During the pandemic many organisations and individuals are providing online resources to help both adults and children stay connected with nature. Below is a list of resources collated by SEWBReC; if you have suggestions for us to add, please let us know via email to info@sewbrec.org.uk.
Bugs Matter
Spawn Survey (Jan-May)
Bat Sunset/Sunrise Survey (Apr-Sept)
Pollinator FIT counts (Apr-Sept)
Big Garden Sawfly Survey (May - Sept)
Cardiff University Oak Leaf Project
Garden Butterfly Survey
Spittlebug Survey
Lockdown Spider Surveys
Cellar Slug Hunt
Mammal Web
BTO Garden BirdWatch
Garden Dragon Watch
Garden Wildflower Hunt
No Mow May & Every Flower Counts (May)
Cowslip Survey (Apr-May)
SEWBReC Species of the Month
Please see our event calendar for upcoming events (mostly online)
Timed online events are regularly organised by the following:
Cofnod
BIS
WTSWW Cardiff
Field Studies Council
British Ecological Society
Buglife
Tanyptera Trust
NatureSpot (includes several Leicestershire based societies)
Natural History Society of Northumbria
London Natural History Society
Zoological Society of London
A collection of video training courses from different organisations on species groups:
Terrestrial invertebrate courses playlist
Aquatic invertebrate courses playlist
Moth courses playlist
Bee courses playlist
Spider courses playlist
Flowering plant courses playlist
Lower plant courses playlist
Fungi courses playlist
Bird courses playlist
Mammal courses playlist
Amphibian and reptile courses playlist
Recording courses playlist
SEWBReC
WWBIC
Wales Biodiversity Partnership (including WBP 2020 conference)
Mary Gillham Archive Project
Neath Port Talbot Local Nature Partnership
Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales
Gwent Wildlife Trust
Field Studies Council Virtual Meet Ups
Tanyptera Project
Naturespot
Linnean Society
CIEEM
Royal Society of Biology
UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Plantlife
BSBI
The Woodland Trust
Bumblebee Conservation Trust
British Trust for Ornithology
QGIS for Ecologists (also a Facebook Group)
Gilbert White & The Oates Collections
Natural History Museum
Dave Goulson (bees)
Peter Eeles (butterflies)
Anthony McCluskey (butterflies)
Tim Rich (plants)
Joshua Styles (plants)
Eco Sapien
The Urban Birder
Wren Wildlife and Conservation Group
talk:Wildlife
Chilterns Conservation Board
Dynamic Dunescapes
Self Isolating Bird Club
Conservation of woodland birds in a changing climate by Rob Thomas
Environment Platform Wales "Curious Minds"
Bat Conservation Trust "BatChat"
Melissa Harrison "The Stubborn Light of Things"
YOLO Birder "Golden Grenades"
Urban Birder "in conservation with"
The Wildlife Garden Podcast
Grubbing in the filth
ZSL "Wild Science"
UK Wildlife Podcast
Wild Flower Half Hour
Hidden Wings and Bloodlust
The Call of Nature
The Bearded Tit
The Casual Birder
The Knepp Wildland
Completely Arbortrary
The Mushroom Hour
The Wildlife Garden
In defense of plants
Ecology tales from the field
British Ecological Society Journals
Entocast
Wildlife Sound Recording Society
BBC Radio 4: Metamorphosis - how insects transformed our world
Urban Buzz Workshops from Buglife
TED Talks including various ecology related topics
Online nature courses from FutureLearn, edX and Open University
CIEEM Resources Hub
Amphibian and Reptile Trust training courses
BSBI Archive
Online ID resources collated by CIEEM
Gwent-Glamorgan Recorders' Newsletters
Garden Moth Scheme Newsletters
National Forum for Biodiversity Recording [NFBR] Newsletters
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Back issues of Natur Cymru
The Self Isolating Bird Club Twitter
Manchester Museum: falling in love with insects
Oxford University Natural History Museum Super Science Saturday
Zooniverse
Herbaria@home
Submit a Marine Memory to Living Seas Wales
Biodiversity Toolkit: Increasing Biodiversity in Urban Green Spaces
DIY Butterfly Net
Wildlife gardening - There is tonnes of information online about how to make your garden more wildlife friendly, and winter can be a good time to get things set up for the season ahead. Add new habitats to your garden for groups such as hoverflies and ground nesting bees. Build a solitary bee hotel or bird box, set up a feeding station and plant pollinator friendly species. Dig a garden pond or create a hedgehog highway.
Write a newsletter article - lots of newsletters are always looking for content, including SEWBReC and NFBR.
Garden moth trapping - you could even sign up for the Garden Moth Scheme (March - November) and add to the national knowledge of moth populations. This blog from the Natural History Museum, London explains how to get started.
Start a garden species list - it's surprising what you can find in your garden, add your records to SEWBReCORD and track your progress.
Data entry - if you're sitting on lots of data waiting for a rainy day, this could be a great time to get it digitised. Get in touch with SEWBReC if you would like any assistance or to discuss the best methods to get your records to us. During January 2021 you can win a prize for entering old data, by taking part in the Backlog BioBlitz.
Identify specimens - this could be a great opportunity to dust off any old specimens and get them under the microscope. Who knows what treasures you might have waiting for you.
Wildlife Gardening - Lots of advice and suggestions are available online for improving your garden for wildlife (e.g. Wildlife Gardening Forum, Naturehood, Wildlife Trusts). You can also buy native plants online (e.g. Plantwild)
Connect with others on social media - There are lots of active wildlife chat groups on Facebook, including the SEWBReC group and Gwent Wildlife Spotting. Share your sightings and ask for identification advice.
Dyfi Osprey Project
Skomer Wildlife Camera
Curlew Cam
Essex Wildlife Trust Bats
Dorset Wildlife Trust Barn Owls
Alderney Wildlife Trust Puffins
Cumbria Wildlife Trust Badgers
Other Wildlife Trusts Webcams
CJ Wildlife Webcams (various bird species)
Wildlife Kate
Llanelli Wetland Centre
Countryfile Magazine has a list of webcams
Please see the dedicated page.
SEWBReC Backlog BioBlitz
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (29-31 January)