Funded societies - OPAL Grant Scheme 2010

The recipients of OPAL's 2010 grants

In 2010, OPAL awarded 27 grants of between £1,000 and £4,000 to help amateur natural history societies extend their reach and inspire a new generation of nature enthusiasts.

A variety of exciting projects are being funded, from organising open days to streaming wildlife videos to indoor observatories.

All 2010 grant recipients are listed below, together with a brief explanation of the project the grant will help pay for.

2010 case studies
Discover more about how OPAL grants helped the following societies

Interested in support for your society?
As well as small grants, OPAL also provides a range of support guides, and can offer publicity for your society at OPAL events.

Grants awarded by OPAL in 2010

Blackwater Valley Countryside Trust
Grant awarded: £1,715
Project: The purchase of wildlife surveying equipment to be used by the Trust and also loaned out free of charge to other local groups in the Hampshire/Surrey area.
Website: www.bvct.org.uk

British Lichen Society
Grant awarded: £3,000
Project: A series of one-day lichen identification courses for beginners will be run across the country.
Website: www.thebls.org.uk

British Myriapod and Isopod Group
Grant awarded: £4,000
Project: The production of an interactive ebook covering the study and identification of myriapods and isopods - helping beginners to improve their knowledge and skills. The ebook will be available on CD or for download. 
Website: http://192.171.199.210

Butterfly Conservation Sussex Branch
Grant awarded: £3,295
Project: Supporting the Big Biodiversity Butterfly Count in Brighton. The grant will pay for identification guides, recording cards and a launch event.
Website: www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk

Cheshire Active Naturalists
Grant awarded: £3,310
Project: Running a BioBlitz in 2011 - a 24-hour wildlife event where scientists, amateur naturalists and the public come together to record all the wildlife they can find in a given place.
Website: www.cheshireactivenaturalists.org.uk

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Entomological Society
Grant awarded: £3,822
Project: Purchasing equipment such as bug box making kits, and the running of events and promotional activities aimed at attracting younger members to the group.
Website: www.danes-insects.org.uk

Dipterists Forum
Grant awarded: £3,675
Project: The purchase of a camera microscope and the creation of printed identification materials for a series of fly identification courses around the country.
Website: www.dipteristsforum.org.uk

Dorset Bat Group
Grant awarded: £1,480
Project: An education and interpretation unit to be used by Dorset Bat Group volunteers when attending local public events or running bat walks. The unit will include a shelter, display panels, tables and leaflet racks.
Website: www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/dorset-bat-group.html

Dorset Dragonfly Group
Grant awarded: £2,859
Project: This project is all about engaging people in dragonfly recording and encouraging local communities and organisations across Dorset to get more interested in dragonflies. The grant will support logo and website design, identification training courses, survey equipment, and activities to raise awareness across the county.
Website: Affiliated to the British Dragonfly Society  www.dragonflysoc.org.uk

Earthworm Society of Britain
Grant awarded: £2,641
Project: A series of 12 earthworm identification workshops and activity days will be held across the country using microscopes and other equipment purchased through this grant.
Website: www.earthwormsoc.org.uk

Hertfordshire and Middlesex Bat Group
Grant awarded: £3,390
Project: The purchase of 40 new bat detectors to allow more people to enjoy listening to bats on our guided walks.
Website: www.hmbg.org.uk

Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group
Grant awarded: £3,600
Project: Supporting a series of wildlife identification taster sessions in the lead-up to Kent Goes Wild - a large public-facing wildlife event. Taster sessions will feature interactive walks and talks explaining basic recording techniques and using specially created wildlife passports. Sessions are open to the public, and some will also aim to involve people with learning disabilities.
Website: www.kentarg.org

Mammal Society
Grant awarded: £3,490
Project: The production of videos to promote the mammal monitoring scheme and give advice on how to survey mammals. The videos will be made available to all local mammal groups for training purposes, and will also be available on YouTube.
Website: www.mammal.org.uk

