Exploring earthworms

Story: Maxwell Ayamba

SHEBEEN – the Sheffield Black & Ethnic Minority Environmental Network – organised a soil and earthworms survey in Abbeyfield Park on 19th May for students of the Community Foundation Studies course at Sheffield College’s Fir Vale Centre, as part of the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) new initiative. The aim is to get people back in touch with nature by exploring and studying their local environments.

Across England, OPAL has a wide range of activities for different age groups such as measuring mini-beasts, learning about lichens, surveying wild flower meadows, finding out about the wildlife of a local pond or park. Our wildlife faces a growing number of pressures, with populations of our most familiar animals and plants changing at an alarming rate. OPAL activities allow students to build a detailed picture of the local environment and log it on their website.

OPAL will also be running a series of nationwide surveys, including studies into soils, biodiversity, water, air and climate. The soils and earthworms survey is the first of these.

Fir Vale Centre students were excited about the survey. Dawn Griffiths, a teacher from Sheffield College, said, “This is an opportunity for our students to undertake a practical field science study. Most of them have no knowledge about the different plant and animal species in England, it is important not only to learn about but also to protect them.

Do your own survey or just see the earthworm guide at: http://www.OPALExploreNature.org