Category Archives: Bioblitz progress

A plan coming together

DSC_3711 Toadstools

Ever wondered how we make sure that everthing that needs to get done actually gets done and that different people aren’t trying to complete the same bits of work?

The title “Project Manager” sounds pretty grand but it’s the job of the Project Manager (or in the case of this project…the Project Managers) to keep a good eye on things and make sure that all the jobs that need doing are allocated to people and that we all know when we’re supposed to do things by.

This isn’t the sort of information you can easily keep in your head so we all find ways to write it down in a meaningful way so we can share it amongst the project team so everyone knows what’s what.  If we were building an office building, we’d do something similar but it would be a very complicated list.

For us, a simple list is more than sufficient and we’ll update as progress happens.

This is the list as it looks at the moment

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Certainly seems like there’s a lot to do.

 

 

Citizen science for local schools

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A key part of the Bioblitz is the first part of day one when we involve local schools in identifying wildlife at the site.  It’s important to us that local pupils visit so they get an opportunity to make the most of their nearby green spaces.

It’s well known that people with access to good quality green spaces have better mental and physical health and by having an opportunity to be involved in such a big science project, we hope to encourage the next generation of scientists.

So this month we’ve been starting to make contact with some local schools to secure their involvement in the project.  Early indications are encouraging, but we need to keep in contact to ensure we get the right number of people joining in on the day.

Long in the Planning

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Well here we are, it’s the middle of January and it’s about three and a half months until the day of the Bioblitz.

Organizing an event like this takes more than an afternoon so, despite the recent bad weather, the day sees the main organisers:  Dave and Jules from KWAG, Ben, Matt and Savita from BNHC, Liz from EV, Bill from the National Trust and Michael from English Heritage, stomping around the whole site to work out where activities will be carried out.

We all walked about three miles around the estate, slipping down snowy hills, climbing over stiles and then encountering fallen trees in the woods but at the end of it we all had a better idea of how the BioBlitz would work on site.

Now for the detailed planning.