Environmental monitoring results: Marsden humidity

A new week and a new site - let's take a look up north at Marsden. The following graphs show how the relative humidity (level of moisture in the air) changes at this site month to month and across the seasons.

Thanks again to Andy Burn for the graphs and to all our Marsden volunteers who collected the data!

Environmental monitoring results: Burbage temperature

Another one of our monitoring sites is Burbage. Volunteers have collected environmental monitoring data here since 2015. As the frosty season starts, let's look at the monthly and seasonal temperatures and see how they have varied over the past couple of years.

Thanks to Andy Burn for producing these graphs, and thanks to our volunteers for getting out in all weather!

Environmental monitoring results: Holme water table

In our last couple of posts we looked at the temperature and humidity changes at Holme Moss. The last set of data for this site is the water table depth - how far below the surface of the ground the water table is. In a healthy bog, the closer to the surface the better!

Thanks again to Andy for producing these graphs which show the changes monthly and seasonally for 2016 and 2017.

Environmental monitoring results: Holme temperature

As the temperature starts to drop outside this week, let's have a look at the temperature results from Holme Moss. This environmental monitoring site is situated at about 540m above sea level.

Thanks again to Andy Burn for producing these graphs which show the monthly and seasonal average (mean) air temperatures collected over the last three years by our volunteers.

Environmental monitoring results: Edale rainfall

In our last post we showed the water table data and how this changes by month and season. One big factor contributing to these changes is of course rainfall. Here we have the monthly and seasonal rainfall averages for the last 4 years.

With the rainy season just around the corner, will we be in for another wet winter? Or will it be one of the drier ones? Our volunteers will be out this week starting the annual dipwell campaign, adding to our dataset so we can follow trends across time.

Big thanks again to volunteer Andy Burn for producing these graphs.

Environmental monitoring results: Edale water table

In our last post we showed the monthly and seasonal average (mean) air temperatures collected by Community Science volunteers from our Edale environmental monitoring site, which is situated at about 605m above sea level on Kinder Scout.

Another variable which volunteers monitor at the same site is the water table depth - i.e. how far beneath the peat surface water sits. Thanks again to Andy Burn for producing these graphs which summarise water table depth figures for 2016 and 2017 by month and by season:

Environmental monitoring results: Edale temperature

Over the next few weeks, we'll post a series of blogs showing some of the results for our Community Science monitoring sites in graphical format.

We'll start with here temperature information collected from our Edale site on Kinder Scout  - which shows monthly as well a seasonal averages across the years of monitoring so far.

Huge thanks to volunteer Andy Burn for producing these graphs:

 

 

On the twelth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...12 plovers flapping,

 

The golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria) is a wading bird, slightly smaller than a lapwing, which in the summer breeds in the uplands of northern Britain. Moors for the Future Partnership's work to re-vegetate and re-wet the blanket bogs of the South Pennines should have a beneficial impact on this bird, and other waders such as dunlin. Bird surveys at RSPB's Dove Stone estate on the western side of the Peak District have shown that breeding pairs of golden plover present on the site have almost doubled from 59 in 2004 to 110 in 2017, as a result of blanket bog conservation work.

 

11 bags for brashing,

 

 

10 geese migrating,

 

 

9 plants a-pluggin',

 

 

8 Sphagna growing,

 

 

7 sites now set up,

 

 

 

6 leaves a-prickling,

 

 

5 red deer!

 

 

4 hare prints,

 

 

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

A volunteer celebration walk

Dec 8th 2017 saw our hardy volunteers wrap up for a celebratory walk on to Kinder Scout.

What were we celebrating? Well, not just that Christmas is coming. This social event allowed us to salute Community Science's brilliant volunteers for all their fantastic efforts through the year, and also to thank them for helping the project to win this year's prestigious 'Park protector Award' - awarded by the Campaign for National Parks.

Volunteers were joined by Peak District National Park CEO Sarah Fowler, and Head of Programme Delivery at Moors for the Future Partnership - Chris Dean - who was also celebrating 15 years at the Partnership.

At the plateau, Phil from the Partnership's Conservation and Land Management team talked about some of the wider conservation work that has been happening in the area, but the -14C windchill meant the stop was short and sweet! 2017 has been a great year for the project, and the snowy views and mince pies were a perfect way to round it off.

Crisis + Christmas + Countryfile + Craven!

This month saw the final Crisis 'Creative Conservation' course trip of the year. Creative Conservation is attended by Community Science volunteers who are members of Crisis South Yorkshire's Skylight training programme.  Each month we take a trip somewhere in the Peak District, and undertake a Community Science activity such as surveying Bumblebees, Sphagnum moss or brushing up on our navigation skills.

This time it was a festive celebration taking a ramble around Blacka Moor on the outskirts of Sheffield, stopping for mince pies, before ending up at the Moorland Discovery Centre on the National Trust's Longshaw Estate.

We timed it just right - and arrived back as John Craven and the BBC Countryfile crew were filming a piece about Christmas Trees for this year's Christmas show - to be aired on Christmas Eve.

If you watch it, look out for us as we may be 'extras' in the background of John's piece to camera. He was kind enough to join our team photo afterwards!