Wildlife Gardening & Science | The Buzz Club

The Buzz Club

Real gardens - Real science

Gardening is a popular pastime, but not one that we do alone. Whether hidden beneath the soil, buzzing in the borders or singing on the fence, thousands of wild animals share our spaces. They provide vital support to our own horticultural successes - yet we know very little about most of them!

The Buzz Club intends to change that. We are a citizen science club, run by scientists at the University of Sussex. Citizen Science is a way of conducting research in collaboration with the general public. The Buzz Club creates experiments that help us understand the wildlife we share our gardens with, and what we can do to conserve it. Volunteers all over the UK help us to answer these important questions.

Meet The Team

Professor Dave Goulson

Club Director

Dave is professor of biology at University of Sussex, specializing in bumblebees. He has written several books on insects and wildlife gardening, and founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006.

Dr. Linda Birkin

Citizen Science Coordinator

Linda is a Citizen Science Specialist, with a particular interest in urban ecology and outreach.

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Issy Sexton

Research Assistant

Issy graduated from the University of Sussex in 2020 with a Zoology BSc. Since then she has worked with a strong focus on entomology, citizen science and community engagement.

Dr. Beth Nicholls

Steering Group Member

Beth is a Research Fellow at the University of Sussex and her lab studies how bees decide what flowers to visit & how this affects nutrition. She focusses on how bees cope with stress & works with gardeners to understand pollination on urban farms.

Yanet Sepulveda

Project Lead

Yanet is a PhD Researcher at the University of Sussex. Her research is focussed on investigating the impact of climate change, particularly heatwaves, on pollinators and their host plants. She is project lead for 'Bees & Heatwaves'.

Dr. Ellen Rotheray

Steering Group Member

Ellie is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sussex teaching conservation biology & ecology. Ellie is interested in exploring the resource requirements of insects, with a view to restoring & connecting diverse, functioning habitats. Ellie has run the Hoverfly Lagoons project since 2016, and is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Hoverfly Specialist Group 2019 – 2025.

Dr. Maria Clara Castellanos

Steering Group Member

Cala is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sussex where she and her group study plants with a focus on flowers and how they are shaped by pollination in their evolution. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pollination Ecology.

Dr. Janine Griffiths-Lee

Steering Group Member

Janine is a post-doctoral researcher at RBG Kew. Based at Wakehurst, she works in the Nature Unlocked team studying pollinators in the landscape. Her current focus is the benefits of different tree species to pollinators, habitat management in urban gardens, and citizen science.

Dr. Rob Fowler

Steering Group Member

Rob previously was the centre-point for the Buzz Club Organization. He is now a Steering Group member whilst working in his new role at the University, leading school-based technicians.