Count Me In Project
Monitoring the wildlife around us is the aim of a new project launched by Chester Zoo and rECOrd, Cheshire’s local biological records centre.
Called ‘Count Me In!’ the project will create the wildlife recorders of the future by encouraging people to actively take note of the wildlife they see, and pass their sightings on to rECOrd.
Over the next two years ‘Count Me In!’ will run a programme of exciting, interactive training events looking in detail at wild animals and plants. Many of the events will take place at Chester Zoo and the remainder in wildlife locations elsewhere in Cheshire. Thanks to generous funding from the National Lottery and the Esmee Fairburn Foundation all Count Me In! events are free.
Karen Lawson, Count Me In! Project Coordinator, said: “Our world’s biodiversity is under threat, and already we are seeing steep declines in species that we previously considered common. Understanding the wildlife around us, by observing and recording changes, also helps to protect and enhance the local environment by guiding conservation action.”
The Count Me In! project was launched at Chester Zoo with a very successful bird watching event linked to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. Over 60 guests attended a very animated talk titled ‘How to be a Birdwatcher’, and were then taken for a walk around the zoo to look for wild birds. An amazing 42 species were seen in the zoo with highlights being a goldcrest spotted in conifers, a tree creeper in the Sunken Garden, and a shoveler duck sharing the flamingo’s lake. Black headed gulls were the most abundant species with over 50 birds seen sitting on the roof of the Islands in Danger building - probably keeping their feet warm! Click Here to view the species count taken on the day.
Guests were also given a live demonstration of how to submit wildlife records to the rECOrd database using the online recording system (RODIS). We hope they will be online again in the near future submitting bird records of their own – training new wildlife recorders for Cheshire is what Count Me In! is all about. 
A large team of volunteers from Cheshire Wildlife Trust, RSPB Chester and Macclesfield groups, Liverpool Museum, and others made the day memorable for all those involved. A big thank you to all those who helped out!
Click here to view the Count Me In Events calender for 2009
All events are free of charge. Please note that places are limited so booking is essential. Some events will carry an age restriction. Some events may be unsuitable for those with disabilities.
Events will be located at Chester Zoo or suitable wildlife sites in the Cheshire region.
For further information or to make a booking please contact:
‘Count Me In!’ Project Coordinator Karen Lawson