The Week Junior UK – 03 August 2019

Dartmoor NationalPark has

many beautiful sites, but

Meldon Reservoir is among the

most special.Steep banks

around thewater offerfantastic

views of the OkementValley,

and there’splenty to do.

Footpaths offereasy walks, and

the adventurouscanfreely

explorethe open moorland.

Keep acarefulwatch for

adders (the UK’sonly

venomous snakes) in the

grass, lookforbrown trout in

the waters and pack some

binocularsforbirdwatching.

Find out moreattinyurl.com/TWJ-Meldon

MarineConservationZones (MCZs) are

protected areasofsea around the UK

designed to protect endangered

species and habitats. Earlier this year,

the Government announced 41 new

MCZs around England, bringing the

total to 91 (Wales and Northern

Ireland have similar schemes;Scotland

has its own Marine Protected Areas).

Information gathered by the Wildlife

Trusts in surveys helpsexperts to see

wherenew MCZs should be.

New protectedzones

TheWeekJunior•3August

JoinShoresearch2019and

helpsurveyyourlocalsealife

10

PLACEOFTHEWEEK

MeldonReservoir ,Devon

I

fyou live near thecoast, aretakingaseaside

holiday or even just plan to takeabeach trip this

summer,then perhaps youcould help the

WildlifeTrusts with their Shoresearch

2019 project. The WildlifeTrusts area

collection of charities across the

country that arededicate

protecting the UK’s

wildlife through

practical schemes and

citizen scienceprojects –

wheremembers of the public

help scientists gather information.

Shoresearch isanational survey

of wildlife along the seashore, and the

WildlifeTrusts arelooking for volunteers to help

themrecordthe animals and plants to be found

around thecountry’scoastline. Through these

surveys, theycansee whether the

population numbers and locations of

different animals arechanging.

Theseresults canthen be

used tokeep track of the

ealth of thecountry’ssea life

easurethe effects of

climate change. Climate change

is the long-term shift in weather

patterns, such as rising average

temperatures around the world,

caused mostly by human activities

includingfarming, cuttingdown forests and burning

fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas).

This year,Shoresearch is stepping up its efforts to

research the wildlife on our shores. Thereare four

types of survey,with differentcollection methods

depending on whether the shoreisr ockyors andy.For

example, one is to dig outacolumn of sand;another

is to tick offachecklist inatimed species search.

To get involved,contact your local WildlifeTrust.

Thereare 46 local WildlifeTrust organisations

covering the whole of the UK. Onceyou’ve found your

nearest one, get in touch and let them know that

you’d liketovolunteer for Shoresearch–many are

organising special events. Find out moreabout

Shoresearch at wildlifetrusts.org

he

an

ed to

Turn rockpooling

into science.

An adder.

Dorset’sPurbeck

Coast MCZ.

Alarge

Cornish crab.

DIDYOU

KNOW?

In the UK ther

eare

moreW

ildlifeT

rustnature

reserves than branches

ofMcDonald’s.