Conference helps to raise awareness of the role of LERCs and NBN
“Go along Hadrian’s Wall and turn left at the Tyrannosaurus Rex…” these were the unusual directions to the North East Recorders Conference held on the 1st October at Newcastle’s Great North Museum:Hancock. Organised by ERIC NE (Environmental Records Information Centre North East), the conference provided a valuable opportunity for members of the voluntary recording community and the professional environmental sector to share their ideas and experience regarding biological record management and data flow.
Peter Davis from the Natural History Society of Northumbria set the context for the day with an inspiring and entertaining talk on the pioneers of biological recording in North East England. This was followed by a series of presentations about the use of biological records; speakers from Durham County Council, Northumberland Biodiversity Partnership and Natural England described local case studies which vividly illustrated the importance of biological records for conserving and enhancing biodiversity. All the speakers were united in their message to the audience: “please keep recording and sharing your data!”
The next session covered the management and dissemination of biological records, in particular the role of Local Environmental Records Centres and the NBN. Janet Simkin, Data Manager for the British Lichen Society, gave an excellent presentation about the NBN and a very useful demonstration of the Gateway.
In the afternoon, local recorders gave presentations on a range of current projects from seal monitoring in Teesmouth to bird ringing in Northumbria, all illustrated with distribution maps generated from ERIC NE’s database.
The conference was attended by over 80 delegates from local and national recording societies, ecological consultancies, LBAP partnerships, Local Authorities, academic institutions and nature conservation organisations.
Katherine Pinnock, ERIC NE Coordinator, said:
“I am delighted with the success of the conference, it was an excellent opportunity to celebrate the recording activity in our region and to raise awareness of the role of LERCs and the NBN. We have already received new data as a result of the conference. The speakers did a fantastic job, generating interesting discussions during the Q&A sessions – and the room was positively buzzing with conversation over lunch! We have received very positive feedback, including several requests to make this an annual event.”
Financial support for this event was provided by the NBN as part of a Defra-funded project to help Local Environmental Records Centres to deliver training and support to data providers.