Blogs

I vividly remember as a child picking up earthworms, marveling at woodlice and exploring the dirt! I was always fascinated by the miniscule creatures in my garden. It is therefore no surprise to me as an adult I champion earthworms and other ‘small things that run the world’. I love invertebrates and personally feel humans take the presence of ‘bugs’ or ‘creepy crawlies’ as they burrow, crawl, buzz, fly, raft and swim for granted. Invertebrates make up 97% of all life on Earth and to me insects, crustaceans and other marine creatures are just as beautiful and should command our respect.

A second edition of the AIDGAP Earthworm identification key has been produced and will be available from April.

The UK has a strong history of earthworm research, with Charles Darwin leading the charge back in the late nineteenth century. Darwin’s last scientific book was all about earthworms and detailed a lifetime of earthworm research, including playing them piano music! Things have come some way since then, and the humble earthworm is now globally recognised as an “ecosystem engineer”...