The Nurturing Nature project aims to train over 100 people who have little or no experience in wildlife surveying to become ‘biological recorders’ on Cranborne Chase.
The survey work generated from this project will form the foundation for setting a new baseline of information. This will help us better understand the state of biodiversity of the Chase & Chalke area and help us identify where practical conservation work could help improve habitats for wildlife.
By mobilising our Practical Conservation Volunteers our aim is to work with local farmers and landowners to help them carry out practical conservation work to improve, and perhaps create new, habitats on their land.
Project aims
- To engage new volunteers with training, biodiversity monitoring, mentoring and practical action.
- To improve understanding of biodiversity in the Cranborne Chase & Chalke Valley area, and to set a new baseline of information about the landscape which will inform priorities for action.
- To promote the importance of this landscape, and the species that rely upon it, as well as to raise awareness of risks to the habitats of the landscape.
Project achievements
Volunteer training and engagement
Volunteer trainees have taken courses in wildlife survey covering various topics and fields, depending on their interest.
To engage volunteers with the project, team members from the Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre hosted ‘Coffee & Cake’ sessions in cafes dotted around the Chase & Chalke area. These sessions were designed to for people curious about getting involved with the project to be able to meet and chat about the opportunities available and how they could get started.
212 people trained in wildlife surveys
79 training sessions
18 Coffee & Cake sessions
4,871 hours of volunteer time
Nature surveys in the field
Surveys carried out by volunteers cover a variety of different wildlife groups, including the following:
- Hedgerow survey
- Pollinators
- Wildflowers and grasses
- Butterflies
- Reptiles
- Aquatic mammals
- Bees
- Birds
- Mammals
Survey data is entered into an app called iNaturalist, where sighting data is stored and transferred, and shared with scientific data repositories.
29 sites surveyed over 32 days
4,588 individual species records collected by volunteers
145 hectares are now managed better
Practical conservation and environmental improvements
Practical conservation and habitat maintenance has taken place at a variety of key sites as a result of survey data from the Nurturing Nature project.
Activities have included:
- Scrub clearance: Prescombe Down National Nature Reserve had sections of land cleared of invasive scrub, which was carried out in conjunction with Natural England staff and volunteers.
- Wildflower planting: Excess stones and rocks were removed from a site, and then wildflower seeds scattered on a site located near a dew pond. Six months later, the site was abloom with a splendid variety of wildflowers and herbs.
- Berry harvesting/seed spreading: Berries were taken from a range of trees and shrubs, such as hawthorn, blackthorn, rosehips, elder, and hazelnuts. The seeds and berries were spread to diversify the monoculture of the nearby planted beech trees.
21 practical activity days
Get involved
A new wave of wildlife surveyors
Our volunteer surveyors will get expert training in variety of new survey skills, including surveying for butterflies, farmland and woodland birds, mammals, tree and hedgerow survey, woodland botany, chalk grassland species, arable plants and fungi.
Trainees will be able to develop their skills across different specialist species groups and, as volunteers, will then help us survey as many key habitats and important species within the Chase & Chalke area as possible.