Tim Cockerill: How your garden can help insects thrive

Marine & Natural History Photography BA lecturer Dr Tim Cockerill has appeared on BBC Breakfast to talk about how we can create an insect-friendly garden.

Tim, who holds a PhD in tropical insect ecology and is a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, appeared on the programme in late July. He has an impressive CV, having worked with legends such as David Attenborough and Brian Cox, and even has a species of insect named after him.

Following a segment on improving the coast path in South Devon for pollinators (Life on the Edge), Tim went on to explain how we can use our gardens to help protect biodiversity. With the combined area of all UK domestic gardens equating to four times the area of our national parks, Tim described our domestic green spaces as our “secret weapon”.

Throughout the segment, Tim provided nature-boosting advice for viewers, such as:

• Allow patches of your garden to go wild, mowing around them to provide tidier paths for wildlife and people
• If you don’t have a lawn, try to grow a diversity of insect-friendly plants at different heights and at different times of the year on a patio, balcony, or even a windowsill.
• Avoid laying synthetic grass.
• Start a compost heap, grow shrubs, and build a pond if you can.

Tim also discussed his work with filmmaker Jake Morris on BBC Springwatch, showing footage of a 3mm long pseudo-scorpion prowling across a compost heap in Wales.

A recording of the episode of BBC Breakfast from 27/07/24 is no longer available on BBC iPlayer, but a copy can be found on YouTube.

External links

Tim’s Instagram

Tim’s website

Tim on Wikipedia

Our more in-depth interview with Tim from earlier in the year: Meet science consultant, broadcaster and ‘insect wrangler’ Dr Tim Cockerill

Find out more about our Marine & Natural History Photography BA(Hons)