With only six days to go to the first ever Coombes Valley BioBlitz, I’ve been thinking. What are we trying to achieve? It will of course be a fun day where public and experts come together and record species at Coombes, but when people leave, will they understand what it was all about?
Bluebells image by Lizzie Ingram
That’s the biggest challenge. With the recent release of the State of Nature report, which held some pretty damning evidence of the impact we have had upon our country’s wildlife, events like BioBlitzes have never been more relevant.
From the outside looking in, it may appear that all we are doing is ‘name collecting’ on the day – perhaps if you come along you will hear experts utter the occasional Latin name, or see someone stick a leaf on our species counter tree – we’re just counting and naming things for the sake of a list, right?
Lesser Swallow Prominent image by Simon Gray
Wrong – although we want to get across the wonderful diversity of life that Coombes Valley Nature reserve is still a stronghold for, the aim of the game is to get people – especially the youngest generation – connected with the nature around them. For if they grow up without that connection to nature that we all enjoyed (in however small a way), who will be around to care in the future?
Without ongoing support, in years to come, places like Coombes Valley could cease to exist. That’s why we need to take urgent action – to make people love the world they’re living in so we can save the species we still have.
Lichen and moss image by Lizzie Ingram
If you can come along on the 16th, I’d love to see you here. If not, you still have a vital part to play – nature is in trouble, and it’s going to take an almighty team effort to make future generations care about that.
If my dad had never bothered to take me on the walks that made me fall in love with the natural world, it’s quite likely that I wouldn’t be volunteering for the RSPB today. So the next time you’re with young members of the family, or even friends, get them to go outside – move a rock or a log, have a swish in the pond with a net - and ignite that passion for nature.
Coombes Valley BioBlitz has been made possible by a generous grant from the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network, a Natural History Museum Initiative, which is funded by the BIG Lottery Fund.