Important Citizen Science

When we planned our weekend activities we realised that our initial idea of a big walk was not going to be possible. Instead we took inspiration from a youtube clip that we saw on the BBC Earth Facebook page by Sir David Attenborough. He spoke of the importance of citizen science and individuals going out and helping larger organisations collect data on wildlife. https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth/videos/1017274611639428/

We sat down and decided that we wanted to carry out not one but two different surveys on Saturday. My Daughter was very excited about them both and also about carrying out some very important ecological research.

The Big Butterfly Count

Cherry Orchard Nature Reserve - Worcester

The first survey was the Big Butterfly Count, which Sir David Attenborough also has been encouraging people to take part in. http://www.bigbutterflycount.org The other was the Bee Scene survey for Plantlife. http://www.wildaboutplants.org.uk/beescene/ To do both of these surveys we chose the local nature reserve in the centre of Worcester just a few hundred metres from our house. Saturday was a beautiful warm sunny afternoon, perfect for looking for wild flowers, bees and butterflies.

Bee Scene Survey

Ringlet

Cherry Orchard Nature Reserve is a real natural treasure and on Saturday it did not disappoint. As far as butterflies were concerned we spent our fifteen minutes sat in one of the open areas of unimproved grassland and counted a total of 8 species. There were lots of Large Skippers, Ringlets and Meadow Browns. The highlight for us was the Marbled White. It is such a stunning butterfly to see with the contrast between the white and black on its wings. It enjoys the nectar of clover, knapweed and thistles. Due to the high concentration of these plants I was not surprised to see a couple of the Marbled Whites.

Large Skipper

Large White

Marble Whites are like the vast majority of British butterfly's and are in decline. Reading reports and looking at statistics is very depressing. 60% of our butterflies are in decline and one in ten faces extinction in Britain completely. Yet here we were in a small nature reserve in the centre of Worcester surrounded by plenty of them. The key thing is habitat, the unimproved grassland of the nature reserve provides the variety and types of flowers they need to support them. Unfortunately, this is not the case in a lot of areas of our country. We are cutting grass verges instead of letting them flower, making more silage and less hay, we are selecting plans for the garden based solely on what they look like instead of what they can provide wildlife. As we change our agricultural practices and gardening habits we are not providing what the butterflies need.

Marbled White

Gatekeeper

The Bee Scene survey by PlantLife, which was aimed at getting children involved in wildlife, was a lot of fun. We had to survey the area to decide if it was “not good”, “good” or “very good” for Bees and flowers. We had to look at the types and colours of the different flowers and then see how many types of bees we could find. On Saturday there were 5 different species of bumble bee. And a very large number of wild flower. Our overall conclusion was that this area was very good.

Red-tailed Bumble Bee

Common Carder Bee

Indeed, we need to take a big lesson from areas like this. Here in the centre of Worcester there is a small nature reserve that is providing a wealth of habitats that support our species. It is providing an opportunity to reverse the decline in numbers of insects and other wildlife that we have seen in the last 50 years or so. We need more areas like this across out towns and cities and in the wider countryside we need to provide areas that are supportive to wildlife.

Unimproved Grassland

Agrimony

Another important thing that these areas do is they provide an opportunity for us to take note and engage with the wildlife. You can stroll around the area and see an abundance of all kinds of wildlife from bugs to flowers to birds and mammals. My daughter really enjoyed doing her little bit for science and having some interesting encounters with the bees and butterflies. It is only when we take our children out and let them enjoy these areas and take notice of nature will they learn to understand it and to love it. Then they will want to protect it in the future.

A Grasshopper Getting in on the Action

Large Skipper

Large Skipper on Red Clover

Common Vetch