We wanted to remind local people that PV panels on the roofs of their homes and/or business premises is an accessible and practical way to address the challenges of climate change. Our analysis here shows clearly the environmental and economic benefits of using PV Panels.

We will conduct further PV Panel investigations later this year. 

Following on from our first two soil surveys (in January and July last year), we wanted to understand the extent to which local people in the Felixstowe area feed their soil. We therefore took a new sample of 100 members of Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve to conduct this analysis.

The main conclusion shows there is still a great opportunity to educate, encourage and empower local people about the importance of feeding the soil in their gardens and allotments. This is so important, we will spend the rest of this year with this campaign. At that stage, we will review progress. 

We wanted to understand the most favoured type of food which song thrushes and blackbirds prefer to find in local gardens and allotments. The benefit of this exercise is to offer data-based recommendations to local people when they buy new bird food. 

This data collection strictly followed current government guidelines on social distancing. 

Following on from our first Autumn Bird Count in October last year, we wanted to understand how those details have changed over the last 12 months. We therefore chose 10 random locations in the Felixstowe area, and used those locations 10 times each to complete this count. In doing so, our team followed all social distancing guidance. From these 2020 figures, we conclude that the count of robins is 1 above the 2019 figures, while coal tits are 2 lower than in 2019. All other counts are the same as 2019. It is therefore clear that local autumn birds still need our support eg garden and allotment feeding stations, and undisturbed garden hedges and trees.

We wanted to remind local people that PV panels on the roofs of their homes and/or business premises is an accessible and practical way to address the challenges of climate change. Our analysis here shows clearly the environmental and economic benefits of using PV Panels.

We will conduct further PV Panel investigations next year. 

The owners of this garden are three years into their transformation of the space into a wildlife-friendly area. The west and south of the garden have been re-wilded, with grass and wild flowers allowed to grow naturally. However, the garden owners still have the challenge of a concrete area in the North East of the garden, left from previous owners, where the challenge of attracting wildlife remains. This raster block map confirms the clear division of this space. We recommend breaking up the concrete as much as possible and turning that part of the garden into a wild flower rocky.    

Following on from our first soil survey in January this year, we wanted to understand the extent to which local people in the Felixstowe area feed their soil. We therefore took a sample of 100 members of Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve to conduct this analysis.

The main conclusion shows there is a great opportunity to educate, encourage and empower local people about the importance of feeding the soil in their gardens and allotments. This is so important, we will spend the rest of this year with this campaign. At that stage, we will review progress. 

We wanted to understand the age distribution of active young members of Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve (FCNR). We defined 'young' people as being under 45. We conducted phone interviews with 200 young FCNR members to check that they remain active in wildlife-friendly gardening and allotmenteering. In doing so, we took the opportunity to ask if they were happy with the level of support FCNR provided.  

We wanted to understand the early impact of COVID-19 on the work of Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve. We therefore took a sample of 100 of their members and asked them a series of questions. The results show that a significant majority of members continue to promote the work of Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve without putting themselves at risk, or infringing government advice. 

We wanted to remind local people that PV panels on the roofs of their homes and/or business premises is an accessible and practical way to address the challenges of climate change. Our analysis here shows clearly the environmental and economic benefits of using PV Panels.

We will conduct further PV Panel investigations later this year. 

We wanted to understand the impact which a leylandii hedge, belonging to a neighbour, has had on this garden, in contrast to the decision of these garden-owners to grow a hedge in the east of their garden composed of berry plants. The results show that the side of the garden with berries received the most visits from birds. The area in the south of the garden also attracted bird visits due to the feeders which these garden-owners have bought. The benefit of this exercise is to show that we can make our gardens more wildlife friendly through the planting decisions we make.

We wanted to understand the extent to which local people in the Felixstowe area feed their soil. We therefore took a sample of 100 members of Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve to conduct this analysis.

The main conclusion shows there is a great opportunity to educate, encourage and empower local people about the importance of feeding the soil in their gardens and allotments. This is so important, we will spend the whole of this year with this campaign. At that stage, we will review progress.  

Following on from our analysis in September (see below) we wanted to show that, even in the depths of winter, PV panels still make a contribution to saving carbon dioxide. We hope these results will encourage our readers to adopt PV panels as a contribution toward helping with climate change. 

We wanted to understand the profile of birds found within Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve in October 2019. We began by creating a new map using the Leaflet JavaScript Library - see our Maps tab. We then created ten random location markers on that map. We used each of those locations for ten randomly chosen day light hours to complete the birding profiles. We conclude that, although robin populations appear healthy, other birds still need the support of our members to increase their numbers. 

On this day, 200 years ago, the English poet John Keats wrote his beautiful ode "To Autumn". Since then, that poem has been admired around the world.

On this special anniversary for environmental reflection, we want to launch our most ambitious project to date. :We wanted to look at the conjunction of global climate change, Carbon Dioxide levels and the local use of PV panels (we did say "ambitious").

We hope our analysis encourages local people in the Felixstowe area to adopt PV panels in their homes and places of work. It would represent a powerful local statement of support for one of the most important of all global issues. 

Following on from last month's work on the types of tree found in our Community Nature Reserve, we now wanted to understand the range of circumferences of those trees. We therefore measured the circumferences of the trees featured in last month's sample. We conclude that most trees from this analysis are of sufficient circumference to offer local wildlife a good level of opportunity for shelter and feeding. 

We wanted to identify the types of tree which our members have in their gardens and allotments. We therefore took a sample of 100 of our members who own trees (excluding leylandii). The results of the sample show seven tree types - three of which are fruit trees, so that's good news for wildlife. More good news comes from the fact that all the other trees will support a diversity of insect species. 

