The Wildlife Trusts in Wales sought to re-introduce beavers some 500 years after their regional extinction. To maximise the chances of successful re-introduction, they identified an urgent need to create a monitoring programme that could rely on citizen scientists from across the country to willingly undertake meaningful reporting. To achieve this, they needed a partner with experience and expertise in
(1) science and scientific best practice (including zoology and ecology);
(2) design and implementation of monitoring programmes to be run at scale by volunteer, lay participants; and
(3) creation of engaging, tractable and appealing digital assets (including interactive web resources, apps, dynamic offline documents, databases, and videos); and
(4) the ability to closely replicate these materials in both English and Welsh.
Oxford Oracle was selected to achieve the required outcomes.
The Oracle’s Solution:
The Oracle assembled fellows who were experts in zoology, the public understanding of science, and biologists who were fluently bilingual in Welsh and English. Working with the Welsh Wildlife Trusts and Cofnod (the North Wales Environmental Records Centre), a reliable and simple process for recording beaver sightings via either smartphone apps or a simple web form was agreed. Electronic documents including “Spot a Beaver”, “Wildlife Facilitated by Beavers” and “Report a Beaver Sighting” were produced via iterative consultation with key stakeholders and, finally, explanatory videos were created to promote easy adoption of the biological guides and reporting advice.
The citizen science toolkit has been successfully deployed and the monitoring programme is an ongoing success. The client reports that the programme instituted with the Oracle is considered innovative and has enjoyed success beyond expectation. The procedures are to be adapted for replication within initiatives driven by other wildlife trusts.