BES Community Science Group

Indigenous Peoples and local communities report a consistent decline in the body mass of birds across three continents | Oryx | Cambridge Core Indigenous Peoples and local communities report a consistent decline in the body mass of birds across three continents

Did you know? 🤔
Indigenous Peoples and local communities hold rich, place‑based ecological knowledge that can reveal patterns and changes often missed by conventional scientific methods.

Read more 👇
tinyurl.com/3f57entw

#communityscience #citizenscience

Introducing.... The Soil Ecology Seminar Series 2026!
Join us on Wednesday the 25th of February at 1 pm GMT for the first installment. We will delve into microbial ecology with exciting talks from Dr Ashish Malik and Josh Thurston:
Register your interest here: urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...

🚨 New podcast episode available now!

🌳 We speak to recently published People and Nature author Marilisa Herchet about the mental health benefits of urban green 🏙️

🎙️ Listen on Soundcloud ➡️ buff.ly/eK1rfVy
🎙️ Listen on Spotify ➡️ buff.ly/3hWpQn7

We have a growing collection of resources for women in ecology that support, celebrate and advocate for women's roles in research and practice. 

Check our collection of resources here 👇
https://f.mtr.cool/gtwczvuefr

Year 5 pupils have just presented to 70 academics at the University of Oulu on ‘How much nature do children need?’ They spoke confidently about their research through experiences in nature, questionnaires, observations and linking with pupils in Koli #ScienceatWelbeck #50ThingsatWelbeck @ecsa.ngo

𝗔 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁

Join a session to know more, to contribute to finalising this first version of a citizen science competency framework.

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Storm-induced mass mortality results in both immediate and long-term consequences for a migratory songbird Nature Ecology & Evolution - Combining 27 years of citizen science data with whole-genome sequencing, the authors show that mass mortality of purple martins caused by a severe winter...

Spring is arriving, but there's still snow in the forecast! How do late #winter storms affect our migratory #birds? Out now in @natecoevo.nature.com, we ask that Q with 25+yrs of #CitizenScience data and ~400 museum specimens collected after the 2021 Great TX Freeze: rdcu.be/e7aUy
#EcoEvo #evolution

Changes in the UK Stag Beetle Population David Wembridge (People's Trust for Endangered Species) shares new research revealing trends of population change in UK Stag Beetles.

entoLIVE Webinar: Changes in the UK Stag Beetle Population
12 March 13:00-14:00 GMT

Hear from David Wembridge @ptes-org.bsky.social about how community/citizen science has contributed to new research on population trends of UK Stag Beetles

Sign up: tinyurl.com/7ccx9p2m

@biologicalrecording.co.uk

This #IWD2026 we’re shining a light on the incredible women who’ve been nominated, highly commended or won an NBN Award for Wildlife Recording since 2015💛 Huge thanks to all. Know an inspirational woman who records or verifies wildlife? Nominations for #NBNawards26 are open! bit.ly/NBNawards26n...

British Ecological Society event: "Nature-based Solutions: Who benefits, who decides, who pays?" on 29-30 June 2026, York.

We’re inviting researchers, practitioners and policymakers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to submit a presentation aligned to one of three themes: who benefits, who decides, and who pays – a symposium exploring the evidence, equity and real-world impact of NbS.

Could Rights of Nature save Britain’s disappearing wildlife? - British Ecological Society Join us for a special evening at Burlington House as our expert panel of ecologists, lawyers and members of parliament debate this innovative approach to protecting our vanishing biodiversity.

Looking forward to speaking about Rights for Nature at this event in May with the British Ecological Society. Suspect tickets may sell out at the wonderful Burlington House.

#NaturesRights
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/content/righ...

As well as the FIT Count survey, we run a more systematic survey using insect traps in a set of 1 km squares across the UK. If you live near one of the red squares on the map and are interested in taking part please contact us for more details ukpoms.org.uk/one-km-squar...

Published today! The Biological Recording Handbook by Sarah Whild 📖

This fascinating book brings all the principles of biological recording together in one place, with an emphasis on evidence-based data for conservation biology.

Learn more and order your copy ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/mukkahx9

Interested in joining an ECSA working group? Drop by one of the in-person meetings at #ECSA2026 to meet other members, see how the #workinggroups operate, and gain insight into the kind of work being carried out by the ECSA #community.
#citizenscience

www.ecsa2026.ngo/programme/#timetable

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗘𝗖𝗦 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁: 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

Our new report, led by project partner Stickydot, is now online.

Read the full report here: zenodo.org/records/1832...

#CitizenScience #PublicEngagement #Inclusion #OpenScience

We're finally seeing the sun at BES HQ in London 🌞 and it feels like t-shirt weather!

