Norfolk residents who love the outdoors are being encouraged to record sightings of local wildlife in a bid to support Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s conservation efforts.
WildWalks is a new online recording tool, established by The Wildlife Trusts in partnership with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). It will allow people to log wildlife sightings and map records of plants and animals across NWT’s target areas for landscape-scale conservation, known as
Living Landscapes, and in some nature reserves.
Users can l
og into the system where walks around Living Landscapes or nature reserves can be created or selected from existing recommendations. Wildlife sightings can then be recorded whilst out enjoying a walk and logged afterwards using the online system.
There are currently more than 300 locations from which to choose – places where The Wildlife Trusts are managing land for wildlife or helping other landowners to do this. By involving members of the local community in undertaking repeated walks, NWT will develop a better understanding of existing wildlife populations in the area and how these are responding to conservation work.
How to get involved
Step 1: Register with WildWalks at www.wild-walks.org
Step 2: Plan your WildWalk – follow our easy-to-use guide
Step 3: Take note of the plants and animals you see during your WildWalk
Step 4: Upload your sightings to www.wild-walks.org
Step 5: Plan a new walk, or repeat your walk, and create new wildlife recordings
Brendan Joyce, Chief Executive of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said: “Recording sightings of wildlife will help us to map it and, over time, monitor how it changes. Members of our local community, whether expert recorders or keen amateurs, will be able to help us better target our landscape-scale conservation efforts in areas where we are working, sometimes with partners, to try and secure nature’s recovery. We’re keen to hear from regular walkers and wildlife enthusiasts about this new resource.
“Enjoy time spent in our wonderful and wildlife-rich Living Landscapes and don’t forget to take a notepad or camera with you. Any and all sightings you can record, whether common or rare, are extremely important to us.”
Championed by The Wildlife Trusts, Living Landscapes is a way of thinking big about how land is managed for wildlife, people and society. By working on a landscape-scale with partners, landowners and local communities, we are stitching together isolated areas of land to form a network and help wildlife to recover and thrive across the UK.