New website helps people in Herefordshire connect with nature

The site is the online home of Herefordshire Biological Records Centre (HBRC), a Herefordshire Council-hosted service whose main aim is to hold all available data on the county’s wildlife sites and species. While the information helps inform decision-makers on planning and ecological matters, the new website will also provide opportunities for people in Herefordshire to become more closely connected with the world around them.

HBRC, in partnership with Cultivating Learning and Nature CIC, were recently awarded £98,900 of Heritage Lottery funding and it’s this that has made the new website possible.

The timing of its launch coincides with renewed interest in the natural world, brought about by people slowing down and better appreciating its many benefits during the lockdown of 2020. The site will be regularly updated with news of the service’s findings as well as the events it puts on to encourage people to explore the natural world. Held at different venues throughout the county, the events currently include: a fungi discovery day; a course on earthworms; a chance to learn more about reptiles; and an opportunity to discover the wonderful world of woodlice!

Jane Tavener, an ecologist at HBRC, said: “This is such an exciting project to be involved in. While there are clearly many sad and negative sides to the pandemic, one of the really positive effects is how it has revitalised people’s interest in the world around them. Working from home – and being stopped from using public transport for a while – meant that more of us have been walking and cycling over the last 18 months or so. Such simple activities literally slow us down, so we can’t fail to take more notice of nature. And this renews our interest in the creatures that share our world. There even appears to be more understanding of how important plants and animals are. We simply cannot manage without them!

“Our new website will help even more people in Herefordshire appreciate how intricately connected we are with our natural world by informing them about the species on their doorsteps and further afield.”