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Yealm Estuary to Moor
Habitat and Biodiversity
A citizen science approach
Surveys by volunteers
Birds, bats, butterflies and bees
Our citizen science programme aims to provide insight into what is thriving in the Yealm catchment over time. Whether species are rare or common, they provide an indication of the impact of environmental change. 3 locations have been selected to represent the broader environment in the lower, mid and upper regions of the catchment, surveying sites where habitat improvement interventions have been made.
A data led approach
Informing habitat interventions
The data gathered will be used to better understand the biodiversity existing in these areas and the habitats that are needed to support it. Over the long term we may observe changes at these sites as a result of habitat improvements such as an increase in woodland or hedgerow or of our changing climate.
Sharing our results
Encouraging community interest
Through local meetings and networking with experts and other active projects in the area, such as Life on the Edge, BeeWild and U3A, this work surveying the catchment's biodiversity will stimulate interest within our local community. YEM also works with A level students to annually survey Ruby's Wood, an undisturbed woodland, mid catchment.
YEM is grateful to Farming in a Protected Landscape (FiPL), Yealm Community Energy (YCE) and Revelstoke Community Trust (RCT) for funding and expertise.
Recording our wildlife
There is a range of long-standing national species monitoring schemes that have developed reliable and robust methodologies for surveys of particular taxa. These schemes are reliant on citizen scientists who volunteer their time to go out and record species. There are broad-scale structured surveys to detect trends in national biodiversity change, but the methods for these schemes can in many cases be used or adapted for use at a much finer (local or landscape) scale.
