Citizen Science Day 2019 - take part in a survey today

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- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
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- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
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Wildlife
- Close
- - We protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction. We do this through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Wild places
- Close
- - Some habitats contain such a richness of life that we need to protect them at all odds. We are working to preserve ancient woodlands, orchards and wood pastures and parklands, as well as the countless species they support.
What we do
- Close
- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
Who we are
- Close
- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
Success stories
- Close
- - We strive to bring our most threatened species in the UK and around the world back from the brink of extinction. Our successes come from ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Get involved
- Close
- - There are so many ways you can help save endangered species. Fancy taking part in a survey, joining us on a wildlife event or becoming a regular supporter?
Shop
- Close
- - Support our work in our shop with a range of charity gifts, home-ware, cards and more. 100% of the profits go directly to help wildlife both in the UK an overseas.
Donate
- Close
- - There is nothing natural about the alarming rate at which we are losing animals and their homes. It is absolutely avoidable. We can stop the loss of our wildlife – but we need your support. You can act now by choosing to give to our cause. Thank you.

Home // News // Citizen Science Day 2019 – take part in a survey today

Conservation needs you

“One of the most important things in conservation is socialisation, awareness and education with the local people”
Anna Nekaris, Little Fireface Project

In many instances, for conservation to work it has to involve local communities, it has to resolve the conflicts that sometimes arise between wildlife and humans, it has to recognise cultural values and make use of indigenous knowledge. People are what conservation is all about.

So fast are we losing the natural world, and on such a scale, that conservation has to think big – and ‘citizen science’ has stepped up to the mark.

Saturday (13^th April) is Citizen Science Day 2019, recognising the science carried out by non-professional scientists. Public-participation surveys of wildlife are nothing new in Britain. Large-scale, public surveys of bird behaviour, run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) go back to the first half of the last century, collecting records of paper-tearing and pecking of foil milk bottle-tops. More recently, the advent of the worldwide web and smart’ mobile devices with GPS, large displays, cameras and the ability to run specialised apps, means it’s never been easier to collect and analyse data on a big scale.

“One thing we did wrong in Sweden was to concentrate on animals, not people.”

Tom Arnbom, WWF-Sweden

Get involved today

So what better way to mark the day than by signing up to PTES’ Living with Mammals survey, which runs until the end of June. The project records sightings and field signs of mammals in the green spaces stretching through our towns and cities – from gardens and allotments to railway embankments and common ground.

Conservation is intricately bound up with people. Noticing wildlife, talking about it, recording it, are important for individuals and for communities, and citizen-science brings the potential of people-powered conservation.

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