Across Greater Manchester’s woodlands and riversides, there are small opportunities to discover the natural world – from an unexpected butterfly to a glimpse of a bat. Over the past year, our Species Monitoring Project has helped make space for these encounters, bringing people together to explore wildlife of the Medlock Valley.
The project has helped deepen ecological understanding, bring people together through shared learning, and generate environmental data that will guide habitat conservation for years to come.
As we come to the end of the project, we want to shine a light on the people who shaped it from the ground up – the volunteers who kept turning up, week after week, in all weathers.
Dom was one of those familiar faces. He joined many of our species monitoring workshops, always arriving with an endless sense of curiosity. At first, the workshops were simply a way for him to learn something new. As a resident of the Medlock Valley, he wanted to understand how species surveying worked and how he might use those skills to look after the green spaces on his own doorstep.
“I’ve always been in nature my whole life, but I was never really aware of it – not knowing what I was looking at, or how incredibly diverse and exciting our cities can be for plants, animals and fungi.”
Across both classroom sessions and fieldwork, volunteers like Dom built a detailed knowledge of six flagship species in the Medlock Valley, including how they live, how to survey them, and how to record findings. Along the way, they learned why some species are flourishing and why others are struggling, and how environmental and human pressures shape these changes.
“I now know many birds by sight and their songs and calls, all the types of newts we have here in Britain, why water voles are on the decline, many butterflies by their markings and many more.”
As the weeks went on, Dom discovered the real power of citizen science. He began submitting wildlife records, recognising that each entry plays a part in conservation decisions across Manchester.
“What excited me the most was being able to contribute to citizen science, to make real change by submitting records to GMEU and helping shape the future of conservation within Manchester.”
For Dom, the programme wasn’t just about species or surveys. It became a turning point. After spending much of the last decade isolated because of poor mental health, the regular sessions helped him regain focus, confidence and a sense of connection. The first time he saw bats on one of our walks, it sparked a new fascination – enough that he bought his own detector and now surveys independently around where he lives.
“Before working with City of Trees, I had spent the last decade of my life isolated due to poor mental health… now that I’m on the mend, I want to be out as much as possible.”
Through our citizen-science species monitoring work, people across Greater Manchester have been empowered to explore their local landscapes whilst building new skills that contribute meaningful conservation data. We hope this has created a legacy of community-driven conservation that will continue to support local habitats long after the project ends.