UKC

Amanda Vestergaard writes about the connection between the mountains, mountaineering and science - and how you can get involved in helping to protect the environments that we walk and climb in.

Whether it be glaciology, geology or alpine ecology, the bond between mountaineers and environmental science runs deep and it is no secret that many of the first great mountaineers were also chasing scientific pursuits. Although these mountaineer-scientists came from widely different backgrounds with varying degrees of academic training, they all had one thing in common: their love for mountain environments and being within them drove their scientific endeavours.

Read more

That's a great round up! The plant survey sounds really fun. Another one I came across last year was the Mountain Heights project: https://munro-biodiversity.hutton.ac.uk/ 

Theyre trying to map whats in mountain-top soils using an eDNA approach. You adopt a munro, they send you a sampling pack and coords, and you grab a scoop of soil whilst at the top! I think they still have a few hills that need volunteers? 

iNaturalist is amazing. Citizen science on a mega scale! And it makes IDing things so accessible. I never thought I'd get excited about liverworts, and then I got that app..

Another good citizen science initiated running this week. Perfect for that 15 minutes between burns or hilltop lunch stop!

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/