News archive

January 2009

Saturday, 24 January 2009

Adult and child birdwatching

Count me in! with rECOrd

With generous funding from the National Lottery and Esmée Fairburn Foundation, Chester Zoo and rECOrd, Cheshire's local biological records centre, have pooled their skills and resources to deliver an exciting new project called 'Count Me In!'.

Our world's biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth and the habitats in which they live, is under threat. Understanding what is present in our environment and observing and recording changes, helps us to protect and enhance our local environment by guiding conservation action.

With a shortage of skilled recorders, not only in parts of Cheshire but throughout the UK, the 'Count Me In!' team aims to create the 'wildlife recorders of the future', by inspiring and equipping people with the skills to identify, monitor and record native species within the Cheshire region.

Over the course of the next two years, 'Count Me In!' will link in with national and international conservation programmes to deliver a total of 26 all ability, interactive, informative, fun, and completely free of charge!, training events, in the form of workshops or larger family orientated occasions. The majority of the events will take place at Chester Zoo and the remainder in great wildlife locations elsewhere in Cheshire.

BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH
The 'Count Me In!' launch will take place on the 24th January 2009, when Chester Zoo is supporting the RSPB's national annual Big Garden Birdwatch (BGBW) for the second year running, and members of Chester RSPB Group and other wildlife organisation will be on hand to help the public to see and identify birds. See separate news item for more detail on how you can join in the Big Garden Birdwatch, whether at the Zoo or at home.

The event will be open to paying visitors to the Zoo, as an additional attraction on the day.

The 'Count Me In!' programme of events for 2009 will be published early in the New Year. Don't miss the 'Big Bad Bug Day', don't be irritated by the 'Be Nice to Nettles Day', but do go along and 'muck in' at the 'Soils and Earthworms Day'.

For further information or to make a booking please contact:
Karen Lawson,
'Count Me In!' Project Coordinator, Chester Zoo,
Tel: 01244 383749
Email: CountMein@record-lrc.co.uk
or book online at: www.rECOrd-LRC.co.uk