Don't miss the Garden and Urban Wildlife Conference in Durham

27 Jan 2016 | No. 2016-04

Featuring talks by experts from leading wildlife organisations including the British Trust for Ornithology, Durham Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conservation, the Garden and Urban Wildlife Conference will be an exciting day, exploring the importance of gardens for nature. It will take place in Belmont, Durham on Saturday 20th February.

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Brambling by Jill Pakenham

Hosted by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the one-day Garden and Urban Wildlife Conference at Belmont Parish Hall will feature talks from a number of experts including from the Natural History Society of Northumbria, Durham Bat Group and Northumbria Ringing Group that will cover recent discoveries as well as include useful information to help you manage your garden for wildlife. Everyone is welcome and it is only £12 including lunch and refreshments.

Private gardens in Britain cover about 270,000 hectares, more than all the designated National Nature Reserves put together. This means they are increasingly important habitats for wildlife as our countryside changes due to development. The Garden and Urban Wildlife Conference will be a fantastic opportunity to listen to interesting and informative talks on the subject, as well as to meet like-minded people,” says Clare Simm, of the BTO Garden Ecology team who are organising the event.

Topics covered in the conference include what effect providing artificial food has for our garden birds, how our gardens are used by butterflies and bats, what unexpected wildlife you might find in gardens in the north-east, and how the information collected by ‘citizen scientist’ BTO Garden BirdWatch volunteers can help reveal the behaviour of garden birds.

For more information about the conference, including how to book tickets, pleasehave a look at the BTO’s events page or contact the BTO Garden Ecology Team by emailing gbw [at] bto.org or giving us a call on 01842 750050. More information on how you can help the wildlife in your garden as a ‘citizen scientist’ is also available from the Team.

Notes for Editors

  1. The Garden and Urban Wildlife Conference is being run at Belmont Parish Hall, Durham from 10:00 – 16:00 on Saturday 20th February. More information, including the programme, can be found here
     
  2. The BTO Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run weekly throughout the year, providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. Currently, some 13,000 people take part in the project. The project is funded by participants’ contributions and is the largest year-round survey of garden birds in the world. For more information see www.bto.org/gbw.

Contact Details

Clare Simm
(BTO Garden BirdWatch Development Officer)

Office: 01842 750050
(9am to 5.30pm)
Email: clare.simm [at] bto.org

Paul Stancliffe
(BTO Media Manager)

Office: 01842 750050
(9am to 5.30pm)
Mobile: 07585 440910 (anytime)
Email: press [at] bto.org

Images are available for use alongside this News Release.
Please contact images [at] bto.org quoting reference 2016-04

The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.
Please contact us to book an interview
Office: 01842 750050


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