Lucy Carter
Election madness
If all this talk of the general election is driving you mad and you still can't decide who to vote for, why not leave things in mother nature's hands?
Pond Conservation is carrying out a unique tad-poll to see which way the tadpoles think we should vote. You can see the tad-poll and compare their findings with the latest BBC website poll results here.
The tadpoles seem to be leaning towards the Conservatives at the moment but all that can change with the last debate this week. So keep your eyes on the website!
If you don't want to leave it entirely in the hands (tails?) of the tadpoles, you could also consider the different partys' policies on the environment to help you decide...
Silliness, but this sort of thing keeps me amused at work! Thanks to the guys at Pond Conservation for dreaming these things up!!
Spring cherry blossom
Wow, what lovely weather we've been having the past few days - and it's due to get warmer over the weekend. If you're looking for an outdoor activity and can't wait for the OPAL Water Survey to start in two weeks time, how about giving the Natural History Museum's cherry tree survey a try? Cherry trees are so easy to spot at ths time of year as they are in full blossom. Find out more on the museum's website.
The sunshine will also be bringing lots of butterflies out, and I'll be out looking for them as I've signed up to record butterflies in my little patch of Sussex. A couple of weeks ago I went to a conference funded through the OPAL Grants Scheme where lots of butterfly recorders got together to kick-start the process of creating a new butterfly atlas for Sussex (a book of maps and photos that details where all the different species can be found in the county). I really enjoyed the conference and was impressed at the turnout and the enthusiasm of the Butterfly Conservation Sussex recorders. As a result I've been inspired to give it a go in my local area! Will keep you posted with my progress. I saw a Holly Blue last weekend, but unfortunately didn't have my camera with me so can't share a photo with you. Will post some piccies as and when I get them.
Unfortunately I'm not spending as much time outdoors as I'd like because we're really busy at work. The OPAL Grants Scheme closes to applications in the next 2 weeks so I'm busy answering enquiries and sorting out all the paperwork. We also have two BioBlitzes (24 hour wildlife survey events) coming up at the start of June so we're busy booking marquees and generators, inviting local naturalists, recruiting volunteers, and designing activity sheets and displays. Busy busy, but good fun too!
- The Natural History Museum
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OPAL on TV
Did anyone watch Museum of Life on BBC2 last night? It's a documentary about the Natural History Museum that shows all the interesting things our scientists are up to. The programme featured the Wembury Bioblitz (a 24 hour wildlife survey) organised by me, my manager John and the Marine Biological Association last summer. You can read more about it if you scroll back through my earlier blog posts. John got all the limelight but there are lots of shots of me in the background too. If you notice a young man yawning away - that's the OPAL web editor Chris (he was having a great time - honest! He didn't even stay up for the whole 24 hours with us - lazy!)
You can watch the series on BBC iPlayer. The Bioblitz was in episode 4, but OPAL was also in episode 1 in the part about the Earthworm Society of Britain. I'm in that bit talking about how I only caught six worms at the World Worm Charming Championships. What a thing to be on TV for!
We're in full swing planning for this year's bioblitzes now (two of them!), so the documentary hopefully has inspired a few people to get involved. The Alexandra Palace Bioblitz in London takes place on 5th June as part of the BBC Springwatch Wild Day Out. We're also not ones to miss an excuse to go to the beach, so we're doing another coastal bioblitz a little further east from Wembury at Mothecombe Bay on 12th June. If you're free, please come along and take part!
The Natural History Museum
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