"Worms have played a more important part in the history of the world than most persons would at first suppose." Charles Robert Darwin, English naturalist and author (1809-1882).

Now it seems the humble earth worm could be the next endangered species! It sounds crazy but volunteers are being sought to carry out the first earthworm 'census' .

 

According to Darwin, worms are one of the most important creatures on earth. And with their habitats increasingly under threat, volunteers are being asked to help with an earthworm 'census'. The £500,000 project will see amateur scientists pouring mustard - a mild irritant to worms - on their flowerbeds. They can then identify any disgruntled (but otherwise unharmed) specimens which surface. The worm count is part of a five-year community science project called Open Air Laboratories, or Opal.

 

It is being led by the Natural History Museum and funded by £11.7million of lottery money.

With so much money being invested in this project it clearly is not a whim, or the soil association doing a spot of scaremongering. Our little wiggly creatures are precious to the whole organic principle and we must throw our weight behind it.

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