We wanted to understand the area of re-wilding which our members have allocated. We therefore took a sample of 100 members who have any kind of re-wilding in their gardens. The average re-wilding area is 2.51 square yards. However, we found other gardens with up to 12 square yards in the sample. The results suggest that our members might be experimenting with re-wilding to see how it fits in with their broader wildlife garden planning. 

In May 2018, we asked a sample of 100 of our members how many bird species they saw in their back gardens in the whole of that month. In May 2019, we asked a different 100 randomly chosen members the same question. The results show a noticeable shift in species observed in 2019 due, almost certainly, to the greater use in 2019 of bird feeders. These results show that this example of community-based conservation helps to increase the number of bird species observed. 

We took a random survey from 100 of our members and asked them two questions. First, we wanted to know about "top priority" species which local people favour when they design their wildlife-friendly gardens (and allotments). Second, we wanted to know the extent to which those wildlife species figure within the overall "mix" of wildlife-gardening priorities. The results show a generally favourable breadth of prioritizing, but with more awareness needed for some of these species.

Following on from our December 2018 analysis (see below), we wanted to understand the types of bird which are attracted to local gardens where the only berried plant is either holly, hawthorn or both. We conclude that holly attracted greater numbers of the bird species observed. However, gardens with both holly and hawthorn were favoured by the greatest numbers of birds.

We took a new random sample from 100 gardens belonging to our members and asked them to count the birds they saw in those gardens between 1 - 14 December. This data will therefore serve us as a bench mark against which we can compare future December bird counts.

We took a new random sample from 50 of our members and asked them which kinds of bird feeder food were favoured among Song Thrushes and Blackbirds between 1 - 14 November 2018. The results suggest that mealworms, sultanas and oats are top of the menu choices for those birds. 

We took a random sample from 100 members of Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve and asked them how many hours they spent in October on wildlife-friendly activities eg work on bird feeders, hedgehog homes, ponds etc. Our follow-up work revealed that sampled people said they prefer to 'target' their work in Autumn, given the unfavourable weather.

We wanted to find the top five birds which use garden feeders in September 2018. We therefore took a random sample of 100 of our members and asked them to monitor which birds used their garden feeders. We conclude that it might be best to regularly change the location of garden bird feeders in each garden so each bird has new opportunities to use each feeder. We also recommend that feeders are cleaned regularly.

We took a random sample of 100 of our members and asked them how many days between 15 July - 15 August 2018 they provided food and water for local wildlife in the members' gardens, allotments or window boxes. We also wanted to know how often our sampled members offered encouragement and practical help to family and neighbours in activities related to our Community Nature Reserve.  

As we enter our fifth month, we wanted to evaluate our performance. We used the Ten Principles for Best Practice in Citizen Science, as published by the European Citizen Science Association, as the basis for our questions. All 30 members of our group chose to participate. (Participation was anonymous). The results are shown on this heat map. We conclude that we have made a good start but there is room to build on our achievements so far. 

We wanted to monitor the rise and fall of swift sightings in central Felixstowe between their  arrival in 2018 - which was May 7, and the time when they appear to start their migration away from Felixstowe. Our chart shows that there was a peak of 63 reported sightings during the last week in June. Since that peak, there has been a clear decline in reported sightings. This chart was created in Excel.   

Throughout July and August, Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve encourages all local people to build wildlife ponds. Feedback from local people shows that pond skaters (Gerris lacustris) are a particular favourite. We therefore took a random sample of 100 of our members who have wildlife ponds and asked them how many times they saw a pond skater on 1 August 2018. Among the highlights of this survey, we found that 9 people reported seeing 8 pond skaters, 17 people reported seeing 7 pond skaters, 22 people reported seeing 6 pond skaters and 18 people reported seeing 5 pond skaters.   

We took a random sample of 100 of our members and asked them how many times they saw a hedgehog in their back gardens between 1 - 10 July this year. The results show that everyone saw at least one hedgehog. The average number of sightings was almost 6 (5.68 to be precise). Among the highlights of this data set, 4 people reported a hedgehog sighting on each day of the survey; 6 people reported 9 sightings; 8 people reported 8 sightings; 16 people reported 7 sightings; and 22 people reported 5 sightings. This data analysis was completed in R.

We wanted to estimate the average size, and total size, of wildlife-friendly areas in local gardens. We therefore took a random sample of 100 of our members. The smallest wildlife-friendly area in the sample was 1 square yard. The largest area was 9 square yards. The mean was shown to be 3.65 square yards. With 1029 members at the time of writing, we estimate that our Community Nature Reserve covers about 3755 square yards. Our distribution graph was created in Excel.

We created a new random sample from 50 of our members and then produced a box plot using R software. The box plot shows the reported sightings of hedgehogs in back gardens in the Felixstowe area between 1 - 14 June 2018. The median is shown to be 5. The maximum value is 12. The main benefit of this exercise is to show this data in a clear and visual form. It also introduced our members to the use of R software.  

We wanted to discover how our most active members became part of our work. At the time of doing this analysis, we had 1,016 active members. We discovered that 91.3% of those people came to us after they were encouraged to do so by their neighbours who were already members of our Community Nature Reserve. 5.1% came from reading about us on Facebook. 3.6% came to us from Twitter 

We took a new random sample of 50 local people and asked them how many times they laid out food and water for hedgehogs during the week of 21 - 27 May 2018. We then asked them how many times during that week they saw at least one hedgehog. The correlation is strong (0.9135), suggesting that it really is true that helping local hedgehogs is a good idea if you want to see more hedgehogs.