Our wildlife surveying project –Tracking the Impact – scoops prestigious Marsh Award!
Last week, we were delighted to attend the BTO’s prestigious Marsh Awards, and see our amazing Tracking the Impact volunteers pick up the Award for Local Ornithology.
Volunteers from Tracking the Impact – a project that helps local people improve their knowledge of local birds, plants and butterflies – were delighted to receive the prestigious Marsh Award for Local Ornithology. Organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the awards celebrated the outstanding work of conservation scientists and volunteers in an annual awards ceremony held last night at the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) Natural Eye exhibition at London’s Mall Galleries.
The ‘Tracking the Impact’ project provides training on bird, butterfly and plant identification – as well as survey methodology to volunteers developing their knowledge and enthusiasm to improve scientific understanding of the area. To date, over 125 volunteers have been carrying out regular surveys across the Chilterns gathering data that helps track the population trends of local birds, butterflies and plants on a landscape scale.
Project organiser Nick Marriner from the Chilterns Conservation Board said:
“We are honoured to be nominated for, and to win this award, which reflects the collective energy, enthusiasm and passion of our volunteer team supporting wildlife in the Chilterns. They should all be very proud, and I would like to extend my thanks for all of their support in getting the project off of the ground. We hope the project will act as a template for other local landscape scale projects and helping to better understand local wildlife trends, complement and add value to national data sets, support a new generation of wildlife recorders and connect more people to their local landscape. On behalf of our team of volunteers I am immensely proud to receive the award on their behalf and join the long list of exciting previous winners. Thanks again to BTO for nominating us.”
Tracking the Impact was part of the Chalk, Cherries and Chairs landscape partnership, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project was a truly collaborative partnership, supported by the British Trust for Ornithology along with Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust; Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre, Butterfly Conservation, Plantlife and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
Get involved in Tracking the Impact
There’s a wide range of opportunities to get involved, regardless of your levels of experience or the time you have available. You might be an experienced bird watcher or simply a nature or wildlife enthusiast who wants to learn more about Chilterns wildlife and plant life. Volunteers can benefit from free species ID training from local experts, and support with survey methods and data entry.
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