Education

What on Earth is in your garden?

British biodiversity is under threat and this year’s National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW), which runs from the 12–21 March, issues a “call-to-action” to go out into local parks and gardens with a keen, watchful eye and a camera.

What on Earth, coordinated by the British Science Association in partnership with iSpot, is one of the highlights of NSEW 2010, which this year runs with the theme of “Earth”. The ten-day programme of events and activities chose this theme in support of the International Year of Biodiversity, a United Nations initiative to raise the profile of the loss of global biodiversity and to celebrate its various success stories.

It may not always be obvious that the UK contains a whole host of weird and wonderful flora and fauna in many different habitats. This project aims to increase awareness of the wide range of biodiversity across local areas and to highlight its importance, relevance and beauty.

With a little bit of enthusiasm our native British species, which are not normally noticed or recognised, can easily be found and named – but to many their exact identity remains shrouded in mystery. The What on Earth website will give the opportunity for finds to be identified by a team of scientific experts.

By simply uploading a snap of something spotted in the garden, local park, school grounds or hedgerow to the site, NSEW’s specialists from all fields of natural science will examine and identify as many of the finds as they can during the Week and beyond. A supply of free seeds (while they last) is available to all who participate to help encourage biodiversity in their own gardens or window boxes.

Intending to target all ages, the free activity and information pack which is also available to all those who take part, encourages children and adults alike to think more about biodiversity and the implications of its decline. Topics such as food webs, foreign and invasive species, changing environment, destroying habitats and hunting are covered through hands-on activities that educate and inspire young (and old!) minds.

The Green Roof Competition

To encourage learning outside the classroom in schools, NSEW is also offering a fantastic prize of a 200 square metre green roof to a school in the area of the UK which has collectively uploaded the most images by the end of the week.

Green roofs are an excellent way to increase the range of biodiversity in urban spaces, and are often a haven for wildlife in built-up areas. Created in conjunction with leading urban ecologist and wildlife TV presenter Dusty Gedge and sponsors Sika Sarnafil, the NSEW green roof will not only benefit local children who will use it as an outdoor classroom, it will help attract and preserve local wildlife too.

Creating more green spaces is particularly important at a time when the habitats of some of our oldest and most loved species, such as the brown-banded carder bee and toadflax brocade moth, are in worrying decline.

With National Science and Engineering Week on its way, now is a great time to get down to the bottom of your garden to see what you can find. Whether you are an inquisitive young mind or a fully fledged wildlife expert, the community-led What on Earth project aims to bring together everyone during NSEW to rediscover and name everything our green and pleasant land has to offer.

National Science and Engineering Week is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and co-ordinated by the British Science Association. For full details of the What on Earth Project visit www.whatonearth.org.uk