The Wildlife Trusts are launching a new version of the popular citizen science project – Shoresearch – and are calling on everyone to get involved in monitoring marine life on UK shores. Cornwall Wildlife Trust has been running Shoresearch across Cornwall for seven years, and is very pleased that this fantastic project is going national! The information collected through this national effort will help experts monitor our fragile sea life and better understand the effects of pollution, climate change, and invasive alien species.

Matt Slater Marine Awareness Officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust says,

“I’m delighted that Shoresearch data is going to be collected in the same way across the UK with all of the coastal Wildlife Trust’s working together. The information we are gathering is going to be invaluable for monitoring the health of our marine life as it adapts to the effects of climate change over the coming years.”

Shoresearch is being launched during National Marine Week 2019, and Cornwall Wildlife Trust has Shoresearch Cornwall events running from 27^th July to 11^th of August this summer. National Marine Week is a chance to celebrate the wonderful wildlife found in the seas around the UK and there’s a packed programme of events and activities including Seaquest Surveys as part of National Whale and Dolphin Watch, Snorkels and Discovery Days with the Trust’s Your Shore Beach Rangers.

Anyone can get involved with Shoresearch Cornwall; Cornwall Wildlife Trust run free events, surveys and training throughout the year. People will be trained to identify and record intertidal plants and animals and their habitats, and will join a fantastic team of friendly volunteers from a range of backgrounds who share a love for the intertidal zone.

Joan Edwards, Director of Living Seas at The Wildlife Trusts nationally says,

“This is the first time people will be able to contribute to a national effort for our seas and be part of marine conservation in action. People love the sea and want to save it from the many threats it now faces. Shoresearch means they can do something about it and get stuck in. We have developed a new survey method which Wildlife Trusts around the UK are pioneering, and this will contribute to a national database, inform national conservation strategies and mean that protected areas can be properly cared for.”

Find out more at www.wildlifetrusts.org/shoresearch. Contact a nearby coastal Wildlife Trust to find out about Shoresearch activities.  Begin your Cornwall Shoresearch journey by visiting the Cornwall Wildlife Trust website www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/shoresearch

CWT National Marine Week events 2019