biodiversity
Biodiversity survey - join in now
What’s living in your hedge?
Take part in the OPAL biodiversity survey and uncover the diverse range of wildlife in our hedges. You’ll contribute to valuable research and learn more about the importance of hedges and how you can improve them.
Hedges support many animals by providing them with food and shelter. Berries and seeds are food for birds, while holes beneath the hedge are often home to small mammals. You’ll also discover caterpillars, shieldbugs and many other invertebrates living among the leaves.
By telling us what you find, we can instantly rate the condition of your hedge and offer suggestions on how to improve it.
How to take part
Step 1: Download the easy-to-follow instructions and guides below. You can skip this step if you've already received one of our biodiversity survey packs.
Step 2: Find a suitable hedge to carry out the survey and answer the questions in the workbook. Use our guide to help you identify the invertebrates you might find.
Step 3: Submit your results using our simple online form.
By doing this, you'll be eligible to enter our prize draw.
Please show care and respect to our environment.
Many animals rely on hedges for food and shelter.
Enter your findings and view results so far
Downloads - what you need to get involved
Alternatively, download the whole survey pack (all of the above) as one zip file
Group leader support - planning, advice and ideas
The OPAL biodiversity survey is being run by The Open University and has been developed in partnership with Hedgelink.
2010 - International Year of Biodiversity
We all rely on the rich diversity of life to provide us with food, clothes, fuel and medicine. Unfortunately, we are losing species and their habitats at an ever faster rate. Now is the time to take action.
The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) launched this week in the UK. It offers the perfect opportunity to learn more about the issues we face and how you can help.
Hundreds of organisations across the UK are showing their support by arranging events throughout 2010 that you can get involved in. You can find out everything that is happening and learn more about the issues of biodiversity loss on the International Year of Biodiversity UK website.
How can you help?
There are many ways you can make a difference, from taking part in events to simply raising awareness by telling your friends and family.
More about the IYB
The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity to draw attention to the alarming loss of biodiversity and its devastating consequences.
The UK initiative is being led by the Natural History Museum and supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
In the lab and field
My seedlings in the lab have been growing for nearly four months.
Still the tallest plant is only a few centimeters tall.
This video shows the seedlings in June, just after they had germinated.
Four months on the video below shows the seedlings in all their glory. It's nearly time to begin harvesting them for analysis, but before that I need to spend a few days finishing up some work that took an entire summer to do.
I revisited all my sites again to collect vegetation data. This involved allocating a 50x50m area of heathland, dropping twenty 50x50cm squares (quadrats) within that area, and then recording all the plants, lichens and mosses within each quadrat.
Not only was this great fun, mainly because I got to fly in a helicopter to Lundy Island, and drive all the way up to Scotland, but it also provided me with a great deal of information about my sites.
Next comes the harvesting phase...
- Day to day life of a scientist
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North East
Discover the varied environment of the North East
Help us explore the environmental quality and biodiversity along the Tyne Corridor and Durham coastline.
There are many areas of outstanding natural beauty - known as AONBs - in the North East region, but there are also a number of urban sites with a legacy of industrial contamination.
We want to help people of all ages to appreciate the local environment and wildlife of the region in the context of its cultural heritage.
Get involved
Join in a range of activities that are open to everyone, including educational programmes and art projects at Moorbank Botanic Gardens and other key sites.
See our event listings below and for more information on everything we're up to visit our dedicated website.
See photos from previous OPAL events.
Contact us
aidan.doyle@newcastle.ac.uk
katy.barnard@newcastle.ac.uk, Tel: 0191 2464807
Upcoming events
| 16 | Measuring biodiversity workshop Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University13:00 - 16:00 |
| 9 | Biodiversity survey day Rowland's Gill, Gateshead10:00 - 16:00 |
| 24 | Moorbank Botanical Garden Open Day Moorbank Botanical Garden, Newcastle13:00 - 16:00 |
OPAL North East is led by the University of Newcastle
North East partners: North East Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, BTCV, Bat Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation
Surveys
Help OPAL scientists with important research, learn new skills, have fun
OPAL is running five surveys across England to learn more about the state of our environment, and we’d like everyone to get involved.
Surveys exploring the health of our soils, the quality of our air and water, and the importance of hedges for biodiversity are running now - see below for details. The final survey will focus on our climate..
All ages and abilities can take part and your contribution will be important in helping scientists build up a picture of England's natural environment. We'll provide easy-to-follow survey instructions and all the support you need.
Biodiversity survey - join in now
Is your local hedge a haven for beetles, birds, mice and other wildlife? Learn more about a hedge near you and the animals it supports. Discover ways to improve it and compare your results with other hedges around the country.
Water survey - join in now
How healthy is your local pond or lake? The animals that live there can give important clues about the water quality. Record what you discover and contribute to valuable national research.
Air survey - join in now
Discover what lichens can tell us about air pollution. Record tar spot on sycamore leaves to learn about air quality near you.
Soil and earthworm survey - join in now
Discover more about earthworms and the soils they live in. Contribute to important scientific research and help update our national record on earthworm distribution.
Upcoming surveys
Climate survey
Starts: March 2011
Survey details to be announced. To reserve your survey pack please email opal [at] ic [dot] ac [dot] uk.
OPAL Biodiversity Centre
Discover the fascinating plants and animals that live near you
The OPAL Biodiversity Centre hopes to inspire people of all ages to take an active interest in England's diverse range of wildlife.
Led by the Open University (OU), the centre is developing new resources to help identify and study nature. It is also coordinating the OPAL biodiversity survey, which begins in September 2010.
Bayesian keys
A range of Bayesian keys are being developed to make species identification easier, more reliable and more fun for new observers. These keys will also be made available on mobile phones.
What are Bayesian keys?
Instead of leading you through a set path of questions, Bayesian keys allow you to enter as much detail as you can into a computer program. The program then works out a list of possible matches and presents them in order of likelihood. Such keys are particularly helpful for beginners, as they allow for small and sometimes inevitable identification mistakes.
Neighbourhood Nature course
Take your interest in nature further by studying a Neighbourhood Nature course. Learn how to study, record and identify local wildlife.This new Open University course is available to all and credits can be used towards an Open University degree.
iSpot
iSpot is an online nature community where you can share your discoveries in the natural world.
iSpot Biodiversity Mentors
Regional mentors across England are helping local wildlife enthusiasts share their observations and knowledge on the iSpot website.
Contact us
j [dot] ansine [at] open [dot] ac [dot] uk
National Biodiversity Network - Facilitating citizen science
Record your local wildlife and enter your findings online
The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) and OPAL are working closely to inspire more people to record wildlife in their area. Accurate information on the numbers and location of UK species is vital for conservation. Government agencies can use this information to protect areas that are home to endangered species.
How can I get involved?
You can join the 60,000 people across the country who record wildlife and contribute to the NBN gateway. You can also discover what species have been found near you.
OPAL are running five surverys that are open to everyone. You will be able to record your findings on the OPAL site and contribute to the national record.
Design and run your own nature survey with the online recording tool Indicia, developed by the NBN.
What is the NBN?
The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) is a collaborative venture committed to making information on the UK’s plants and animals widely available. One of the main ways it does this is via the online NBN Gateway. This already holds more than 50 million species records and the number is increasing all the time.