Citizen Science.

Day 11 of 30 days wild.  The idea of 3O Days Wild is you do something, see something, record something, etc wild each day for June.  So I thought I would mention some citizen science I have been taking part in.

It started last year and is run by an organisation called "BugLife"  The scheme is "Bugs Matter".  You remember years ago when each summer you were battling to keep your windscreen clear of splattered flies, etc.  You have probably noticed this doesn't happen anymore.  A clear reflection of how insects are disappearing.  At first this may seem a good thing but they are a good indicator of how healthy the environment is and remember they are a food source for many wild things not to mention the vital job of pollination.

What you have to do.  You download the App for your smartphone, then download the "Splatometer".  The Splatometer is actually a quadrat which you print out and cut out the six holes.  Then before a journey clean the front number plater of the car, you are traveling in.  Next open the App and it records where you start the journey.  At the end of the journey, you hold the Splatometer in front of the number plate and count the insects showing in the rectangles.  Enter the number, take a photo and upload.  Job done.

The scheme provides BugLife with lots and lots of good data which can be used to assess the overall situation, which areas are worst affected etc.