York-based biodiversity expert joins forces with Innocent drinks to tackle declining insect populations

York-based AgriSound has researched and developed a series of innovative agri-tech devices, which use a combination of acoustic technology and environmental sensors to monitor bee and other pollinator populations, remotely, through an app. The pollinator counting devices called Polly enable farmers and landowners to access new information about the local pollinating insects to help protect populations and boost local biodiversity.

The devices count the number of insects that visit a site and are able to identify which areas have higher and lower pollinator activity, both live and historically over a fixed period.

AgriSound is a partner of Innocent’s Beacon Project, which aims to protect pollinators in order to build biodiversity.

Ben Summers, sustainability manager at Innocent, said: “We’re delighted to collaborate with AgriSound as part of our Beacon Project to protect pollinators and our natural environment. It’s clear that their objectives and goals very much align with our own.

“86 per cent of our ingredients rely on pollinators like bees and butterflies, but their numbers are falling worryingly fast, so being able to understand how to create the best environment for pollinators across our fields and orchards is hugely important.

“We have no doubt that these innovative listening devices will give us the insight we need for our project, and, as we share what we learn, we hope the technology can become a time saving tool for other farms too.”

Dr Casey Woodward, founder and CEO of AgriSound, said: “To work with a company like Innocent, who share our enthusiasm for boosting biodiversity and protecting our natural environment, is fantastic and we’re confident that our monitoring technology can have a tangible positive impact.

“To be able to install devices on such a large scale internationally will allow both parties to gain a vital understanding of pollinators in the area and allow us to put things in place to help them thrive, while boosting yield at the same time.

“It’s an exciting project to be part of and we’re looking forward to seeing the results, whilst promoting the importance of biodiversity and the challenges it faces on an international scale.”