Create a pit stop for pollinators this spring

Wildlife is in crisis – 76 per cent of butterflies in the UK have declined since 1976 – which is why I have joined forces with Butterfly Conservation to encourage people to create pit stops for pollinators this spring, and help insects get from one area of habitat to the next.

Pit stops of all sizes are needed, which means everyone can get involved, no matter how large or small the space they have available is.

Even a small plant pot on a doorstep or balcony could help provide butterflies and moths with an important foodplant or nectar. Whether you live in a city or village, everyone can contribute to support our vital pollinating insects, and have butterflies and moths in your garden day and night.

By providing a pit stop for pollinators, you will be doing your bit for the insects that allow us to survive. Without them, we are gone. Plants aren’t pollinated and crops don’t grow.

We need pollinators and we need to look after the planet for them. A really good pit stop for pollinators will have open flowers, which are needed for adult butterflies and moths to feed on, and also some plants on which butterflies and moths can lay their eggs, and for caterpillars to feed on. Something as simple as a bunch of nettles in a sunny corner is one good way to provide this.

Alan Titchmarsh, TV gardener and vice-president of Butterfly Conservation.