Spotting wildlife – birds, butterflies or even plants – is something we all find a little joy in doing. But what if finding and snapshotting the species we see could have a big impact on how our environment is treated? Well, it does. Our upcoming wildlife resource pack tells you how to identify a variety of species from a Brown Hare to an Emperor Dragonfly, and how best to help them thrive in the Trent Valley area, and we are offering it to you for use in the Trent Valley for free!

The pack includes just two things. Your foldable Identification Guide and the Big Washlands Watch Survey Booklet.

Identification Guide: What is it?
The guide tells you everything you need to know about the 32 species Transforming the Trent Valley is trying to learn more about. One side lists all the species we’re looking for, from mammals to birds to insects, with a hand drawn illustration to accompany each. The guide’s flipside matches each species with helpful identification facts like their size, characteristics and where best to look for them. Say, you found an orange-tip butterfly in your garden and want to find more, the guide tells you the most common plants to start looking for their caterpillars.

Survey Booklet: What’s Inside?
The booklet goes hand in hand with the guide and tells you exactly what you can do to help us understand more about these 32 species in our area. Chances are, you’re probably doing most of it anyway!

Its 14 pages are split into 3 main sections:

• A Big Washlands Watch Introduction – this tells you all about the pack and how to turn a few minutes of wildlife spotting into a data record that contributes to our valuable nature conservation work!
• Target Species – this features colour-coded maps for all 32 species found in the Identification Guide to help you decide where to look for each species. Each has a quick note on what your photos should include when making a record, as well as showing the best areas to look in the Trent Valley.
• Activities for Children – protecting our local environment is something everyone can get involved with, so our tree spotting guide and species hunts help with just that. If kids can find the wildlife then mum, dad, teachers or activity leaders can make and send a data record to preserve the sighting for generations to come.

The more wildlife we spot, record and upload, the more we can do to protect our wildlife and environment. Will you help us preserve our natural habitats and everything that lives within?

Created by the Field Studies Council Publications, and thanks to our funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, you can order the ID guide and survey booklets for free to use in your setting. This may be a primary or secondary school, youth group, Guides or Scouts, ‘Friends of’ volunteer groups, or a family group.

The resource pack can be ordered from Monday 19th April onwards by contacting Nicola Lynes at 07837 127165 or by email. Please state how many copies you would like (maximum of 50 per setting), what group you are from, and the best way to receive the packs – we can either deliver, or we can arrange pick up from our offices in Rugeley or Burton.

• I’ve seen some interesting wildlife – what should I do next?
• Linking With the Past