Record Wildlife

Have you ever found a plant or animal that you do not recognise, whilst out gardening or walking? If the answer is yes, then you are not alone! There are over 70,000 different species of animals, plants, fungi and single-celled organisms in the UK.

This amazing web of life provides a great source of beauty and fascination. Setting out to learn more about nature can add an exciting new dimension to daily life. Walks become even more wonderful, as you start to identify bird song, emerging wildflowers and stunning butterflies. Passing on this knowledge to your children, neighbours and others can be empowering and rewarding as you see their world open up as a result of your knowledge. Through these simple actions, you will actually be doing something very special indeed. Your family and friends will start receiving more benefits from the Power of Nature allowing them to lead happier, healthier and more fulfilled daily lives.

So! How do you start out on this exciting journey of discovery? Here is our suggested pathway:

1.

Get out into nature! Explore your garden, local parks and nature reserves. Once you start becoming fully aware of the wildlife around you, an amazing world will start opening up to you. You will begin to notice subtle things, like the fact that what you thought were simply “bumblebees” are actually a number of different species with different body patterns. Breathe in and enjoy, because you are starting to connect with nature! If you begin to feel a strong sense of belonging, that’s probably because you were already part of this magical world around you, and are simply reconnecting, like finding a lost friend!

2.

Gain confidence from what you already know; the Robin that drops on the path in front of you, the majestic oak trees that provide a bounty of acorns each year, the bluebells that bless your local woodlands in Spring.

3.

Have fun whilst learning! If you see something unusual and are able to take a photograph, record the date and time of the observation, the location where you saw it and any features or behaviour that you noted, then upload the image onto iSpot. This is a friendly and free online community that helps you identify wildlife and share nature with others. You can even take part in quizzes to help you learn and select the level of difficulty from easy right through to expert.

4.

Celebrate! The moment that you shared your first wildlife image on iSpot, you became a citizen scientist! You will have joined a massive community of amazing individuals that, together, generate 4.5 million wildlife observations every year in the UK. Believe it or not, you will now be contributing to the science that protects UK wildlife. Do you feel empowered? Do you feel a growing sense of purpose? That’s the power of nature! Do you feel proud? So you should, as a volunteer that is helping to safeguard the gift of life!

5.

Spread your wings! Now it’s time to find your local wildlife groups and charities. They will support your growing interest, and you may well decide to support them through membership and volunteering. Our Team4Nature local networks will help you find friends of parks and nature reserves along with other wildlife groups in your area to get involved with.

6.

Create your own mini wildlife reserve to enjoy, record and share nature with your family and friends, whilst discovering the power of gardening. Your fine wildlife gardening work will provide clear evidence that you have played your part in restoring life on earth. It will also provide endless hours of pleasure and an exciting extension to your home. If you do not have your own garden then you could join your local wildlife group and use your growing skills and passion to help create, or maintain a wildlife haven for the whole community to enjoy.

7.

Enter the world of wildlife recording. As your knowledge and confidence grows you will be able to start contributing to other citizen science projects, wildlife surveys and recording platforms. There is just one golden rule that we all must remember; If you are not 100% sure what species you have seen then, rather than guess, share it on iSpot or provide details of the observation to your local wildlife group or local environmental record centre (LERC). There are around 200 UK surveys and recording schemes, but we have presented some here for you to easily explore: