Satellites, pollinators and wildflowers: Space4Nature transforms Surrey’s landscapes for insects - Buglife

A pioneering three-year funded project that fused cutting-edge artificial intelligence with boots-on-the-ground conservation has come to a successful end – leaving behind over 60 hectares of restored pollinator habitat and a blueprint for the future of wildlife monitoring.

Space4Nature, a collaboration between Buglife, Surrey Wildlife Trust, the University of Surrey and Painshill Park, and funded by People’s Postcode Lottery’s Dream Fund, has spent three years working with new technologies and approaches to nature recovery – combining high-resolution satellite imagery, citizen science and machine learning to revolutionise how we understand and monitor habitats.

The results speak for themselves. Across 22 sites throughout Surrey, the project has delivered more than 60 hectares of enhanced pollinator-friendly habitat – wildflower meadows, heathlands, wetlands and hedgerows – deploying over £100,000 to connect Buglife’s B-Lines: the network of insect pathways that threads through our countryside, creating connection and hope for the UK’s wildlife.

Project highlights have included:

• More than 60 hectares of pollinator habitat restored at 22 sites across Surrey;
• 350 volunteers trained in ecological surveys for both invertebrates and vegetation;
• 110 landowners engaged and supported through more than 150 events, workshops and online activities.

The breadth of the project is as striking as its scale. Restoration work took place on vineyards, orchards, churchyards, playing fields, road verges and private gardens – as well as on larger, established nature reserves already managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. With each site owner signing a 10-year management agreement, and received a bespoke habitat management plan packed with expertise in invertebrate conservation – ensuring these habitats will be cared for long after the project’s official end.