I have recently started a conservation project in my village and I would be really grateful for any words of wisdom or helpful ideas.
Over the past year I have been documenting all the species in my village (called Aubeterre Wildlife on INat) and have reached almost 600 different species!! Spending all this time out in nature has made me want to do something, anything to protect it. This is when I came up with the idea of making bird boxes, bat boxes, insect hotels, and bee hotels that I could give (completely free) to people in my community (I’ve also donated over 100 packets of wildflower seeds). The response from my neighbours has been fantastic and I have had so many wonderful donations of bamboo and wooden planks!
If anyone has run a project like this and has some advice re materials/fundraising/education I would be immensely grateful. Also, any ideas for more wildlife enhancing objects would be great!
If anybody wants to know more about the project, my Facebook page link is here: https://www.facebook.com/EcoAubeterre
I think opening up the iNat project to others would be a good start. If you think one person can find bunches of wildlife, you’ll be amazed at what 5 can do. Or 50. Looks like there 8 others making iNat records in the area. Most are just starting out but you can bring them into the fold.
Maybe posting the summary stats from the project to FB occasionally. I think people will be pleased to find so many species living around the village.
How about a “free public event” - organize a nature walk and invite people to join in - both other “experts” and other people who would be interested. You could organize some literature or takeaways and maybe if the event becomes a regular feature you could use it to generate resources
If these “free public events” co-incide with national and international event days - they sometimes also attract people and help build awareness.
On Similar lines local level “bio-blitz” might also be a way of engaging people.
I’ve discovered spending time in nature and a bit of education can go a very long way towards making people appreciative and protective of nature. My wife is in the integrated pest management field. I’ve noticed that often when she tells people the name of an insect and how it fits into the big picture, they go from wanting to spray it to wanting to nurture it.
