Outline of responsibilities

• Quality assurance, testing, and release support
• Technical collaboration
• User workflow validation
• Programme support

Experience (Essential)

• Software QA, testing, business analyst, or closely related delivery role.
• Creating and running structured testing activity.
• Maintaining an issue backlog using Jira or Kanban.
• Working with data-centric web applications, APIs and data workflows
• Confidence facilitating user walkthroughs, User acceptance testing, and feedback sessions.
• Understanding of UK data management practices and standards, including GDPR.

Salary

£36,500 – £41,500

Full details and how to apply

Details of all the responsibilities and the experience and skills required for the role can be found at the link below.

Applications must be made online through the link below.

Deadline – 4 June 2026.

Find out more and apply for the Business & QA Analyst role

The post NBN Trust Job Vacancy – Business & QA Analyst appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

The NBN Trust is a small charity with a bold ambition: to make data work for nature. Since 2000, as the UK’s biodiversity data infrastructure, we’ve been making data accessible to inform better decisions about the natural world and connect people with nature.

Our vision is for nature thriving everywhere, in all its diversity, and our mission is “making data work for nature”.

We are now looking for a Support Assistant to join our small and welcoming Data team on a fixed-term contract, offered initially for 12 months.

The job involves providing first line support for the NBN Atlas, helping with the testing of new and existing NBN Atlas features, and delivering a combination of day-to-day tasks and project work.

The job is offered on a full-time basis, but we work flexibly, and are happy to consider part-time applications on a minimum 80% contract which could be worked over four or five days, with pro-rata pay. If you want to apply on this basis, please make it clear in your application.

Our team is based all over the UK and works remotely, so you must be able to work from home. You will need the right to work in the UK, or be ready to obtain it independently.

We are a supportive and friendly organisation and we welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and personal circumstances.

Core job responsibilities

First Line Support for the NBN Atlas 

• Act as the primary point of contact for the NBN Atlas, managing queries and reporting issues, including monitoring and responding to support emails and general enquiries.
• Assist with the implementation and maintenance of a new ticketing and knowledge base system.
• Document reported issues with the NBN Atlas, escalate them when needed, and work across teams to help resolve issues where required.
• Monitor new and existing record issues, liaising with data partners and users as necessary.
• Provide feedback on common issues and proactively support the development of solutions.

Maintaining and Improving the NBN Atlas

• Help maintain the data flow on the NBN Atlas and GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility – the global equivalent of the NBN Atlas) through assisting with routine data processing tasks.
• Help with the testing of new and existing NBN Atlas features, including documenting tests and creating work tickets for the Development team.
• Keep any help documentation for the NBN Atlas up to date, including improvements to existing guidance.
• Report issues and bugs using reproducible examples to the Development team and ensure a clear line of communication between all parties.
• Support with the maintenance of other resources, including species lists and spatial layers, on the NBN Atlas.

Supporting the Data Team

• Assist with the synthesis of strategic insight to support fundraising and membership campaigns.
• Coordinate meetings including scheduling, note-taking, and follow-up actions.
• Help with basic data analysis and the preparation of outputs for internal and external use.
• Provide support and advice on how to use the NBN Atlas to users, NBN Trust staff, and Trustees.
• Support engagement activities such as events or workshops.
• Support the delivery of bespoke data products and reports.

Full details and how to apply

Details of all the responsibilities and the experience and skills required for the role can be found at the link below.

Applications must be made online through the link below.

Deadline – 28 May 2026.

Interviews – planned to take place w/c 8 June 2026.

Find out more and apply for the Support Assistant role

The post NBN Trust Job Vacancy – Support Assistant appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

In this issue:

• NBN Awards – nominate before 18 May!
• NBN Conference – save the date!
• Earth Raise success – thank you!
• NBN Trust awarded £50,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation
• Two new Trustees strengthen NBN Trust board
• NBN Trust joins British Standards Institution’s national committee on Biodiversity
• Latest data updates to the NBN Atlas
• POSTnote – Evidence for nature recovery
• Revealing the hidden world of Scotland’s rainforest
• Can you help with vital wildlife surveys in your local area?
• Join the National BioBlitz 23 – 31 May 2026
• National Plant Health Week 11-17 May
• National Education Nature Park – May updates
• Help shape support for the protection and restoration of nature

Subscribe to our monthly Network News.

The post Network News – May 2026 appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

New data resources

Greater Manchester Ecology Unit 

➡️ 2,469 new records shared from the data resource – Wet Willow Wildlife Project Lancs WT.

