Results of National Worm Count

On the weekend of 9–10 April, the UG initiative ‘CurioUs?’ and UG researcher Jeroen Onrust organized an activity to record the presence of worms in the environment. A total of 7,692 worms were counted by 604 participants throughout the Netherlands. As a result of its large success, the worm count will be repeated next year.

Results

The 604 participants submitted a total of 962 records. No less than 7,692 earthworms were found. The average number of earthworms per record was thus 11. Most of the earthworms were counted in pastures and vegetable gardens, followed by fields and lawns. Fewer earthworms on average were found in flowerbeds, under shrubs and hedges, and in woodland and parks. This is no surprise: the more ground vegetation, the more earthworms can be found. In addition, organic soil improvement substances had a positive effect on the number of earthworms. More results are available on the CurioUs? website.

Advice from the researchers

The researchers have a few pieces of advice for those who want to count worms again next year. Be lazy, above all, and leave leaves and crop residues lying around. Earthworms will take the leaves underground and transform them into important nutrients. In addition, make sure that the ground is covered with numerous and different types of plants. Does your soil need a boost? Don’t use artificial fertilizer: instead, use compost or organic fertilizer. In this way, you will feed the soil life and the soil will become healthier, which will eventually benefit the plants too.

Why count worms?

Worms carry out vital work in nature. They may live a withdrawn life in the earth, but that is precisely why they are incredibly important for other types of animals and plants. By digging through the soil, they aerate it so that plants can better spread their roots and rainwater can be absorbed faster. They are also fanatic cleaners. At night, they creep up to the surface to look for dead plant remains that they can take back down into the earth, where they are further broken down so that plants can eventually grow more. Earthworms themselves are fodder for all sorts of other animals, such as lapwings, hedgehogs, blackbirds, and moles. In this way, they play a significant role in the food chains of humans and animals.

2023

Due to the success of the Worm Count, and because it is important for the research to study earthworms for a longer period, another Worm Count will be organized next year. Individuals will then be able to join the count as citizen scientists in their own back gardens.