#619: Tweet of the Day

This BBC Sounds feature has many episodes.

Each one tends to focus on a species of bird, or something that may connect with birdlife. There is a large range of people who have contributed their voice to a programme, so plenty to catch up here, and they feature some of the species that appear on the lists of birds mentioned in the draft subject content.

#613: Merlin app helping conservation efforts

I've mentioned the Merlin ID app before on the blog. It will be a very useful resource for all those teaching the GCSE Natural History.

The Guardian had an article this weekend on the value of the app for identifying species which are threatened.

#594: UK Species

The Natural History Museum has a page on the UK's species.

The museum is working on bringing all of the standard reference names for all species of flora and fauna in the UK, together in one place.

Over 70,000 species of animals, plants, fungi and single-celled organisms are found in the UK.

A SEARCH function is available for this inventory.

#412: Birdsong matters... and it's disappearing

A piece in The Guardian from a few days ago talks about the slow disappearance of birdsong from the landscape.

Biodiversity is rapidly declining, reducing the quantity and quality of human interactions with nature and constraining its contribution to human health and well-being. Natural sounds are a key component of our experience of nature, but biodiversity losses are reflected in soundscapes, which are becoming less diverse and quieter.

There are various terms here which may relate to the changing relationship we have with our surroundings. The soundscape is changing, and shifting baseline syndrome means we are not necessarily aware of what we have lost. Landscapes emanate a collection of biological, geophysical and anthropogenic sounds which together form ‘soundscapes’

Check out this academic paper which is mentioned in the piece. It's accessibly written. On the extinction of experience.

#384: The importance of Islands

A piece in the Conversation explores the values of islands as oases of biodiversity and homes to over 20% of Earth's plant species.

#232: What makes a good bird name?

An interesting piece on bird-naming (and the field of ethno-ornithology.

This was written by Andrew Gosler, a Professor at the University of Oxford.

It explores the decision by the American Ornithological Society, which recently announced it would replace all bird species named after people in North America. This is part of the idea of decolonising nature. The article talks about the process by which birds gain their name, and some of the other local vernacular variations which they also acquire. 

Very few British bird species are actually named after people.

#70: Crab Museum

While in Margate recently I had the good fortune to visit the Crab Museum. It's open Thu-Sunday. 

It can be found upstairs behind a colourful but unassuming door in the Old Town.

This takes an irreverent look at the crustacean with a whole range of displays and fun captions. There is also a gift shop selling a range of fun postcards, pencils and other gifts for the crab-lover in your life.

If you were expecting a fairly dry museum, some of the displays will have you scratching your chin. The team behind the museum include a geographer, which is always a sign of quality.

The blog has a range of interesting posts, which will also give you an insight into the sense of humour that sits behind the whole experience.

Admission to the museum is FREE, and they promise that if you don't enjoy it you'll get your money back.

It gave me an idea for a possible student activity: that each member of a group selects a card with the name of a native animal from a chosen context e.g. British wildlife. 

The plan would then be for the students to develop a plan for a museum, and some of the exhibits that would go into it, and create some display material, interpretive signage etc. I'm sure you can think of other elements to this task.

In time, once things become clearer, I will create a card deck for the activity with some sample UK wildlife to choose from, and a rubric for the task as well.

#10: The Special Species game

The Special Species game is on the Linnean Society website.

It is a fun introduction to the idea of taxonomy and the different elements of the latin names of species and what they mean. 

Mix up some elements of species' names to create your own strange new species of animal and then design what you think it might look like. A useful little activity to introduce the idea of taxonomy, and how plants and animals get their 'proper' names. Knowing these proper names for key species was part of the original idea behind the new specification, with a feeling that young people no longer had that knowledge, and its acquisition was missing from the curriculum.

Combine the various stems and segments of words to produce new animals which match that taxonomic description.

Taxonomy is the science of naming, describing and classifying organisms and includes all plants, animals and microorganisms of the world. Using morphological, behavioural, genetic and biochemical observations, taxonomists identify, describe and arrange species into classifications, including those that are new to science.

The "father of taxonomy" was Carl (Carolus) Linnaeus. His will be a name which will emerge at numerous times during the development of materials.