Winter is generally a quiet time for many of us, but not for WILDside. We have been very busy indeed preparing for our second field season.

Training workshops

We will have a series of exciting workshops covering a variety of groups including lichens, bryophytes, wildflowers, aquatic plants, flies, bees and beetles. We will also run introductory workshops on biological recording and using social media to aid biological recording.

Don’t forget that the Wildlife Trusts also have their own series of training workshops. We will also have a couple of public Bioblitzes where everyone is welcome to join in and help us record wildlife while learning how to do so. Northamptonshire also has its own Lichen group now, which is very exciting indeed and will further our knowledge of this fascinating group in Northamptonshire.

Upcoming events

Would you would like to know what the records centre is all about, what biological recording is and how you get involved? Do come along to one of my talks - the first is at Brackley Methodist Church at 7.30pm, 26 March, and again at the Northamptonshire Natural History Society 7:30pm, 27 March.

Following this we will be having roughly one talk a month at the Natural History Society on a different topic - the first of which is Butterflies in Northamptonshire at 7:30pm on 24 April.

Look out for...

A few months ago we launched the first of our ‘Look out for’ surveys, the first of which was focusing on mistletoe. We have done really well and now have over 40 sightings from this year of mistletoe, there is still time to submit your mistletoe sightings to us and get your dot on the map!

Join in!

Our Facebook Group now has over 125 members and is a great community of people interested in recording Northamptonshire’s wildlife. There you can get help with identification along with keeping up to date with events and what other people in the county are seeing! You can also keep up to date with the project by emailing me and asking to be added to the mailing list. This project is all about supporting recorders in the county, so if there is any way we can support you or you have any questions, please drop us an email at WILDside@northantsbrc.org.uk