News

This year we once again participated in the City Nature Challenge, a global initiative to promote the recording of biodiversity using citizen science, that took place between 25-28 April.
18 University of Warwick students and staff volunteered their time to learn about citizen science and to carry out a mini bioblitz at a mature shrub just off Spine Route. We used the iNaturalist app to log all species we came across, from tiny 16-spot ladybirds to giant oak trees, while also discovering some hidden wonders such as caterpillars and oak marble gall wasp. Thanks to the infinite patience and enthusiasm of the participants, in just over 1 hour almost 60 species were logged at this location - many of which had not been recorded on campus before!

Throughout the duration of the City Nature Challenge, almost 200 species were recorded by citizen scientists on campus, which is a fantastic result!

This not only made a valuable contribution to the City Nature Challenge, but also helped us gain a better understanding of the biodiversity this kind of habitat harbours, which otherwise would have gone unnoticed due to the tiny size or perfect camouflage of many of the species.

This year the Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull partnership resulted in 6082 observations of 1198 species (1756 observations and an amazing 295 species more than last year) which placed us 9th on the UK leaderboardLink opens in a new window!

Congratulations to all and keep recording!