This summer – from 1st June to the 30th June – young naturalists across Liverpool City are being asked to put their wildlife spotting skills to the test.
This summer – from 1st June to the 30th June – young naturalists across Liverpool City are being asked to put their wildlife spotting skills to the test.
The Baltic Bingo wildlife competition is a new youth wildlife recording competition created by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust. The aim is to encourage children to connect with nature and learn more about Liverpool’s local wildlife – in their gardens, in the city centre, from their windows – during June 2021.
There are 25 different types of wildlife to discover, all listed on the Baltic Bingo worksheet which can be downloaded from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s website. Competitors then have all of June to find the different species and to upload what they see on iNaturalist!
The competition is open to children in Years 4-6 across Liverpool City Region. Children must have their parents or guardian’s permission to enter.
There are different prizes to be won for individuals and schools. Every child that submits a completed Baltic Bingo worksheet will receive a printable certificate of achievement. The school with the most completed entries will win an educational experience package from the Lunt Meadows Local Nature Reserve team and will be featured alongside the runner up schools on the Lancashire Wildlife Trust website.
Spotting wildlife is one of the many ways that young people can learn more about the wildlife around them. Whether they take photographs of bugs and beetles or draw pictures of pigeons, recording wildlife is a great way for children to explore the natural world.
The Baltic Bingo Wildlife Competition encourages young naturalists to find 25 species that are commonly spotted in the region and to visit Liverpool City Centre as part of their wildlife treasure hunt. Wapping Dock, Parr Street and the Baltic Green Urban Park are three locations that competitors are encouraged to visit as part of their wildlife treasure hunt.
All three are focus sites for Liverpool’s Urban GreenUP project, which aims to bring nature back to the city as well as tackle the impact of climate change and pollution. The Urban GreenUP project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme.
More than 12,000 plants and flowers have been installed in Parr Street’s Living Green Wall as part of the Urban GreenUP project, making it a beautiful place for young naturalists to practice photographing nature using iNaturalist. Wapping Dock – where competitors have three types of wildlife to find – is now home to an impressive floating ecosystem. The Baltic Triangle has also been transformed with the recent installation of a nature-inspired art trail, Heavy Gardening, where sculptures double as potential habitats for certain species. All of these green interventions will play a role in mitigating climate change, as well as in improving the air and water quality of our city.
The Baltic Bingo wildlife challenge is a fun way for children to learn more about wildlife and to appreciate the green spaces across the city. The Lancashire Wildlife Trust will be posting tips and tricks for spotting wildlife on social media throughout June, as part of 30 Days Wild which is one the UK’s biggest nature challenges.
The closing dates for entries is 23:59 on 30th June 2021.
To find out more about how to take part in the competition visit: https://www.lancswt.org.uk/baltic-bingo-wildlife-competition
