Can you help keep wildlife ‘app-y’?

Local residents are being invited to download an app that will help to map local animal and plant species.

Following a national report earlier this year stating that 60% of more than 3,000 animal and plant species have declined in the UK in the past 50 years, Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales is launching Great Nature Watch – a campaign to get members of the public in the Welshpool area to help protect miles of waterway habitats.

With the State of Nature Report highlighting that ‘freshwater and wetland habitats occupy just 3% of the UK’s surface but support around 10% of our species’, the Trust is asking local residents to help map its waterside habitats to ensure they remain a thriving place for hundreds of animal and plant species.

By using a free app called enaturewatch, or online via the Trust’s website, visitors will be asked a series of questions to paint the picture of a cross section of canal or river habitat being surveyed.

Stuart Moodie, ecologist for the Canal & River Trust, said: “Our ultimate aim is to ensure there are plenty of habitats for wildlife to move up and down our waterway corridors. We’re hoping Great Nature Watch can support the great environmental progress we’ve made over the years. People power can make a big difference so we hope visitors to our canals or rivers will get round as much of our waterway network as possible and help create a ‘living map’.

Whilst out on the towpath, budding environment enthusiasts and families will be able to learn about what they see through a ‘spotter’s guide’, a section of the app designed to teach people about the wildlife, plants and trees that can be found on the towpath.

Great Nature Watch walks will be held by the Trust’s specialist ecologists along the Montgomery Canal on August 15 and 22.

The free enaturewatch app is available on IOS and android platforms. For more information on Great Nature Watch and additional walks, visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/great_nature_watch.