📊 Total records – 225,698

The Wildlife Information Centre

➡️ 7,141 new records from TWIC City of Edinburgh Council – Local Biodiversity Site Surveys 

➡️ 5,251 new records from TWIC Biodiversity Field Trip Data (1995-present) 

📊 Total records – 214,511

Whale and Dolphin Conservation 

➡️ 8,386 new records from WDC Shorewatch Sightings 2024-2025 

📊Total records – 38,589

Bat Conservation Trust

➡️ 920 new records from two data resources from two Bats in Churches project – DNA data and Acoustic data

📊 Total records – 234,983

MammalWeb 

➡️ 158,143 new records from MammalWeb records (post-2024) – 

📊Total records – 262,055

New data partner

MARA

➡️136 new records from survey data – NatureScot funded 

📊Total records – 136

Updated data resources

Highland Biological Recording Group 

➡️ 290,015 new or updated records

📊 Total records – 307,511

Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland

➡️ Updated dataset with 51,900 new records from non-marine molluscs (Great Britain) making a total of 385,071

📊 Total records – 795,329

British Dragonfly Society Recording Scheme 

➡️126,540 new records added to dataset

📊Total records – 2,212,458

House Martin Conservation UK & Ireland

➡️ 35 new records

📊Total records – 1,613

Fife Nature Records Centre

➡️ 108,208 new records for the Fife Nature Records Centre Combined Dataset 

📊Total records – 347,233

Dataset provided direct to GBIF

Mott MacDonald

Flora and Fauna Records, October 2024 to October 2025, Stip, North Macedonia

➡️ Total records – 1,579

A huge thank you to all our data partners and to the dedicated verifiers who ensure the quality of these records. Every new dataset strengthens our collective understanding of UK biodiversity and supports better conservation decisions.

If you’re interested in sharing your data with the NBN Atlas, we’d love to hear from you!

Explore our full list and map of data partners on the NBN Atlas.

The post April data updates to the NBN Atlas appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

Overview and summary

Nature recovery means restoring and enhancing ecosystems so that wildlife and people can thrive. It is central to UK environmental policy, including the 25-Year Environment Plan, Local Nature Recovery Strategies, and Biodiversity Net Gain requirements.

Despite these frameworks, England is currently off track to meet most environmental commitments, with ongoing species loss and habitat degradation.

Evidence-Based Decision-Making

• Effective nature recovery relies on combining scientific research, expert knowledge, technical reports, and environmental data.
• Decision-making must address both global (e.g., climate change) and local (e.g., habitat loss) drivers of biodiversity decline, using the best available scientific evidence as required by law.
• Early community engagement, co-design of actions, and adaptive management (monitoring and adjusting actions) are essential for success.

Data and Collaboration Challenges

• Environmental data is fragmented across multiple repositories, with inconsistent standards and limited government investment in data infrastructure.
• Most biodiversity data is collected by skilled volunteers, but there is a lack of universal adoption of quality data standards.
• Collaboration and trust-building, especially through neutral convening bodies, are critical for shared goals and effective local action.

Implementation and Monitoring

• Practitioners often rely on non-statutory guidance, which can be outdated or lack clear evidence.
• There is a need for a centralised body to synthesise and translate evidence into practical guidance.
• Monitoring before and after interventions, including citizen science, is vital but often limited by time, funding, and training constraints.
• New technologies (e.g., AI, remote sensing, eDNA) offer opportunities for more efficient monitoring, but require careful management and human oversight.

Future Opportunities and Policy Options

• Align public and private sector requirements for evidence and data sharing to support investment and reduce duplication.
• Support the adoption of novel monitoring technologies and AI for evidence synthesis.
• Embed long-term monitoring and adaptive management in all nature recovery programmes.
• Provide training and support for practitioners to evaluate and apply evidence.
• Encourage early and ongoing stakeholder engagement through trusted intermediaries.

Conclusion

Nature recovery in England requires robust, evidence-based decision-making, improved data infrastructure, collaboration, and adaptive management. Addressing current gaps and supporting innovation will be key to reversing biodiversity loss and achieving environmental targets.

Download the POSTnote.

NBN Trust comment

Further to the POSTnote, we can be sure that nature recovery will not succeed on ambition alone. It needs evidence, data infrastructure, monitoring, and long-term trust between those who collect, manage, and use biodiversity data.

Much of the UK’s biodiversity evidence base depends on skilled volunteers, local environmental records centres, national schemes, researchers, public bodies, and platforms like the NBN Atlas.

The report also highlights a real risk. Environmental data is becoming more fragmented, more complex, and harder to use consistently. New monitoring methods, from eDNA to acoustics and AI-assisted analysis, will only increase that challenge unless we invest in the infrastructure that makes data findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable, and trusted.

