Setting up for Nature in Harmony
Hi, welcome to my first ‘Nature in Harmony’ blog post. :)
Nature in Harmony is a new project from Andover Trees United that explores the diversity of wildlife within Harmony Woods. Identifying it, learning about it, and interpreting the data we collect from it.
The wildlife survey and community engagement project aims to begin to create some baseline data of ‘what’s in the woods’, informing future conservation management decisions, whilst also educating and inspiring the local community and young people in concepts of woodland ecology, field survey techniques and species identification.
My name is Alex, I’m a recent graduate of BSc (honours) Zoology from the university of Exeter, and i’m volunteering as the project ecologist. But more about me later.
What we have done so far,
Walked the site and marked out transect locations
Set up a ‘Nature in Harmony’ iNaturalist project page
Planned our methodology for each survey
Gathered all equipment needed
Began to publicise the project
What we plan on doing next
Wildlife surveys on 8 x 100m transects, 4 in each end of the wood (east and west), surveys taking place across all 4 seasons
Data collected will encompass a wide range of taxa, including fauna and flora. Creating a baseline database for ATU, and will be shared on the living record system
Analysis of data and presentation of results in a report
Involvement of the community via bioblitz events
Involvement of schools as part of our ongoing ‘6 trees and 6 flowers’ project work.
Interpretation of results - the opportunity to develop a creative science communication project, plus the development of new signage in Harmony Woods.
A bit about me
When I first came to Andover in the Autumn of 2019, and first met the Andover Trees United (ATU) team, I felt instantly welcomed. Everyone was super kind and easygoing, and I soon came to realise that Andover is a place full of all kinds of people with all kinds of backgrounds, and there really is a sense of community here. Maybe that’s because I am involved with ATU, where community spirit and teamwork is just a given.
I'm fascinated by the combination of the natural sciences and the arts, science communication and the incredible importance of environmental education. I’m constantly amazed at what ATU have achieved so far, and I’ve no doubt they’ll continue to do great things. Because of this, my what started as a 3-month internship has now reached it’s 8 month mark! Yet the main reason I have stayed for so long is because I love the fact that I can give back to the community and take real positive action against climate change.
I’m excited to see where the Nature in Harmony project takes us, and whether we have any surprises in our data. I’m also excited to be getting back out into the field and to brush up on my wildlife identification skills, as well engaging the community and schools in the project, too.
What interests me most about the Diamond wood as a field study site is the unique east and west differences. The eastern end has been managed differently to the western end, and the dog walking guidelines differ between ends, too. Plus, the red-listed, ground-nesting Skylarks are often seen on-site. So it will be fascinating to see if there are any significant differences in the data we collect between the two ends of the wood, especially as dog/human footfall has been linked to reduced presence of ground-nesting birds.
How to get involved
As soon as the COVID-lockdown is over, I will be working on how I can get members of the community more involved, such as bioblitz events, school trips to the wood, nature walks or joining me on my surveys.
In the mean time, if you live within walking distance of the woods, you are welcome to jump straight in and start sending in your observations to us via the iNaturalist app (see poster below).
Or, if you’d like to walk the transects and do some surveying yourself (we are actively searching for recorders!), please send me an email : alex.marshall@andovertrees.org.uk .
Thanks!
Alex.
