#520: Knepp Wilding

There will be a lot of organisations that schools will look to connect with to make use of their expertise. We will feature some of them on the blog.

Here are some of their projects: 

The White Stork Project's live stork nest camera at Knepp went online this week and here's a screenshot from this morning! Observe a beautiful pair of storks in real-time, who have successfully raised young in this nest for the past two years: https://t.co/yryORjGX35 #Knepp pic.twitter.com/OKw0PFuqOi

— Knepp Wilding (@KneppWilding) March 9, 2024

The beaver wetlands at Knepp have come into their own during this rainy spring 🌧️#Rewilding Manager @SaraKingUK recently took these photos that show how much water they're holding, mitigating flooding while creating a diversity of habitats that support a mass of nature. pic.twitter.com/ymC8YOIp27

— Rewilding Britain (@RewildingB) April 5, 2024

#518: Beaver Trust

The Beaver Trust is a UK based charity.

It's aim is to support the reintroduction of beavers because of the work they do in the landscape to help change the landscape to become more resilient to climate change, and to reduce the flood risk on the rivers they live on due to the dams they build. 

They have also produced a short documentary which is described as follows:

A brand new short documentary produced for Beaver Trust, following science communicator Sophie Pavelle on a journey of discovery, as she visits sites around Britain where beavers have been reintroduced. Meeting the extraordinary people behind their story so far, this film explores what a future might look like, with beavers living wild in our landscapes and rivers across Britain.

A pair of beavers that were released into the wild have bred for the second timehttps://t.co/R06LL0rZMk

— BBC North West (@BBCNWT) July 18, 2023

It would be worth focussing on beavers.

The Beaver is Europe's largest rodent.

Have you seen them in the wild?

#210: Mammal Society

The Mammal Society has a useful website for those exploring the UK's mammals and wanting to know more.

There are around 90 native UK mammal species and a list can be found on the website.

There are some useful technical terms here to become familiar with, linked to orders of species of mammals (remember the taxonomy that we mentioned in a previous blog post and which students will need to become familiar with).

Eulipotyphla (Insectivores)

Lagomorpha (Rabbits and hares)
Rodentia (Rodents)
Carnivora (Carnivores)

Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Perrisodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)
Marsupial - can anyone guess the only marsupial on the list of UK mammals?
Chiroptera (Bats)
Pinnipedia (Seals)
Cetacea (Whales, dolphins and porpoises inc. vagrants)

there are a few words to learn here, and also the difference between even and odd-toed ungulates. The former being the deer family.

I picked up a recent story through their Instagram account on the importance of hibernation to mammal species in helping them to overcome changes to climate.

They have a 'Whose Poo?' page which helps you identify animals from their droppings / faeces / spraints etc.

They have a useful Mammals Hub, which includes details on all the UK's native mammals as well. Plenty of educational interest as well as a range of blogs.

Membership costs £60 for the year and comes with a range of benefits.

They also have an app which I shall blog about separately called 'Mammal Mapper'.

#52: Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Without bees, there would be far less natural history. They are key to pollinating plants (including crops and orchard trees) and flowers in gardens but also on farms. They also produce honey as a by product of all this activity.

Bees are also troubled. They are under threat from a range of different directions:

- the use of chemicals which harm them, which are able to be used despite the known risks

- the rise of the varroa mite - varroa destructor - which theatens bee colonies

- changing conditions: heat, drought, and a loss of biodiversity in the plants they harvest nectar from

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is working hard to protect these vital animals.

It's one of several charities which are probably worth exploring for their work, and also connections with resources.

The charity has a learning zone.

This ID poster might make a useful resource for a classroom wall.

You might also consider working to make your school a Bumblebee friendly school.