Living Lab

County Kildare / NBDC, Trinity College Dublin

Researchers at the Trinity College Dublin are establishing a living lab in Kildare, Ireland. In our case study area, we include many farms that were involved in an EIP called Protecting Farmland Pollinators (2019-2023).

Protecting Farmland Pollinators (PFP) was a 4-year European Innovation Partnership (EIP), funded by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and was led by project manager Dr Saorla Kavanagh in the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC). The project aimed to identify “actions that … allow biodiversity to coexist within a productive farming system”. This study built a network of 40 farms (beef, dairy, arable, mixed) in which farmers received payments in proportion to a calculated pollinator score (determined by the surveying of pollinator friendly actions taken on the farm). This project was highly successful, with the vast majority of farmers implementing more actions to increase their ‘pollinator score’ and the formation of a community of farmers interested in pollinator-friendly farming.  

Our living lab aims to springboard off the community developed during PFP, and hopes to have the participation of a wide range of stakeholders in our network, including farmers not previously involved in PFP, farm advisors, businesses and industry representatives, policy makers and researchers.  

Activities within the Living Labs

Within the Living Lab network, we are conducting an array of different activities at different levels. These include:

The center level contains activities that are conducted at the living labs but coordinated by RestPoll members (i.e. pollinator monitoring).

  • Pollinator and vegetation monitoring (Task 1.2a)
  • Pollination monitoring (Task 1.2b)
  • Measuring the effect of co-design (Task 1.3)
  • Rapid assessment of plants and pollinators (Task 1.4)
  • Evaluate interactions among landscape-scale drivers and local restoration measures on pollinators (Task 2.2)
  • Identify synergies and opportunities for improvements of current restoration implementations (Task 2.3)

The second level contains activities that are conducted within the living lab with all stakeholders involved (i.e. workshop to discuss implementation of co-designed measures).

  • Assess co-benefits of pollinators restoration measures and the direct and indirect impacts of restoration measures on bio-economy (Task 2.4 + 3.3)
  • Develop and test a novel instrument based on Payments for Restoration-mediated Pollination Services (PRPS) (Task 3.2)
  • Establishing and monitoring progress and knowledge flow with the Living Lab (Task 4.1)
  • Assessing enabling conditions for pollinator restoration measures (Task 4.3)

The third level are activities that are conducted within the living lab during demonstration events, including a larger audience (i.e. workshop on horizon scan).

  • Horizon scanning of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats for pollinator restorations (Task 4.4)

The final level includes activities that involve the general public within the living lab vicinity (i.e. testing of feasibility of tools). 

  • Assessing the awareness of pollinators and willingness to protect them (Task 3.1)
  • Estimate the value added by wild pollinators to the food value chain (Task 3.4)
  • Test and evaluate tools for the RestPoll toolbox of restoration methods (Task 5.2)
  • Survey consumer willingness to purchase biodiversity-friendly products (Task 5.3)
  • Understanding and evaluating the co-design of pollinator-friendly labels (Task 5.4)

About this Living Lab

Implementations

Reduced hedgerow cutting, field margins, bee hotels/scrapes, reduced pesticide use, provision of pollinator friendly trees, hay meadows

Main landuse types

Arable, pasture/livestock

Pollinator dependent crops

Rapeseed, broad bean, peas

Claire Kearney (L) and Anna-Sonia Anastasiadou (R) happy after a long day of pollinator surveys. August, 2024
Claire Kearney (L) and Anna-Sonia Anastasiadou (R) happy after a long day of pollinator surveys. August, 2024
A pollinator-friendly hedgerow and field margin beside a wheat field. We will be performing pollinator transects alongside hedgerows on farms such as this one.
A pollinator-friendly hedgerow and field margin beside a wheat field. We will be performing pollinator transects alongside hedgerows on farms such as this one.
A moss carder bee (*Bombus muscorum*) spotted foraging on some bramble flowers at a farm containing living lab sites.
A moss carder bee (*Bombus muscorum*) spotted foraging on some bramble flowers at a farm containing living lab sites.
A ringlet butterfly foraging on dandelion. Photo credit: Anna-Sonia Anastasiadou
A ringlet butterfly foraging on dandelion. Photo credit: Anna-Sonia Anastasiadou
Male buff tailed bumblebee (*Bombus terrestris*) found foraging in hedgerow enclosing livestock field
Male buff tailed bumblebee (*Bombus terrestris*) found foraging in hedgerow enclosing livestock field
Anna-Sonia Anastasiadou, Claire Kearney and Sarah Larragy (L to R) after a pollinator survey at a living lab site
Anna-Sonia Anastasiadou, Claire Kearney and Sarah Larragy (L to R) after a pollinator survey at a living lab site
A bee hotel containing larvae and pupae of developing cavity nesting solitary bees
A bee hotel containing larvae and pupae of developing cavity nesting solitary bees
A bee hotel with viewing pane showing the larvae and pupae of developing cavity nesting solitary bees
A bee hotel with viewing pane showing the larvae and pupae of developing cavity nesting solitary bees
A pied plumehorn hoverfly (*Volucella pellucens*) found on a farm containing living lab sites
A pied plumehorn hoverfly (*Volucella pellucens*) found on a farm containing living lab sites
A field of wheat on a farm in our case study area. Cereal crops, such as wheat, oats and barley, are among the primary crops grown in Ireland.
A field of wheat on a farm in our case study area. Cereal crops, such as wheat, oats and barley, are among the primary crops grown in Ireland.
(L-R) Anna-Sonia Anastasiadou, Sarah Larragy, Prof Jane Stout and Claire Kearney pictured together after the first Irish RestPoll living lab workshop at a farm in Athy, Co. Kildare (Sept 2024)
(L-R) Anna-Sonia Anastasiadou, Sarah Larragy, Prof Jane Stout and Claire Kearney pictured together after the first Irish RestPoll living lab workshop at a farm in Athy, Co. Kildare (Sept 2024)
The batman hoverfly (*Myathropa florea*) found during a farm visit
The batman hoverfly (*Myathropa florea*) found during a farm visit
Dr Saorla Kavanagh presents reflections on the successes of Protecting Farmland Pollinators project at first annual Irish RestPoll living lab workshop (Sept 2024)
Dr Saorla Kavanagh presents reflections on the successes of Protecting Farmland Pollinators project at first annual Irish RestPoll living lab workshop (Sept 2024)
Workshop discussions at first Irish RestPoll living lab workshop (Sept 2024)
Workshop discussions at first Irish RestPoll living lab workshop (Sept 2024)

Researchers

Sarah Larragy

Sarah Larragy

Fernanda Azevedo

Jane Stout

Jane Stout

Jessica Knapp

Jessica Knapp

Contact us for collaboration​

Alexandra Klein

RestPoll coordinator
alexandra.klein@nature.uni-freiburg.de