Citizen Science with Plymouth College of Art!
Pre-Degree Plymouth College of Art students are supporting biodiversity initiatives as part of Green Minds Plymouth, working at Poole Farm. Students will help to develop the farm's Citizen Science programme & create guides for biodiversity surveys.
Green Minds project partners, Plymouth College of Art, brought their students to Poole Farm earlier this month to take part in monitoring of the pond and grassland habitats. Beyond observing, the students have also been invited to help develop the park's Citizen Science programme and to create draft guides for self-led biodiversity surveys.
With over 147 hectares of beautiful natural space to manage, biodiversity is a key indicator of how the land is thriving, but feedback had indicated that past survey guides were difficult and time-consuming to follow. Guided by Jess from Devon Biodiversity Records Centre, and Hayley from Plymouth City Council, students have been asked to help create a more user-friendly version that can be utilised by volunteers and anyone attending future events at Poole Farm. The simplified guides should enable any visitors to monitor wildlife at the farm in future, with the results being used to demonstrate how management of the site is impacting biodiversity.