Our friends at the Field Studies Council have teamed up with the Royal Society of Biology to bring you the Signs of Spring survey 2024.
Signs of Spring is a survey asking members of the public to record ten signs of spring wherever they live across the UK. Engage your students, neighbours and family in this wonderful task of spotting the first sightings:
insects like bumblebees, butterflies, ladybirds and dragon- and damselflies
flowers like daffodils, snowdrops, bluebells and hazel catkins
frogspawn
and the first of 2024 cut of lawn (we all know the wonderfully fresh smell!)
We love this survey for so many reasons! It encourages you and your pupils to connect to your local natural environment and to an important nation-wide project and action for nature. Because of climate change, we are likely to see earlier spring conditions having an impact on native ecosystems and even food provision. Monitoring the signs of spring is thus a crucial action helping us understand the changes and find the best solutions.
The survey also links to several curriculum requirements across primary and secondary teaching, including parts of flowering plant, food chain, plant reproduction, the causes and effects of climate change, and of course working scientifically through the skill of observation, predictions and data recording.
You already know our (evidence-based!) view on teaching outside and the numerous benefits that come with it, including improved wellbeing, cognitive skills, pro-environmental behaviours.... This survey is a great chance to start your outdoor journey! Why not devote 10 minutes each week to take your students to your local green space (can be the school grounds) and get them spotting first signs of spring.
Get involved by looking out for any of the ten indicator species or events shown below, and when you see one, record it using our short survey.
Access the survey at Signs of Spring – Field Studies Council (field-studies-council.org).