Back in February, Weald to Waves launched an exciting new initiative, the BioBox Loan Scheme. These boxes are packed with equipment and guides to help survey a wide range of wildlife, from reptiles and moths to ground flora, pond life and birds. The aim of the project is to offer a hands-on, accessible way for community groups, local projects and landowners to connect with nature, monitor their local greenspaces and discover more about the species they share their home with.

The first BioBoxes were loaned out to three of our Community Champion groups (Greening Steyning, Kingston Nature Recovery Group, and Greening Arundel) and have already been used in a huge variety of ways, from school sessions and community events to bioblitzes and wildlife survey training. This early success has shown just how well the BioBoxes are helping to engage people of all ages, building enthusiasm for nature and encouraging more people to get involved in local biodiversity efforts.

Across the three groups, the equipment has supported everything from structured surveys to fun family nature days. Sweep nets and magnifiers were used by local children to catch and identify grasshoppers and other minibeasts. Volunteers led bug hunts and butterfly trails in orchards and community green spaces, while ID sheets and pond nets helped local school groups explore their nearby ponds and hedgerows.

More advanced surveys have also been taking place. Refugia mats are being used to monitor reptiles, camera traps have captured hedgehogs, foxes and other nocturnal visitors, and moth traps have revealed the remarkable diversity of species active overnight. Pond surveys discovered smooth newts, aquatic invertebrates and hundreds of toad tadpoles. Bat walks using the bat detectors have picked up echolocation calls along town edges and in churchyards, helping to build a clearer picture of the species using these landscapes after dark.

Thanks to the enthusiasm and curiosity of our members, over 340 records have already been submitted to iRecord, representing around 250 species found across gardens, greenspaces, and farmland in the Weald to the Waves corridor. With new records coming in all the time, it’s fantastic to see a growing picture of the incredible biodiversity that exists around us.

“Perhaps the most important thing that the loan of the BioBox has brought with it, is (for some of us), an eye opener to just how much wildlife there is out there, just on our doorstep. Just how many amazing things we share our everyday life with. And along with this is the realisation that there is hope for the future if we do our upmost to protect it and help it to thrive.” – Greening Steyning

As this scheme expands to more people across the corridor, we’re excited to see how many more discoveries will be made, and how the data we gather will help shape the future of nature recovery across Sussex.

By Sam Joy, Weald to Waves Project Support Officer

Video credit – Kingston Nature Recovery Group