Get involved! Nature In Harmony: Citizen Science

Hi, Alex here.

Me and an Ox-eye Daisy

I’m a BSc Zoology graduate and am currently undertaking an internship with Andover Trees United. Last year, I set up and ran a wildlife monitoring and citizen science project in Harmony Woods called Nature in Harmony.

Over the past few weeks I have been getting ready for phase II of the project which will be more focused on the citizen science side of things.

I have been finalising the methods that we will use and identifying new locations for our transects. A transect is a line across a habitat or part of a habitat. It can be as simple as a string or rope placed in a line on the ground. The number of organisms of each species along a transect can be observed and recorded at regular intervals. 

We have 8 x 100m transects, 2 longer butterfly transects and a new-for-2021 a reptile transect! We will be surveying wildflowers and grasses, birds, butterflies, pollinators and herptiles.

We will be running weekly wildlife surveys in Harmony Woods (and the wider Diamond Woods), and we are looking for 12 recording assistants to get involved! So if you have an interest in wildlife and conservation we would love to hear from you!

Transect mapping

Experience in wildlife surveying is not required; the methods are very simple and we can lend you the equipment needed.

You would need to commit to 2 half days minimum where you will be assisting me in the field and you will learn the basic skills and knowledge needed to continue surveying independently, in your own time. Your recordings will contribute to the 2021 Harmony Woods wildlife data.

Thanks to a grant from the Nineveh Charitable Trust, we will also be offering a calendar of free nature-themed events for the community throughout spring and summer including moth trapping sessions, wildflower walks, pond dipping and people can also take part in a BioBlitz! A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time.

I will also continue to work with the Nature in Harmony Exchange group and more young people will be invited up to the woods to practice their fieldwork skills and explore the nature on their doorstep.

We will also be holding some evening events to present the findings from the 2020 surveys.

Keep checking our events calendar on the website, follow our social media pages and subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with the project.

If you are interested in assisting with the data collection, please get in touch alex.marshall@andovertrees.org.uk 

See you soon!

Black Medic

Nature In Harmony 2021 is funded by The Nineveh Charitable Trust