To celebrate, there's free UK shipping on BES t-shirts - and everything else in our shop - this weekend 👕

Order from 9am Friday to midnight Sunday (GMT) - no codes needed 😎 britishecologicalsociety.teemill.com

What Makes an Engaging Environment? Lessons Learnt From Co-Created Research With Diverse Community groups. | Published in Journal of Participatory Research Methods By Danielle Robinson, Heather Sugden & 4 more. This perspective piece describes practical experience in the co-creation of research with underrepresented communities and represents the experience and…

Did you know? 🤔
Co‑designed community science helps make environmental science more inclusive and accessible, leading to research with greater real-world impact.

Read more 👇
jprm.scholasticahq.com/article/1262...

#communityscience #citizenscience

New UKEOF guide to using DNA-based monitoring with citizen science | UKEOF We are delighted to announce the recent release of the first UKDNA-WG briefing note. This guide to DNA-based monitoring with citizen science was written by Lauren Cook (UK Centre for Ecology &…

NEW Guide to DNA-based monitoring with community science @ukdnawg.bsky.social

💧 CS x DNA examples
👩🏽‍🦰 Involving volunteers
🔢 Project design
💡 Future directions
✍️ Resources
👉 tinyurl.com/2cn9zdbx

@laurens-colours.bsky.social @lynseyrharper.bsky.social @ukeof.bsky.social @naturalengland.bsky.social

5,000 #students across Canada help map the secret lives of solitary cavity-nesting #bees and #wasps.

🐝This study used #community #science & #metabarcoding to reveal hidden insect interactions.

👇See what they found here: doi.org/10.3897/mbmg...

#citizenscience #hymenoptera

Maps of Wales show all sites for which records were submitted to BirdTrack and eBird in 2024 (left) and 2025 (right), using the central grid reference of each user's site

Taking a dive into the wealth of data produced by users of @birdtrack.bsky.social and @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social eBird in Wales in 2025 for @birdsinwales.bsky.social Report.

Number of users, records and time spent were up almost 20% on 2024. Thank you @btobirds.bsky.social for the data pack.

Close-up of a male European Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus) showing its red-brown antler-like mandibles, contrasting with the dark, textured head. Image credit: Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.app

Did you know? 🤔
Community science makes a huge contribution to biodiversity reporting, with over 70% of records used in England being submitted by volunteers

Read more 👇
naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/14/m...

#communityscience #citizenscience
Image credit: Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social

Getting to grips with iRecord 📱📝

New to iRecord or finding it tricky? Our iRecord 101 course takes you step-by-step from first record to confident user, with tips from recording specialist Keiron Brown. 🌍 🧪

Thu 2 Apr 2026
👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/irecord-10...

@ukceh.bsky.social

The image shows a snowy city square at night, with a statue in the foreground and a large building illuminated in the background.

Meet fellow citizen scientists at #ECSA2026 in Oulu!
Only 𝟒 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 to register for your chance to bring ideas, share projects, and learn from the vibrant #CitizenScience community. Don’t just hear about innovation - be part of it.
🖊 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲: https://www.ecsa2026.ngo/registration/

Dark blue text on a light blue background reads: "Volunteering Opportunity Tree Health Surveyor. Help us tackle woodland pests and diseases as part of the Observatree network"

Two people face an oak tree and inspect the leaves on low hanging branches.

🌳 Are you passionate about protecting our beautiful woods and trees?

💚 Become an #Observatree volunteer and be part of an exciting citizen science project led by Forest Research!

Apply today, closing date 8th March 👉 buff.ly/zo32khl 1/2

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐘: 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐩 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 & 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Join this GD-SO webinar to explore how #CS can move from experimentation to policy impact, with insights from EU projects and practitioners.

🗓 10.03.2026 | 11:00–13:00 𝐶𝐸𝑇
💻 Online | Registration: ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/run...

Photo from Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/fr/photos/un-chien-et-un-chat-couches-dans-lherbe-ouo1hbizWwo

New paper published today in @peerj.bsky.social
Based on simple observation and citizen science, we show that cats and dogs can contribute to the spread of invasive land flatworms—no molecular data needed.🧪

Open access: peerj.com/articles/207...

Help scientists document Midwest light pollution by looking at Orion More people participating in the citizen science project Globe At Night could help fill gaps in what astronomers know about the extent of skyglow.

By reporting which stars you can and can't see near Orion, you can help the citizen science project Globe At Night track light pollution in your area.

A digital twin for real-time biodiversity forecasting with citizen science data - Nature Ecology & Evolution Citizen science data are increasingly used in biodiversity monitoring. This study applies a digital twin approach to biodiversity monitoring using a large citizen science dataset on birds from Finland...

A digital twin for real-time biodiversity forecasting with citizen science data 🌎🌐🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thanks for flagging! Very interesting, and the recommendations for optimising comms are really valuable.

👀Peek behind the scenes of our pan-European citizen science campaign "Looking for Cowslips" and read what were the communication barriers and facilitators of the initiative through the eyes of local and main coordinators.

Read the summary here ➡️ tinyurl.com/3dvwads3
and the main paper below ⬇️