The Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust are calling on local residents to help show the world how wild the region really is, in the 2024 City Nature Challenge!
Birmingham and the Black Country vs the World!
Can the people of Birmingham and the Black Country help show the world how wild the region really is?
From Auckland to Zaragoza, this April more than 500 city regions over the world will be competing to see who can spot the most wildlife between April 26th and 29th!
It’s free and fun for everyone to take part and the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust have also organised a series of wildlife-spotting events across the region, to encourage people to get out and discover the beauty of the natural world on their doorstep.
They’re hoping that Birmingham and the Black Country will record more wildlife than any other UK city region for the 5th year in a row!
Whether it’s a dandelion in your garden or a rare bird spotted on your local nature reserve, every single person and every single piece of wildlife recorded can help move the region up the global leader board!
The easiest way to make your records count is to use the free iNaturalist app or website. Simply take a photo of any plant or animal and the app’s inbuilt software will help you to identify it whilst sending the record straight to the Trust! Alternatively, you can email any records of wildlife you’ve spotted to enquiries@ecorecord.org.uk.
So as well as taking part in the challenge, it can be a great way for you to learn more about the wild world around you! Intrigued by a fascinating flower but don’t know what it is? Not sure what insect you’re looking at? The iNaturalist app can help you to find out!
The Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, EcoRecord and Birmingham Museums Trust lead the entry for Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton in the challenge and 2024 will be the 5th year the area has joined in.
During last year’s challenge we collectively made 11,828 observations of a massive 1,355 different species! This result meant that we managed to make more wildlife observations than any other UK city region and the 7th most of any city in Europe!
James Benwell, Senior Comms and Marketing Officer, Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust said:
“Birmingham and the Black Country is home to a wealth of stunning and fascinating wildlife just waiting to be discovered. From wild orchids to legless lizards, you would be amazed at the life, beauty and colour that we have on our doorstep, and The City Nature Challenge is the perfect opportunity to encourage everyone across the region to get out there and find it!”
Andy Slater, Biodiversity Information Officer, EcoRecord said:
“As well as being lots of fun, the City Nature Challenge generates useful species information that helps us to monitor the state of wildlife across our region and target our nature conservation activities to better protect wildlife”.
If you have any questions, please email enquiries@ecorecord.org.uk.
