Why do we need surveys?

When you are out and about in the parks and open spaces of the borough you will see birds flying overhead, colourful flowers in the hedgerows or something furry scurrying off into the undergrowth. All these plants and animals are part of the biodiversity of our landscape and the first step in taking care of this precious natural world is to know what is there.

What is already being done?

The park rangers carry out a variety of surveys each year to record how the habitats they manage are getting along.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust have carried out extensive surveys for many of the semi-natural areas in Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill.

Who can get involved?

Anyone can get involved in recording wildlife, and the rangers would be delighted to receive information from you.

Why not have a go. You can do as little or as much as you want!

How can I get involved?

There are two approaches:

The casual approach: you might be walking through the Abbey Gardens by the River Lark and see a Kingfisher flying low over the water. You could therefore record it as follows:

• Common Name: Kingfisher
• Site: Hardwick Heath
  
• Date: 01.04.11
• Recorder: Mr J Smith

You can then complete our online survey form with your information or phone 01284 757088 and we will update our records.

The formal approach: the whole family or a local community group could visit a site for an afternoon or throughout the seasons and record, as far as possible, all the wildlife on that particular site. 

Suffolk Wildlife Trust has lots of advice and guidance on surveying wildlife:

Like the casual approach, we would appreciate the following information from you (although any extra information would be great):

• Common name
• Site
• Date
• Recorder

You can download one of many different survey forms like  the Garden Wildlife Survey form from the Suffolk Wildlife Trust website.

Things to remember

Please remember that:

• the surveying is for any public open space and you should not enter private land without the owners permission;
• you should not pick any wild plants; and
• you should respect the natural environment and avoid undue disturbance to wildlife.

If you are not sure what the species is you can email a photo to: parks@stedsbc.gov.uk and we will identify it for you.

Have fun and keep in touch!