Through innovative projects we are working with local organisations and engaging the public in citizen science to collect and collate data on key species and habitats across our nature reserves and Sheffield as a whole.
Over two years, Nature Counts – our citizen science partnership project – saw nearly 500 people help us map the distribution of hedgehogs across the city and over 20 dedicated volunteers help us collect over 120 field signs of otter along 24km of the river Don, as well as publicising the impact of hybridisation on bluebells in Sheffield’s woodland. The project culminated in the publication of Sheffield’s first ever Sheffield State of Nature report.
Our new Data4Nature project is an HLF-funded initiative which will help the Trust understand the wildlife and habitats on our nature reserves in more detail and help us respond to one of the key recommendations of the Sheffield State of Nature report, to address gaps in the city’s ecological data. The project will work towards improving the Trust’s ecological monitoring and data collection over the next eighteen months, by creating and implementing a robust monitoring framework, increasing our capacity to collect data on our reserves and engaging with members, volunteers and the public to share the findings of our work and enthuse people to collect biological records of their own. Watch this space!
