It was great to be invited to be part of Bristol 99. Our event on Troopers Hill was a mini Bio-Blitz. This was a first for Friends of Troopers Hill but Bristol Natural History Consortium (BNHC) made it very easy. A training session for volunteers was provided at Brandon Hill. Our attention was slightly diverted as a Gromit was wheeled past but soon we were having all our questions answered and much useful information was shared.
Emails were exchanged with lists of needs (a toilet was top of our list), timings, useful forms and the all important risk assessment.
The day came with bright sunshine. We had packed two events into the day, so for us the day started with a tree gazing walk with Tony Titchen. Just after lunch volunteers met, put up two gazebos, arranged information displays, bug pots, nets and clipboards and settled back to wait for interested people.
Along they came and expert naturalists Tony Smith, Ray Barnet and Matt Postles worked hard to keep up with the stream of questions. Volunteers were kept busy recording, photographing, meeting and greeting, giving out nets and bug pots. Photos can be seen on http://www.troopers-hill.org.uk/events/13Br99.htm
So what happened next? Wonderful volunteers collated all the data and put it on spreadsheets, so we have a snapshot of some of the species on Troopers Hill on the day. We also made use of contacts made for the event. Tony Smith has been back and carried out a plant survey of 3 compartments on Troopers Hill and given some training on grass and fern recognition to two volunteers. The all important toilet was so successful that we have used the same company again for which many people were very grateful when they came to Troopers Hill to watch Bristol’s Balloon Fiesta on the same day we were holding our Bugs and Beasties event.
Thank you BNHC and happy 10th birthday!
Bristol99 