Earthworm Watch
It's well known that earthworms increase soil fertility and carbon storage by mixing in dead plant material. However, data about earthworms is severely lacking and this is particularly so in urban areas, despite the large percentage of urban space taken up by gardens and green spaces.
Earthworm Watch was a citizen science survey designed to help address this. Earthwatch and the Natural History Museum, in association with the Earthworm Society of Britain
The data submitted demonstrates that the highest density of earthworms was in lawns, probably because they are less disturbed by digging. However there were also high densities of earthworms in vegetable beds. These are regularly dug over and contain a high degree of nutrients, including organic matter.
This is great news for families and gardeners who manage a vegetable patch and dig in organic matter such as well-rotted manure, compost, leaf-mould, or compost bark.
You can find out more about the results of the survey from the Earthworm Watch website:
https://www.earthwormwatch.org/science-results
Although the survey has now closed for data submission, you can still undertake the survey as an educational or family fun activity.
Download the Earthworm Watch Instruction Booklet
Download the Earthworm Watch Earthworm and Soil Chart
This work was created by Earthwatch Institute (Europe) on behalf of the Earthworm Society of Britain and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.