Professor of Biodiversity Jeff Ollerton to share pollinator research at Houses of Parliament

The University of Northampton’s Professor of Biodiversity Jeff Ollerton will be giving a 15-minute presentation at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 2 December.

Pollinator species such as bees, flies, beetles, moths and butterflies have been in decline in recent years, a drop which poses a threat to food security and ultimately human health. The ‘Pollinators Update’ event, organised by The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), will allow attendees to discuss recent developments in pollinator conservation research, and consider future directions.

Professor Ollerton will be sharing the University’s pollinator extinction research, which was published in Science last year.

Professor Ollerton, who represents the University on the committee of the Northamptonshire Local Nature Partnership, said:  “The UK’s wild pollinators make a huge contribution to national food security worth hundreds of millions of pounds per year.  Conserving these insects has therefore got to be a priority, which has recently been acknowledged by government in the National Pollinator Strategy.”

The event will also feature presentations from Professor Simon Potts of Reading University, Dr Claire Carvell of NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and Dr Richard Gill from Imperial College London.

The event is free to attend, but places must be reserved: see the POST website for details.