Get involved – Help us survey wildlife
Help us learn more about Devon's wildlife
We’re looking for volunteers to monitor trees as well as key species to help us better understand the health of Devon’s treescapes. Every record submitted plays a valuable part in the Saving Devon's Treescapes project. If you would like to become a community scientist or if you have any questions then please contact Lindsay on lmahon@devonwildlifetrust.org
Notable trees
We’re asking people to record notable trees near them while they’re out and about across Devon. The best time to do this is while the trees are in leaf during Spring and Summer. You can use our web-based app to log your trees: https://devontreescapes.com/home
Brown Hairstreak butterflies
Monitoring of brown hairstreak butterflies happens in the winter months, please check the DWT Eventbrite page for training events. In 2020 we also held an online training which you can now watch online.
Brown Hairstreak butterflies are important for us to monitor and record because they rely on well connected, high quality treescapes for all stages of their life cycle. Devon is also one of the last national strongholds of this scarce butterfly.
Lichens
There are about 900 species of lichen found in Devon, from a UK total of approximately 1900. Many of these species find their homes on trees, and some favour ash. We have put together a short list of lichens which we would like more information about their distribution. They are all species that can be readily identified by eye (with the aid of a hand lens) and don’t require specialist tests or analysis.
You can watch the lichen training session here and find a copy of the presentation here. You can start recording your lichens online using our web-based app. We run monthly beginners and improver training sessions all year round. Please look at our ‘What’s on’ page to see what’s coming up near you.
Find our lichen monitoring resources here...
Bats
The Devon Bat Survey was a Devon-wide citizen science project brought to you by the Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project. The Devon Bat survey will run between May – Sept this year. Visit the booking page to reserve your detector.