Biodiversity in Glasgow

Glasgow may not be the first place to spring to mind for a project on biodiversity, but in 2007 and 2008 people in the city will be invited to record the birds and butterflies found there for just that purpose. The Biodiversity in Glasgow (BIG) Project is being run by British Trust for Ornithology, Scotland and Butterfly Conservation Scotland and anyone in Glasgow who can spare two hours a month during the spring and summer is invited to take part.

Many of the green spaces found within our towns and cities, such as parks and gardens, are wonderful havens for wildlife. Sadly, however, some green spaces are poorly managed for biodiversity and under utilised by local communities. Others are disappearing, together with the wildlife that they hold. Consequently, there is huge scope to improve the biodiversity in urban sites, to protect existing sites that are of high conservation value and to encourage people to make greater use of their local green spaces.

Glasgow is an ideal place in which to explore urban diversity as over one fifth of the city is made up of green space including parks, river corridors, woodlands, cemeteries and communal gardens. In effect, the BIG project will be the most comprehensive survey of the birds and butterflies living within the city.

Starting this Spring, volunteers will be invited to survey one (or as many as they like!) of 130 sites across the city and asked to make a note of the birds and/or butterflies found, along with a simple description of the habitat. By spending time in green spaces, volunteers will have the opportunity to discover the wildlife that can be found on their own doorstep and who knows, maybe even unearth a few surprises in terms of unusual species!

Birds and butterflies can be used as indicators of the wildlife value of green spaces and have the added advantage of being relatively easy to survey. The information collected by volunteers will be analysed to determine the species richness and abundance of the breeding birds and butterflies found within Glasgow’s urban environment. This data will be used to help manage Glasgow’s green spaces in order to enhance urban biodiversity.

In addition to giving us information about biodiversity in Glasgow, the BIG Project will look at urban wildlife in other Scottish towns and cities. Information from two other national BTO bird surveys, the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey and BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch will be included to help us learn about urban wildlife in other parts of Scotland.

You don’t have to be an expert in birds or butterflies to take part in the BIG project as training in basic identification and recording methods will be available to volunteers. If you’d like to get involved please email glasgowbiodiversity@bto.org, phone 01786 466 560, or go to www.bto.org/survey/special/glasgow_biodiversity. Bird recording will take place from April to June and butterflies from May to September. If you live outside of Glasgow but would like to take part, please ask about getting involved in Garden BirdWatch.

See events page for details or BTO webpage