Pupils help to keep an EYE out for the environment

01/12/2006

Exploring Your Environment
A Great North Museum project

Pupils from Marsden Primary School in South Shields will be joined by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, David Miliband MP to launch an exciting new environmental initiative on Friday 1 December.

The project, called Exploring Your Environment (EYE), aims to encourage everyone to get actively involved in learning about and safeguarding the environment.

The three year scheme is a Newcastle University project which is being managed by Tyne & Wear Museums and is being sponsored by Northumbrian Water.

EYE has been made possible via a grant of £226,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund as well as funding from Newcastle University, Northumbrian Water, Tyne & Wear Museums, Natural England, Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Tyne & Wear Museums Business Partners. 

photo/recording opp… photo/recording opp…
Pupils from Marsden Primary School will be exploring the local environment of Whitburn Coastal Park
Friday 1 December 2-3pm at the Whitburn Coastal Park, just South of Souter Lighthouse

EYE Project Co-ordinator Naomi Hewitt will be responsible for encouraging people to get involved in recording and collecting data about the natural environment.

As Naomi explains:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages to play a part in increasing what we know about the natural heritage which surrounds us every day.  People will be able to log details of sightings onto a uniquely designed website and play an active role in building up a detailed picture of the regions biodiversity as well as increasing their understanding of the richness of wildlife that can be found there” 

The information gathered will be logged onto a new community website using Wikitoid technology.  The website which is being created by staff at Newcastle University and Tyne & Wear Museums is based on Ordnance Survey maps of the North East and uses technology that enables people to click on a landscape feature and record information. This easy to follow system will allow the general public to record wildlife spotted anywhere in the North East from their backyard to their local park or even whilst they are shopping on the high street. People will also be able to use the site to find out more about wildlife in the local area from the sightings that others have recorded.

The new EYE website will include lists of species to help people to correctly identify their discoveries as well as highlighting the top sightings in the region. 

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, David Miliband MP said:

“I am delighted to have been invited to launch this exciting new project.  I cannot stress the importance of ensuring that the natural environment is conserved so that it can be enjoyed by present and future generations.  The EYE project is an excellent example of how people in the North East are being actively encouraged to get involved and do their bit to safeguard the environment.”

The EYE project team will be working with a wide variety of people, including schools and community groups to capture up-to-date information about the region’s environment.  Families will be able to get involved and take part in up to 30 events planned across the North East over the next three years.  Events will also include an annual environmental fair, school workshops and large scale public surveys. 

Dr Keith Bartlett, regional manager for the Heritage Lottery Fund, said:

“Wildlife is an important part of our natural heritage that everyone can get involved in and make a contribution to, but it is easy to take it for granted as we go about our busy lives. Thanks to lottery players’ money, people of all ages will be encouraged to discover the wildlife on their doorstep, learn about it and then share that with others.”

The information gathered through this project will also help to shape the displays at the Hancock Museum as it is redeveloped as part of the £26 million Great North Museum project which is due to open in 2009. Public access points will be created at the new museum, as well as a number of selected locations around the region.

John Mowbray, Northumbrian Water’s corporate affairs director, official sponsors of the project, added:

“No company in the North East spends more on environmental improvements than Northumbrian Water.  EYE project is a great opportunity for the company to support and encourage everyone to become more involved in their environment.  Northumbrian Water’s sites are havens of wildlife and fauna and we want everyone to help to build this picture of the region to help us all to protect our own natural environment.”

Many of Northumbrian Water’s treatment works and sites are important, safe and secure refuges for a wide variety of wildlife.  The company will take an active role in the EYE project by hosting a number of the project’s events.  Additionally, employees will be given the opportunity to have hands-on involvement and assist with the trial of the Wikitoid website through the water company’s community volunteering scheme, Just an Hour, and its Environmental Champion crusaders.

For more information about the EYE project please contact Naomi Hewitt by telephone on (0191) 222 7868 or via email at naomi.hewitt@twmuseums.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

Information for photographers:
We will be assembling from the lower car park at the Whitburn Coastal Park (grid ref. 412 635) at approximately 2pm on the 1st December. We will then walk along the footpath to Durham Bird Club Hide at Grid Ref. 414 636). We will then walk northwards along the clifftop and around the reserve looking for and recording birds and other wildlife and then back to finish at the Whitburn Coastal Park lower car park at approximately 3pm. 

This project has been made possible via funding from:

• Heritage Lottery Fund    £226,500
• Newcastle University    £21,687
• Northumbrian Water    £21,000
• Tyne & Wear Museums    £20,000
• Natural England     £15,000
• Northumberland Wildlife Trust   £5,000
• Tyne & Wear Museums Business Partners £5,000 

MEDIA CONTACT: Claire Trueman (0191) 277 2171
Email: claire.trueman@twmuseums.org.uk