Wildflower Meadow

Zsuzsanna Bird

Projects

CPERC undertake individual projects for partners throughout a typical work year that fit with our existing data, expertise and partner needs. Revenue generated by these projects helps support the cost of running the record centre.

Projects


Cheveley Biodiversity Audit

We have supported Cheveley Parish Council in a biodiversity audit to assess the current state of its natural environment and help inform future planning for the parish. Initially digitising the existing parish natural history records and 1990s Phase 1 habitat maps, we have assisted with several recording days, surveys, a garden wildlife questionnaire and updated habitat maps. The final report, produced by the Cheveley Parish Biodiversity Group is now available to download here.

Recording Wildlife Near You

'Recording wildlife near you' was an 18 month Heritage Lottery Funded project to help engage local community groups in their natural environment through environmental recording. The project recruited over 200 volunteers who were willing to record signs and sightings of wildlife, particularly in areas of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough where there is less knowledge of the current species and habitats, generating 5569 validated records.

The full project report can be downloadedhere.

Several resources which were created for surveyors during our Recording wildlife near you project are still freely available and can be found on ourpublications page.

Assessment of traditional orchards in Cambridgeshire

CPERC has spent two springs mapping and surveying for traditional orchards across Cambridgeshire. Initially funded through Natural England and focussed on fenland parishes, further funding from the Biodiversity Partnership has allowed us to complete this project for the whole county.

The report on our progress so far can be downloadedhere. We still have parts of the county to survey next spring, when the fruit trees are blossoming, and we may yet find more small, forgotten traditional orchards. There is a strong Traditional Orchard Group in the county who promote these valuable but almost forgotten habitats.

Waterbeach Barracks

We have held recording days at Waterbeach Barracks, courtesy of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), before the site was decommissioned. Our county experts enjoyed two days recording on a site which is usually out of bounds. A summary of our findings ishere.

Recording Intiatives

We are supporting two local recording initiatives. Brampton Parish has an ambitious recording project, getting public involvement across the parish. They have events planned for 2014 and an online recording sitehere. Local swift enthusiasts have anonline project to record Common Swifts and the buildings they are probably using for nesting in, created courtesy of living record.