If the UK wants evidence-led nature recovery, it must treat biodiversity data infrastructure as part of the delivery system, not as a nice-to-have sitting in the background. That is exactly the role the NBN Trust exists to play.

Will Millard, Data and Analytics Manager from the NBN Trust was able to contribute his expertise to this POSTnote.

The post POSTnote – Evidence for nature recovery appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

During 23 – 31 May the Rock Pool Project will be focusing on recording as many invasive species along our rocky shores as possible and they need your help to build a national picture of marine life along our coasts.  Invasive species sometimes arrive via ballast water released by ships or may arrive because of climate changes, they cause a threat to our ecosystems as they often outcompete many of our native species. By participating in the National BioBlitz you can contribute to the conservation of our shores and support the management of invasive species.

If you are not sure whether you can identify any invasive species, don’t worry!  There is an identification guide produced by the Marine Biological Association, Natural England and The Bromley Trust to help you to familiarise yourself with some of the non-native species found on our shores, over 20 of which are considered invasive!

Taking part is easy, sign up to the National Bioblitz on the Rock Pool Project’s website where you will be given all the information needed to participate. The Rock Pool Project wants to cover as much of the UK coast as possible and there are bonus points for being the first to record in a new location with exclusive prizes to be won if you gain the overall highest score or highest score in your region. There will also be expert webinars running throughout the week.

We look forward to seeing your discoveries, good luck!

The post Join the National BioBlitz 23 – 31 May 2026 appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

At Almo Nature and Fondazione Capellino, we’re inviting UK based charities, community interest companies and non profits to help us shape a new initiative to support the protection and restoration of nature.

Almo Nature is wholly owned by Fondazione Capellino. All profits, after costs and taxes, are dedicated to a simple principle, giving back to nature what has been taken through production. This structure allows us to support projects that deliver real, measurable benefit for animals, ecosystems and biodiversity, rather than shareholder return.

Following the success of our 2025 Call for Projects, which supported 49 animal welfare organisations across Europe, we are continuing to develop this work with a growing emphasis on ecological connectivity and natural corridors. These areas are increasingly important in ensuring that wildlife can move, adapt and thrive in changing landscapes, and that fragmented habitats can be reconnected in meaningful ways.

While the UK is not eligible to take part in our 2026 European Call for Projects or the European Citizens Initiative launching on 1 July, we remain committed to ensuring that our shared values translate into practical and meaningful action here in the UK. We recognise the depth of expertise, experience and innovation within the UK environmental and conservation sector, and we want to engage with it directly.

We are therefore beginning to develop a UK focused programme, and at this stage we are opening a conversation rather than defining a fixed framework. We are particularly interested in understanding the needs of organisations working in areas such as reducing waterway pollution, improving wildlife wellbeing, supporting the transition to sustainable and regenerative farming, and protecting and enhancing habitats and biodiversity.

At this stage, this is an open invitation to understand need. We want to hear what would genuinely help organisations achieve their goals, whether that is equipment, project support, events, communications, capacity building, or something more specific. We are not approaching this with pre-set assumptions about what support should look like. Instead, we want to build an approach that reflects the realities on the ground and responds to the challenges organisations are facing in practice.

We are particularly interested in how support could strengthen ongoing work, unlock new activity, or help scale approaches that are already proving effective. We are also keen to understand where smaller or more flexible forms of support could make a meaningful difference, as well as where longer term collaboration might be valuable.

Most importantly, we want this to be shaped by those actively working in the field. We want to hear from you, the people working directly on the ground with experience and insight. Your perspectives will help us design a programme that is grounded, useful and responsive to real needs.

If you would be open to sharing your thoughts, you can contact Almo Nature’s UK Community Manager, James Falconbridge directly at james.falconbridge@almonature.com, or via the website.

The post Help shape support for the protection and restoration of nature appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

Living with Mammals (from April onwards – year-round)

Taking part in this survey couldn’t be easier – simply record online any wild mammals spotted in your garden, local park, or other shared green spaces such as allotments, churchyards and commons. You might spot a hedgehog, fox or badger, or even signs they’ve left behind such as footprints or droppings. The survey is open to everyone, and the survey website has lots of advice on how to identify the different mammals you might record.

In the last couple of years, almost a thousand sites were surveyed across the UK. The top five most frequently seen mammals in 2025 were hedgehogs, grey squirrels, foxes, mice and bats, but there were also 16 records of red squirrels (rare in England where they have only a few strongholds remaining). Last year’s data also showed that rabbit sightings continue to decline, echoing the decline seen in the countryside.

