Don't miss the Garden Wildlife Conference in Cambridgeshire

01 Oct 2014 | No. 2014-55

Featuring talks by experts from the British Trust for Ornithology, the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, Action for Swifts and the Cambridgeshire Mammal Group, the Garden Wildlife Conference will be an exciting day, exploring the importance of gardens for nature. It will take place in Whittlesford on Saturday 8th November 2014.

Hosted by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the one-day Garden Wildlife Conference at the Whittlesford Memorial Hall will feature talks from a number of experts that will cover recent discoveries as well as include useful information to help you manage your garden for wildlife.

Private gardens in Britain cover about 270,000 hectares, more than all the designated National Nature Reserves put together. This means they are becoming increasingly important habitats for wildlife as our countryside changes due to development. The Garden Wildlife Conference will be a fantastic opportunity to listen to interesting and informative talks on the subject, as well as to meet like-minded people,” says Clare Simm, of the BTO Garden Ecology team who are organising the event.

Topics covered in the conference include new findings on wintering Blackcaps in the UK, how our gardens are used by reptiles and amphibians, and how the information collected by ‘citizen scientist’ Garden BirdWatch (GBW) volunteers can help reveal the behaviour of garden birds.

For more information about the conference, including how to book tickets, please have a look at the BTO’s events page here or contact the BTO Garden Ecology Team by giving us a call on 01842 750050. More information on how you can help the wildlife in your garden as a ‘citizen scientist’ is also available from the Team.

Notes for Editors

The BTO Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run weekly throughout the year, providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. Currently, some 14,500 people take part in the project. The project is funded by participants’ contributions and is the largest year-round survey of garden birds in the world. For more information see www.bto.org/gbw.

The BTO is the UK's leading bird research charity. A growing membership and up to 60,000 volunteer birdwatchers contribute to the BTO's surveys, collecting information that underpins conservation action in the UK. The BTO maintains a staff of 100 at its offices in Thetford, Stirling, Bangor (Wales) and Bangor (Northern Ireland), who analyse and publicise the results of surveys and projects. The BTO's work is funded by BTO supporters, government, trusts, industry and conservation organisations. www.bto.org

The Garden Wildlife Conference is being run at Whittlesford Memorial Hall from 10:00 – 16:30 on Saturday 8th November. More information, including the programme, can be found here: http://www.bto.org/news-events/events/2014-11/bto-garden-wildlife-conference

Contact Details

Clare Simm
(GBW Development Officer)

Office: 01842 750050
(9am to 5.30pm)
Email: clare.simm [at] bto.org

Paul Stancliffe
(BTO Media Manager)

Office: 01842 750050
(9am to 5.30pm)
Mobile: 07585 440910 (anytime)
Email: press [at] bto.org

Images are available for use alongside this News Release.
Please contact images [at] bto.org quoting reference 2014-55

The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.
Please contact us to book an interview
Office: 01842 750050


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