Why birds can’t catch the worm

Scientists have been harnessing the enthusiasm of children to help them discover the effects of climate change upon soil.

Around 15,000 students took part in the What’s Under Your Feet? project, the results of which linked, for the first time, dry summers with struggling breeding birds.

They found that drier weather caused a significant drop in the number of earthworms available for birds that rely on them for food.

Since 2015, children from 500 schools have dug up small sections of their fields once a term in October, March and June, identifying and counting creatures they found living in the top 5cm. The research has been published in the International Journal of Soil Biology.

Now more schools are being encouraged to participate in further digs to aid the scientists.

Samantha Herbert