Guernsey Press

TV naturalist Nick Baker to join second BioBlitz

BROADCASTER and wildlife expert Nick Baker will join primary schools on Lihou headland for Guernsey’s second BioBlitz event this year.

Published
Last updated
Nick Baker. (Picture by Juliette Mills Photography)

Tomorrow children from Vale and La Houguette primary schools will be helping experts record the west coast location's wildlife.

La Societe Guernesiaise education officer Becky Ogier said the autumn BioBlitz was a great opportunity for young people to learn about many aspects of Guernsey’s wildlife from experts in botany, ornithology and entomology and other ecology fields.

‘Together we will create a picture of a “moment in time” in the island’s natural history,’ she said.

‘It’s not just a fun day out seeing creatures, it’s a brilliant way for children to make a meaningful contribution to collecting data that informs our future conservation efforts.’

Pollinator Project co-founder and local bee recorder Barry Wells said it would be interesting for Mr Baker to learn about specific Guernsey species and see their habitats.

‘Nick Baker is a huge wildlife enthusiast and a renowned TV naturalist so it’s an amazing coup to have him here,’ he said.

‘We have some European species here that are not seen in the UK and some larger species, like the Guernsey vole, too so we think it’ll be fascinating to get his perspective on our island’s wildlife.’

Lihou headland forms part of the Lihou Ramsar site – a site of international importance due to the diversity of species which can be found there, including more than 214 types of of seaweed.

Biodiversity officer Julia Henney said the last BioBlitz was a success and hopes even more species will be found this time.

‘Despite it being cold and windy, we were able to spot a huge array of different species during May’s BioBlitz at Houmet headland,’ she said.

‘The BioBlitz is a great opportunity for people to learn more about our natural environment and allows a benchmark study of one place’s ecology to help us better understand how wildlife is doing.’

The BioBlitz is being hosted by the Biodiversity Partnership, Guernsey Biological Records Centre, La Societe Guernesiaise and the Pollinator Project and is funded by the States of Guernsey’s Strategy for Nature fund.