sites around the UK, what better time to get together and discuss research priorities around UK urban agriculture! Register here: lnkd.in/eq25UG3j

Registration for the ASAB conference is now open - come join us!

A poster advertising the eventnb with images of home growing and a QR code in the bottom right corner to scan to register. The Text reads: This interdisciplinary two-day event will bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to: • Map current UK urban agriculture research • Identify knowledge gaps and shared priorities • Foster new collaborations for future projects and funding

A second page of the poster advertising the event. This provides a schedule for the day, including three panel sessions on Diversity, Governance and Community on Day 1, 17th September, and a faciliated workshop to focus on research priorities, synergies and knowledge gaps and a visit to Moulsecoomb Forest Garden. The bottom half of the poster has photos of speakers.

🥕 Are you a UK researcher or practitioner working in urban agriculture? Please join us at 'Growing Together: A Transdisciplinary Forum on UK Urban Food Systems'
📅17-18th September 2025
📍University of Sussex
✍️Register by 31st Aug: lnkd.in/eQHbQxP2
❓More info? Contact: e.nicholls@sussex.ac.uk

Starring @idrisadams.bsky.social, on BBC Breakfast - PhD student @londonnercdtp.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social

We are so proud of you Idris - a media natural spreading the #WaspLove!

@ucllifesciences.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social

Ha! A direct train though!

Wow amazing news Steve! Congratulations! 🥳🥳🥳

I had a quick look on iNaturalist (you could upload there) Could it be Bombus rubicundus? Agree the legs are the puzzling bit!

Picture of a large orange bumblebee seen from the side/back.

I need help identifying a #bumblebee!

I’m in the Peruvian Andes, cloud forest near Salkantay (and Machu Picchu). We spotted this monstrously big orange bumblebee, 3-4cm long (see picture. We actually spotted them twice, but only managed to photo once). My best ID so far is Bombus dahlbomii, but…

A bumblebee visiting a snapdragon flower

Please share! Competitively funded PhD project on the role of #bee foraging choices on plant-pollinator interactions and floral #evolution at Sussex Uni www.sussex.ac.uk/study/fees-f...

Gustatory sensitivity to amino acids in bumblebee mouthparts | Royal Society Open Science Bees rely on amino acids from nectar and pollen for essential physiological functions. While nectar typically contains low (less than 1 mM) amino acid concentrations, levels in pollen are higher but variable (10–200 mM). Behavioural studies suggest ...

🚨 Our study from @bethbees.bsky.social lab is out in @royalsocietypublishing.org . We show that bumblebees taste some amino acids (valine), but not others (lysine). Bees might choose flowers not just by how sweet they taste! #bees 🐝 #taste 👅 #pollen #nectar 🌺 #protein 🥩

doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

Save the Dartington Forest Garden - The Agroforestry Research Trust

The Dartington Forest Garden is threatened with destruction by landlords the Dartington Trust. It took >30 years to grow, and is a wonderful example of a radically different approach to food & fibre production. Please sign the petition, and share.

www.agroforestry.co.uk/save-darting...

A spatially explicit model of pollinator-plant-pathogen interactions Flowers have long been suggested to be infection hotspots for pollinator diseases, as, during their brief lifespan, they are visited and handled by many individuals from a diverse range of species. Ev...

Flowers🌸 as infection🤧 hotspots for pollinators🐝: landscape and behaviour have an impact. New preprint from @cristinabotias.bsky.social, @bethbees.bsky.social, @nataliehempel.bsky.social and me doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Frustration as UK Government pauses the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme | The Wildlife Trusts Today the UK Government have paused all new applications from farmers to access England’s flagship green farming scheme.

Huge Frustration as UK Government pauses the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme
www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/frustra...

The cover of the latest issue of Functional Ecology. The featured photo shows the indoor experiment using bumble bees (Bombus ignitus) and artificial flowers. The worker gathers sugar solution from an artificial “flower” made of a transparent acrylic jar with a circular-coloured paper attached to the inside.

Our latest paper led by Kentaro Takagi was featured on the cover of Functional Ecology! 🎉👏🐝🌸

"Realized flower constancy in bumble bees: Optimal foraging strategy balancing cognitive and travel costs and its possible consequences for floral diversity"

For full details: bit.ly/4bzIADN

Photo of session programme

Looking forward to participating in this session on Pathways to Sustainable Agriculture today at the University of Ghana in collaboration with @ids.ac.uk and @sussex.ac.uk

Applications to Soapbox Science Brighton 2025 are open! All female and non-binary scientists in STEM subjects are welcome to apply 🥼👩‍🔬🌼🐜🐭🐝🧪⚛️

Apply by March 2nd
soapboxscience.org/apply-to-spe...

Future Leaders Course

We're back with our next Future Leaders Course 📢

This is your opportunity to join our programme for young people (20 - 30 years) who want to make a difference – for #NationalParks, landscapes, nature and people.

Applications close Sun 23 Feb ⏰

Learn more & apply 👉 www.cnp.org.uk/national-par...

Full guide: Nesting & Overwintering Habitat for Pollinators and other Beneficial Insects https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-014.pdf

Full guide: Nesting & Overwintering Habitat for Pollinators and other Beneficial Insects https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-014.pdf

Full guide: Nesting & Overwintering Habitat for Pollinators and other Beneficial Insects https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-014.pdf

Pruning tips to assist #CavityNesting insects and more from the excellent "Nesting & Overwintering Habitat for Pollinators and other Beneficial Insects" guide from @xercessociety.bsky.social - a Science-based invertebrate conservation nonprofit.

#Bugsky

PDF here:
xerces.org/sites/defaul...

Regeneratively farmed is the new buzz label on supermarket shelves – but what does it actually mean? While regenerative agriculture might seem like a pioneering new approach, this term isn’t new. Here’s how it differs from organic.

It is a messy unresolved issue on how eaters can be sure of what they are buying with regen..
Good @theconversation.com piece.
Regeneratively farmed is the new buzz label on supermarket shelves – but what does it actually mean?
theconversation.com/regenerative...

They've been there quite a while i think- noticed them back in Oct and also wondered why they are attracted to that spot.

Among nearly 35,000 biological scientists who authored their first paper in 2000, women were more likely than men to have stopped publishing after 5, 10 or 20 years. The size of this gender gap varies between disciplines.

Disappointing new study showing - once again - that women are leaving research careers at far higher levels than men

If you're interested to read about strategies to reverse these types of curves, check out our recent #Cell perspective- link below ⤵️

#WomeninSTEM 👩‍🔬👩🏾‍🔬🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Loved this session and excited to try growing some dye plants this year (that are also #Pollinator friendly of course!) and dye my own wool

A bumblebee visiting comfrey

Today at 2pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall #ORFC25 join us for a panel discussion on 'What might #InsectSentience mean for agroecology' with @natacharossi.bsky.social @vickihird.bsky.social. We will discuss what new research might mean for how we value #EcosystemServices and insect #Welfare

A photo of an allotment plot

Today 4pm Ship St Lecture Theatre #ORFC25 come and hear about #Biodiversity in #Polycultures and our work on #Pollinators in #UrbanAgriculture using #CitizenScience @davegoulson.bsky.social @buzzclub.bsky.social

The stage at the ornate Oxford Town Hall for the opening plenary of the Oxford Real Farming Conference. A woman is playing the harp and singing folk songs on stage.

Solidarity. Sovereignty. Love. Inclusion. Wisdom. Resistance. What a fantastic start to #ORFC25

I forgot to include the all important #ORFC!