Introducing the Sidmouth Nature Project

Objectives

The Sidmouth Nature project exists to fulfil three objectives.

Personal:
This project started when I moved to Sidmouth in August 2022. Given my long established interest in nature and, in particular, ecology, being new to the area gave me the opportunity and purpose to explore and ‘study’ my new surroundings.

Educational:
Whilst primarily for my own interest the information gathered during my exploration of the selected sites of natural interest (my designation not an official one) may be of value to other people interested in nature, both those living locally or maybe visitors to the area, who want to know more about the natural interest to be found in the area.

Research:
Although the project is not based on scientific principles and is not, strictly speaking, ‘citizen science’ the data and related interpretation MAY be of benefit to anyone involved in research and in the conservation of the natural world in this area of Devon. If it is then I would be honoured to have made a small contribution to their work.

Credentials

Given this is a personal project, and not the results of professional survey work, an understanding of my ‘credibility’ is necessary to provide context to the project and set readers expectations at a realistic level.

Analyst by nature:
I have always had an analytical approach to everything! I spent many years working in information technology as a systems designer and a data processing professional. That experience has had a significant bearing on how this project has been organised and the way in which the data has been collated, analysed and published.

Nature by analysis:
I first became interested in the natural world back in 1977. Initially as a 'birder' but that interest has since expanded to include everything from mammals to fungi. Unlike many amateur naturalists just keeping casual lists of what I had seen, or making a photograph collection, I took a more analytical approach.

Equally, I am not deeply interested in biological or botanical functions or animal behaviour, my interest is nature as a 'system'; my interest is ecology and how plants and animals function together and their interdependence.

A note of caution:

I cannot emphasise enough that I am NOT a professional in this field, I am an enthusiastic amateur. I try to ensure my species identifications are correct and the data collected is accurate but I am a 'jack of all trades and master of none'. Please be aware that innocent mistakes may be present and if so I am sorry! If using this data for any research purposes please bear that in mind.

Publication

As discussed above this project is for my personal development but the results of my survey work is made available on the internet in the form of a website (www.sidmouthnature.uk) for anyone to access and use the data. It provides tables, charts, maps, photographs and general information about the sites of natural interest in the Sidmouth area as well as more detailed information about species, both animal and plant, to be found in the area.

Conclusion

I anticipate this to be a three year project to first identify and discover sites of natural interest in the Sidmouth area, to then visit each throughout the year, to present the data collected in a readable form suitably illustrated with charts, maps, photographs and tables and then, finally to review the collected data and to try and produce a meaningful guide to the sites of high natural value in the area and why they are of high value based on their biodiversity.