If you are looking for a way to volunteer but without leaving the comfort of your own home, then contributing to a citizen science project could be the perfect way to do this. Citizen science projects use records from members of the public to help conduct research into the distribution and ecology of our wildlife. By getting involved you can help shape the future of our understanding of the natural world whether it be the effects of competition and habitat on slugs or the breeding success of penguins. There are plenty of different projects which are web based which you can get involved with and we have included a few below:

MammalWeb is asking people to identify mammals in photos taken from camera traps to help us determine their distribution and learn more about their ecology: Mammal Web

We have our own MammalWeb project, in partnership with Peabody- The Thamesmead Small Mammal Monitoring Project
Thamesmead Small Mammal Monitoring Project

ZSL are running their instant wild project which wants volunteers to help scientists understand how seals use a popular haul-out site in the Thames Estuary ZSL Thames Seal Project

Zooniverse has a collection of different citizen science projects which include penguin picture tagging, an offal camera set up and nest cams to name a few Zooniverse Citizen Science Projects

Seabird Watch is set up by Oxford University and uses cameras as a monitoring network for Arctic seabird conservation. They need your help counting birds, nests and eggs in their thousands of photos. Zooniverse Seabird Watch Project

Penguin Watch is set up by Oxford University and uses cameras as a monitoring network for penguin conservation. They need your help counting penguins, chicks, nests and eggs in their thousands of photos. Zooniverse Penguin Project

Naturehood is a project focused on taking action for wildlife in private gardens, and encourages wildlife friendly actions in communities. Take simple surveys to record changes in your garden wildlife. Naturehood

Living with mammals is calling for volunteers to take part in spring’s survey of wild mammals in gardens and local green spaces. Choose a site close to home and spend a short time each week looking out for wild mammals or the signs they leave behind. Living with mammals garden mammal project

Bee-fly watch is asking for people to record when they see bee-flies and submit them on the following website Bee-fly Watch

RHS Cellar Slug Survey asks members of the public to submit records of Yellow Cellar Slug and Green Cellar Slug in UK gardens, along with information about your garden so they can establish any links between habitat features and where these species occur. RHS Slug Survey

The British Trust for Ornithology has made signing up to their big garden birdwatch free, making it the perfect time to get involved. The Garden Birdwatch which has been running since 1990 and is designed to find out how, when and why birds and other animals use our gardens. Participants send in weekly lists of garden birds and other wildlife, which are analysed by scientists working under the BTO’s urban and garden ecology research programmes, to investigate the links between changes in wildlife populations and factors such as garden management, food, weather and urban structure. To find out more click on the following link: Big Garden Birdwatch