Question: How could I study species from my home

Jack Monaghan answered on 22 Jun 2022:

There’s lots you can do to study biodiversity at home. I’d start off looking closely at what is around you – if you have a garden or a park nearby spend 15mins sitting and observing and see how many different species you can spot (birds and insects in particular), it’ll be much more than you expect. Then using the creatures that are around you start to build up your knowledge so you can identify different species. Just like practicing a musical instrument, these species ID skills are the tools you’ll need to work with species as a job.
Then the next thing I’d do is to borrow some books from the library that will help you expand the species you can identify. If you have access to a smart phone then you can also download an app called iNaturalist that allows you to record your observations and collect information on local species. This information gets sent to the national record centre so you’ll be helping research too.
And then lastly, once you’ve figured out the particular species you are interested in (I recommend insects, but I’m sure other team members would recommend other types of life) look around for local groups you can join to learn from others. If you can’t find one then start your own!