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Insects are vital to our planet's health and they act as crucial barometers for the ecosystem. However, a concerning trend has emerged: the 'windscreen phenomenon' – a noticeable decline in insect splats on car windscreens. This alarming observation became a powerful catalyst for Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife, prompting them to collaborate and launch a pioneering citizen science study to gather vital, large-scale, long-term data on flying insect populations.
The Challenge
When the Bugs Matter citizen science survey was first launched in 2019, it relied on a cumbersome paper-based system.
Participants were sent paper ‘splatometers’ to count the number of insects on their car number plates and manually record the results. This process presented significant challenges. It was time-consuming for participants, created an administrative bottleneck for the Bugs Matter team, and generated considerable paper waste. The team needed a digital solution to streamline the data capture, enhance user experience and become more sustainable.
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Our Solution
Recognising the inefficiencies of the paper-based system, Bugs Matter partnered with Natural Apptitude in 2021.
The Natural Apptitude team developed a bespoke mobile app that digitised the data recording process but still relied on paper splatometers to standardise the survey area size. In 2023, the app introduced a 'virtual splatometer' built in, and so disregarded the use for paper splatometers. Now, participants simply count the bug splats across the whole number plate and use the virtual splatometer to obtain photographic evidence. This intuitive digital solution not only provides a much quicker and more user-friendly experience but also eliminates the need for paper printing and posting, making the project more sustainable.
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Ongoing Impact
Since the launch of the custom app, Bugs Matter has seen a significant increase in participation. The digital solution has directly facilitated this growth, enabling new, impactful collaborations such as the fantastic 2024 partnership with Openreach, owner of the UK’s second largest commercial van fleet.
Long term data collection is vital in order to build a more robust picture of how insect populations are faring. At the moment, the study has not been running long enough to decide whether the data collected constitutes a trend. Consequently, Bugs Matter need more citizen scientists to take place every year and over wider geographical areas.
The pioneering nature of Bugs Matter, significantly enabled by its digital platform, gained international recognition in 2024. Kent Wildlife Trust was named a winner in the prestigious Amazon Web Services IMAGINE Grant UK for Non profits (Go Further, Go Faster category), which celebrates highly innovative projects utilising advanced cloud services to achieve mission-critical goals.
This significant grant is now propelling the Bugs Matter survey's global expansion! In 2025, the survey is extending into the Republic of Ireland, with plans to develop new partnerships for launches in the US, Australia, France, and the Netherlands. This international growth underscores the scalability and impact of a well-designed digital citizen science solution.
Read the News article
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“Since its launch, the survey user base has grown significantly in the UK and now, thanks to generous funding from AWS IMAGINE Grant, the app will now be rolled out to a global audience creating international data to help conservationists fight insect declines.”
Dr Lawrence Ball
Ecological Data Analyst Lead
Kent Wildlife Trust
“Since its launch, the survey user base has grown significantly in the UK and now, thanks to generous funding from AWS IMAGINE Grant, the app will now be rolled out to a global audience creating international data to help conservationists fight insect declines.”
Dr Lawrence Ball
Ecological Data Analyst Lead
Kent Wildlife Trust
