All posts by Heather

Help needed to rescue UK’s old rainfall records

The BBC report. At a loss to know what to do with your self-isolation time? Well, why not get on the computer and help with a giant weather digitisation effort? The UK has rainfall records dating back 200 years or so, but the vast majority of these are in handwritten form and can’t easily be used to analyse past periods of flooding and drought. 

The Rainfall Rescue Project is seeking volunteers to transfer all the data into online spreadsheets. You’re not required to rummage through old bound volumes; the Met Office has already scanned the necessary documents – all 65,000 sheets. You simply have to visit a website, read the scribbled rainfall amounts and enter the numbers into a series of boxes. 

Photo by Alison Day under creative commons.

Interview: Sir David Attenborough on the lost world he grew up in

The SUNDAY TIMES reports as he approaches his 94th birthday, Attenborough finds himself on a very different planet to the one he grew up on. We need to reconnect with nature, he tells Nick Rufford, for our own health – as well as the Earth’s.

After a lifetime of bringing nature into our living rooms, David Attenborough wants us to get out of our armchairs and help save the natural world we’ve enjoyed watching on television. Decades of relentless industrialisation, urbanisation and intensive farming have driven a wedge between us and our animal ancestors, he warns, and the disconnection between modern families and nature is getting worse.

Sir David Attenborough photo by ukhouseoflords under Creative Commons.

Garden birdwatching: the wildlife travel drama on your doorstep

THE GUARDIAN reports we may be stuck indoors but the skies are a source of ornithological wonder. Experts reveal what’s out there, where to look – and how to get competitive about it.

Some of us have always scrutinised the skies above our homes and gardens but the Covid-19 crisis has turned this activity into something of a movement, sparked by Matteo Toller of Udine in north-east Italy who recently se up #BWKM0 (birdwatching at zero km) on Twitter to help people record their sightings, share knowledge and show solidarity during the country’s lockdown.

Matteo himself recorded 51 species from his windows in 12 hours earlier this month, including brambling, black stork, goshawk and the first house martins migrating north. 

Nottingham Trent University study to assess impact of traffic on hedgehogs

The BBC reports researchers are investigating how many hedgehogs are killed on our roads in a bid to help the UK’s declining population. A Nottingham Trent University team will also study whether tunnels under roads could reduce the number of deaths. Experts believe the animals are struggling with lost habitats, increased competition and traffic. Researchers hope this study could help stop the creatures’ decline and provide guidance for planners and developers. 

Help the hedgehog, sparrow and trout — and save British wildlife

THE TIMES reports the best way to protect Britain’s wildlife would be to focus on safeguarding the hedgehog, house sparrow and brown trout, according to a radical plan.

After a scientific report last year found that 41% of UK species studied had declined over the past 50 years, the think tank ResPublica says wildlife protection needs a new approach. It is proposing the creation of a wildlife regulator with legal powers to help just three “bellwether” species — one each from the land, the air and the rivers. 

Sparrow photo by Stewart Black and trout photo by UnconventionalEmma both under Creative Commons.

£2.5m project to help Solent wildlife will also tackle climate change

Photo of short snouted seahorse (one of two UK species) by prilfish under creative commons.

Portsmouth News reports the stretch of water between the Isle of Wight and the mainland has been identified as one of five spots in the UK to benefit from a £2.5m project funded by Natural England and the EU. Seahorses, native oysters, stalked jellyfish and seagrass are among the wildlife that will be protected by the new Recreation Remedies scheme.

Tim Ferrero from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust welcomed the news. He said: ‘Seagrass beds are an immensely important type of habitat for both people and wildlife. 

Urgent new ‘roadmap to recovery’ could reverse insect apocalypse

THE GUARDIAN reports the world must eradicate pesticide use, prioritise nature-based farming methods and urgently reduce water, light and noise pollution to save plummeting insect populations, according to a new “roadmap to insect recovery” compiled by experts.

The call to action by more than 70 scientists from across the planet advocates immediate action on human stress factors to insects which include habitat loss and fragmentation, the climate crisis, pollution, over-harvesting and invasive species. 

The wildlife visitors warning of climate disaster

The GUARDIAN reports …. a warm welcome? Britain’s milder weather is attracting exotic guests. While we may celebrate their arrival now it should also alert us to what’s ahead. Mediterranean egrets balancing on the backs of cows, multicoloured moths the size of a human hand, and impossibly exotic bee-eaters hawking for insects under English skies. All are here as a direct consequence of the climate crisis, which has allowed continental European species to extend their ranges northwards, and then make the leap across the Channel to gain a foothold in southern Britain. 

Stop throwing apple cores out of car windows to protect wild trees, say experts

THE TELEGRAPH reports tossing apple cores out of the car window could be destroying Britain’s last wild apple trees, experts have warned. Researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh said they had discovered trees which have sprouted from supermarket varieties growing along the verges of motorways.

And genetic studies of crab apple trees – Britain’s last wild variety – show that in some areas more than half are now hybrids, after cross-pollinating with domesticated varieties. 

Photo by Stacy Spensley under creative commons.