LEEF Articles
The RSPB’s Big Birdwatch
The world's biggest citizen science project is approaching and there are plenty of resources to help schools and environmental educators make the most of this annual opportunity.
by Tim Webb
The world’s biggest citizen science project is approaching and there are plenty of resources to help schools and environmental educators make the most of this annual opportunity.
The RSPB’s Big Schools’ and Big Garden Birdwatches encourage people to record birds visiting their outdoor spaces. The results help compile an annual snapshot of UK birds and reveal long-term trends in population changes. The surveys were the first to identify the decline of common birds, such as house sparrows, which are now almost extinct in central London.
Schools that register have FREE access to online resources and interactive whiteboard programs, enabling them to create bar graphs and tables of their results, linking the activity to KS1 and KS2 curriculum subjects. There are free downloads on design and technology linked class activities too.
Teachers TV has produced two short films supporting the Schoolswatch this year. The first features Southwark’s Surrey Square Infants school and compares their participation with that of a more rural school with access to its own nature reserve. You can download the film from their website: http://www.teachers.tv/video/36639. They also have a short film on Learning Outside the Classroom, looking at common British Birds: http://www.teachers.tv/video/36468.
Full details of how to register, what’s involved and how to access resources can be found at http://www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch.
The RSPB has linked up with CBeebies new animated show, 3rd and bird, to create special “Little Schools’ Birdwatch” resources for early years pupils. See resources at: http://www.3rdandbird.co.uk/schools-and-nurseries/.
The Big [and Little] and Schools’ Birdwatch runs from 18 January until 1 February. For families, the Big Garden Birdwatch [www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch] runs over the weekend of 30 and 31 January.
RSPB London spokesman Tim Webb said: “You can see the enjoyment and excitement on the kids faces when they actually do the birdwatch. It’s like someone flicks a switch. It’s this sort of engagement that turns kids “on” to nature; fostering a lifelong interest in the environment and an appreciation of the world around us.”