Merseyside and West Lancashire Mammal Group
Grant awarded: £2,650
Project: This year is the start of a five-year Mammal Atlas project that the group has set up. This grant will support the creation of identification guides, and online recording and publicity materials to encourage more people to send in records for some of the easier to recognise mammal species.
Website: www.merseysidebiobank.org.uk/index.aspx?Mod=Article&ArticleID=18b.1

Newbury District Ornithological Club
Grant awarded: £3,300
Project: Newbury Springwatch aims to install 10 nest box webcams which will live stream to the Newbury Birders Facebook and NDOC website. Three local schools will be engaged with the project, receiving a visit from the ringing group, the opportunity to follow the nest boxes online and see bird ringing in action.
Website: www.ndoc.org.uk

Northumbria Ringing Group
Grant awarded: £1,328
Project: The grant will pay for publicity displays, hands-on activities and equipment to facilitate 10 public ringing demonstrations and two promotional talks.

Plymouth Environmental Action
Grant awarded: £2,838
Project: Plymouth Environmental Action is a youth-led environmental conservation group that runs practical conservation projects every weekend in Plymouth and the surrounding areas of Devon and Cornwall. The grant will pay for surveying equipment to allow the group to engage more young people in its activities.
Website: http://btcv-pea.blogspot.com

Reading and District Natural History Society
Grant awarded: £3,657
Project: Weekly guided walks throughout the summer months, and family-focused wildlife activities in August will take place at Basildon Park (owned by the National Trust). The OPAL grant will pay for equipment and consumables for use at these events.
Website: http://rdnhs.org.uk/blog

RSPB Norwich Local Group
Grant awarded: £1,968
Project: This grant will support not only this group but a wide range of other Norfolk-based groups at their annual Wild About Norfolk public event. The grant will pay for promotional materials for the event and activities such as bird box making kits.
Website: www.rspb.org.uk/groups/norwich

Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust
Grant awarded: £1,535
Project: Streaming a series of webcams on birds' nests and feeding stations, as well as an underwater pond camera, to an indoor classroom at the observatory. This will allow more people, including RSPB wildlife explorers and local disability groups, to watch the wildlife, whatever the weather.
Website: www.sbbot.co.uk

Stanley and Stanley Common Wildlife Group
Grant awarded: £3,867
Project: This local village group will produce its own biodiversity action plan with the help of residents. Survey events will take place and equipment can be loaned to residents to allow them to take part.

Surbiton and District Bird Watching Group
Grant awarded: £618
Project: The grant will support a public open day at Horton Country Park Nature Reserve in 2011. The group will hold an exhibition of its activities, lead a series of guided bird walks around the nature reserve for all age groups and create a quiz for children, with prizes.
Website: www.encief.co.uk/sdbws

Sutton Park Biodiversity Study Group
Grant awarded: £1,793
Project: Equipment will be purchased to run a BioBlitz event on a nature reserve that forms part of Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

Sutton Poyntz Society Biodiversity Group
Grant awarded: £1,790
Project: The grant will fund the purchase of survey and identification equipment to support the group in running more outreach activities in their local community.

Teme Valley Wildlife Group
Grant awarded: £2,329
Project: A pilot series of four wildlife survey events in conjunction with a local charity, Ewe and You (www.eweandyou.org.uk), which provides support and respite for children who come from dysfunctional and disadvantaged homes. The events aim to open up new areas of interest in wildlife and encourage enjoyment of the nature that is around them.
Website: www.temevalleywildlife.com

West Lancashire Wildlife
Grant awarded: £1,760
Project: The grant will pay for equipment and publicity for BioBlitzes of two local sites in 2011, to encourage as many local people as possible to have a go at wildlife recording.
Website: www.westlancswildlife.org.uk

Wiltshire Ornithological Society
Grant awarded: £2,800
Project: The purchase of equipment and promotional material for two events in spring 2011 to be held at the WWT Langford Lakes Reserve. One for children aged 6-12, the other for adults with little or no previous experience of birdwatching. The events will introduce participants to birdwatching and include guided walks, help with using binoculars, observing bird ringing, bird song recognition and quizzes.
Website: www.wiltshirebirds.co.uk