Bio Blitz @ Ashington Woodlands

Have you ever wanted to know what the bird you can hear is? Or which butterfly you see when walking? Or find out if there are red squirrels near to where you live? Now you have the opportunity.

Groundwork North East and Northumberland County Council are delighted that the Northumberland Biodiversity Partnership has decided to carry out a BioBlitz on the Ashington Community Woods site on May the 21st and 22nd.

A BioBlitz is all about volunteers, scientists, naturalists, wildlife enthusiasts, school groups, students and members of the public working together to find as many different species as possible within a specific natural area – all whilst racing against the clock!

As part of the celebrations for International Year of Biodiversity the Northumberland Biodiversity Partnership is joining the national programme of BioBlitz events that are being run around the country.

“It’s a rare opportunity to bring together a team of specialists with a variety of expert knowledge to get a unique snapshot of the wildlife of a particular area,” says BioBlitz organiser, Elaine Jaggs, of the Northumberland Biodiversity partnership. “Recording wildlife is vitally important to our understanding of the natural world and we would be delighted if you could come and join the BioBlitz team to discover the variety of wildlife that is present on your doorstep.”

We will be starting at 13:00hrs on Friday 21st May and finishing at 13:00hrs on Saturday 22nd May and throughout the event experts and enthusiasts will be carrying out surveys for a wide variety of creatures including: mammals, insects, butterflies, birds, moths, plants, reptiles, trees, amphibians and bats. Experts will be on hand to identify photos of wildlife brought in on camera photos or digital cameras.

You can get actively involved in recording Ashington Community Wood's wildlife by taking part in one of the BioBlitz event's free activities:

Friday 21st May
13:00 -15:00 Wildlife Safari (Booking Essential)
Explore Ashington Community Woodland with staff from Northumberland Wildlife Trust and learn the necessary skills to make accurate ecological records. This will include learning how to grid reference a sighting and the additional information that should be gathered as part of your wildlife record.

13:00 – dusk BioBlitz Base Camp (Drop in event)
Visit the event marquee and talk to members of the BioBlitz team about the wildlife in Ashington Community Woodland. Look at some of the weird and wonderful specimens that have been found and view the video footage that has been captured by the WildPlaces project. Most importantly come and tell us your wildlife sightings so we can add them to the total.

20.30 – dusk Bat Walk (Booking Essential)
The Northumberland Bat Group will be leading an evening walk around the site to look for Bats. You'll also be able to listen out for owls and be in with a chance of spotting other mammals. Bat detectors will be supplied.

Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Saturday 22nd May
07:00 – 08:00 Guided Bird Walk (Booking Essential)
Join the RSPB on an early morning stroll around Ashington Community Woodland and learn how to identify its birds by both sight and song. Binoculars will be supplied if you don't have your own.

08:00 – 13:00 BioBlitz Base Camp (Drop in event)
Visit the event marquee and talk to members of the BioBlitz team about the wildlife in Ashington Community Woodland. Look at some of the weird and wonderful specimens that have been found and view the video footage that has been captured by the WildPlaces project. Most importantly come and tell us your wildlife sightings so we can add them to the total.

11:00 – 12:30 Wildflower and Lichen Walk (Booking Essential)
Join Janet Simkin, a wildflower and lichen expert, on a stroll around Ashington Community Woodland to discover the variety of plants that can be found.

Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

The BioBlitz base camp will be set up at the entrance to the woodland via Lintonville Road. Meet here for all activities and to talk to BioBlitz staff and volunteers.

The BioBlitz is just one of a number of events taking place in Ashington Community Woods this year. Through Groundwork North East’s Ashington Community Woods Project, funded by the Big Lottery and Natural England there are a number of opportunities to get involved from health walks, woodland activities and volunteering opportunities to simply exploring the site

If you would like to get involved or to book a place on one of the activities contact the biodiversity coordinator at mail@northumberlandbiodiversity.org.uk or telephone 0191 2846884 or if you would like more information on activities in Ashington Community Woods or to learn more about volunteering opportunities please contact Peter Downes on 01670 514876 or email peter.downes@groundwork.org.uk.