Edinburgh Pollinator and Habitat Surveys Report (2025)

Urban Farm DB summary

A 2025 survey of 31 green spaces in central Edinburgh, UK, including allotments, public gardens, cemeteries and roof gardens, assessed pollinator diversity and resource availability. The pollinator community was a generalist assemblage dominated by bumble bees (45%) and honey bees (26%), while butterflies, moths and beetles were notably scarce. Semi-natural areas, allotments and cemeteries sustained the highest pollinator diversity, linked to native vegetation and rich floral resources. Two-thirds of the plant species recorded were non-native horticultural varieties, yet 87% of recorded plants were visited by pollinators, and the three plant species attracting the widest range of pollinator taxa were all indigenous.