David Wembridge, Conservation Research and Strategy Officer at People’s Trust for Endangered Species said:

“Taking part in surveys like Living with Mammals and recording the wildlife around you makes a huge contribution to conservation. We want as many people as possible to take part, whether in a garden or allotment, and especially so if they can record wildlife in a local park, cemetery or other green space. It’s such a mindful activity too and the perfect time of year to connect with nature and enjoy the hopefully better weather! Please sign up – you will really be helping PTES to learn more about, and support, the wildlife on our doorstep.”

National Water Vole Monitoring Programme (15 April – 15 June 2026)

Water voles have experienced one of the most serious declines of any native wild mammal in the UK, thanks to habitat loss, fragmentation, and predation from non-native American mink. Thankfully, anyone in England, Scotland and Wales can help these well-loved mammals by visiting a nearby stream, river, ditch or canal from 15 April – 15 June in search of water voles (or their signs such as burrows in the riverbank, tic-tac sized droppings, or footprints) and record their findings online. This survey also requires no previous experience, and PTES offers free ID guides and online training to get started. The data produced are a vital contribution to the ongoing knowledge of this species and allow conservationists at PTES, and other organisations, to implement targeted conservation efforts to prevent further decline.

Last year, 123 waterway sites were surveyed across England, Scotland and Wales, with water voles found at 71 of them. The counties where most water voles were detected were Hampshire, Essex and Suffolk. A general increase in water vole activity was recorded across the east of England, which is encouraging and likely linked to ongoing landscape-scale American mink eradication in the region. Even where sites have showed no signs of water voles, this information is still incredibly valuable to PTES, helping us understand which areas are still suffering from the decline of what should be a widespread species.

Emily Luck, Water Vole Officer at People’s Trust for Endangered Species, explains:

“Water voles should be a common sight along our waterways, but you are considered lucky to catch a glimpse of one these days. Their population as a whole is still in trouble, and we need as much data as possible so that we can target recovery efforts effectively. Without our citizen scientists, our understanding of the current picture would not be as complete. Please take part if you can – your data could make a huge difference to the wildlife in your local area.”

Nida Al-Fulaij, Chief Executive at People’s Trust for Endangered Species added:

“Spring is a great time to get involved with nature and we are excited to be launching these surveys for 2026 as the important data collected, with the help of the public, are vital to our work. This information on the distribution, abundance and conservation status of many much-loved wildlife species really helps PTES support direct conservation efforts by ensuring we target the right actions in the places that need them most.”

To take part in any of these surveys or to find out more about PTES, visit ptes.org/surveys

The post Can you help with vital wildlife surveys in your local area? appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

The post Earth Raise success – thank you! appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.

Since the West Cowal Rainforest Biological Recording Project was launched, 171 volunteers have made 3421 records covering 1109 different species. These were identified with the help of a further 620 people through iNaturalist.

The project, which is run by the Argyll Countryside Trust (ACT), aims to build a clearer picture of how much temperate rainforest remains in the area, how at risk it is, and how it can be protected and regenerated. ACT’s Rainforest Manager Ian Dow said:

“Scotland’s rainforest is one of the most species-rich and globally rare habitats on earth. Because these remnants are fragmented across a complex mosaic of land use and often difficult to access, we don’t always have a clear picture of the rare species they support.

At West Cowal, there hadn’t been any meaningful survey work since the 1970s, so repeating that baseline has been crucial for guiding the regeneration work we’re now doing.

Without volunteers, we simply couldn’t have recorded this volume of observations. Platforms like iNaturalist allow us to pool the combined knowledge of hundreds of people, helping us build confidence in the identifications and the data we’re collecting.”

The West Cowal Project area, covers more than 45,000 hectares bounded by Loch Striven and Loch Fyne. It includes temperate rainforest, other woodland and peatland, which are all facing significant pressures from over-browsing by deer and invasive non-native species such as Rhododendron ponticum.

It’s part of Saving Argyll’s Rainforest project run by ACT, one of 12 landscape-scale projects overseen by the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest (ASR). This partnership of 25 different organisations that are working towards restoring and protecting Scotland’s rainforest up and down the west coast.

Species uncovered by the project include hazel gloves fungus, yellow specklebelly lichen, plum-fruited felt lichen, the European glow-worm, and a wide range of slime moulds.

Ian said:

“The work of our volunteers has resulted in an amazing species list. But for ACT and the wider ASR partnership, it’s also helped to build skills and knowledge in the local community, and provide an evidence base for supporting long-term rainforest recovery.”

Local volunteer and iNaturalist contributor Ben Mitchell said:

“I love spending time in these lush, green places, surrounded by life. It’s uplifting and therapeutic, and recording what you find helps build a shared picture of what’s there.”

You can read more detail about the project in the journal post on iNaturalisstUK.

The post Revealing the hidden world of Scotland’s rainforest appeared first on National Biodiversity Network.