Home /
News /
News from Bristol East / Wildlife lovers in Bristol and Bath needed to take part in City Nature Challenge
27-30 April 2018
Nature
lovers in Bristol and Bath are being asked to join a race to discover and
record as much wildlife as possible as part of a new international competition.
The epic four-day City Nature Challenge runs from 27-30 April and will see the
region compete with 64 cities on five different continents including Plymouth
and London in the UK.
Residents
in the Bristol & Bath city region are needed to become nature detectives
and showcase as much of the area’s flora and fauna as they can find. There are
two prizes up for grabs; one for the greatest number of species found and the
other for the largest number of nature observations.
Savita
Willmott, director of the Bristol Natural History Consortium said: “We know how
passionate people in this area are about wildlife and the environment and we
want them to help us win this competition and show just how important the
natural world is to our lives.
“We
think this challenge will help show people just how much wildlife there is in
our cities – from our gardens and parks to some of the more hidden urban areas
– that we can be proud of and need to protect and nurture. It promises to be
enormous fun but there’s a serious reason to get involved too as all the nature
recorded will help us understand what actions we need to take to conserve the
wildlife we find.”
There
are plenty of ways residents and businesses can get involved including free
events, volunteering or learning more on an expert expedition. Nature
detectives are needed to explore the “forgotten areas” of the region under the
guidance of a specialist survey team or search for the “most wanted” species to
help map the nature in the West of England.
Families
can embark on a wildlife spotting spree in the garden, local park or one of the
region’s spectacular walking trails to snap photos of creatures and record
findings on the iNaturalist app. From bugs and birds to amphibians and fungi, the free app will identify
the species and add the wildlife to the international tally.
Wildlife
enthusiasts can get even more hands on and join the region’s Survey Team. The
team will be tasked with the challenge to gather most of the species data and
showcase Bristol’s and Bath’s critters. For more information on how to join the
team please visit: http://www.bnhc.org.uk/festival-of-nature/survey-team/
It
is hoped that school children across the area will also take up the challenge
and a special schools pack is being released next week to encourage them to
take part.
Residents
can find out more information and collect free resources by dropping into We
The Curious in Bristol or Bath Central Library over the weekend.
All
data collected through the app will contribute to local, national and
international decisions about conservation, parks and wildlife management.
You
can follow the City Nature Challenge on twitter at @FestofNature, on Facebook
at @festofnature and on Instagram at @festofnature