From bird song to bat hunting, a new village initiative will see our nature-loving community gather together this Feast Week for a wildlife extravaganza! HIGS volunteer Alison Stuck shares more…
We are incredibly fortunate here in Histon & Impington to be surrounded by a wealth of wildlife and accessible natural spaces – but, in our busy lives, finding the time to really appreciate them can sometimes be a challenge.
The BioBlitz 2026 is brought to you by Histon & Impington Green Spaces (HIGS) and Histon & Impington Community Orchard (HICOP) and is set to kick off Feast Week in style by offering visitors the chance to explore some of our natural spaces and contribute as a ‘citizen scientist’ in a survey of local wildlife.
Taking place on Saturday 27 June, the BioBlitz ‘hub’ for the day will be at St Audrey’s Close Community Centre, from where nature lovers can set out to explore the wildlife and flora at Histon Wood, Croft Close Nature Reserve, the Community Orchard, Manor Park Field, and Long Meadow.
What is a BioBlitz?
“Bio” means “life” and “Blitz” means “to do something quickly and intensively” – combine the two, and you get a BioBlitz, where teams of specialists, families, students, and other community members work together in a race against time to find and identify as many kinds of life as possible.
Just like any scientific expedition, everything found will be documented and passed on to local and national databases that monitor wildlife.
There will be interactive activities for kids, grown-ups, beginners and experts alike. It’s an informal and fun way to create a snapshot of the variety of life that can be found in our area. It also provides an opportunity for participants to learn together and share their expertise and enthusiasm for nature.
Nature sets the timetable
The event – supported by Histon Beer Festival funding – will run on the first Saturday of Feast week, from early morning to sample bird song, until evening to hunt for bats.
Behind the scenes, the night before, experts will have been out catching moths and setting traps for small mammals. Their catch will need to be released in the cool of morning, and they will reveal what they find at around 9-10am in the Community Orchard (HICOP).
Over at Croft Close Nature Reserve, a team of bird ringers will make an early start too ahead of the ever popular traditional Feast Week HICOP Breakfast serving from 10:30am-12:00pm.
Butterflies and many other insects are most active in sunshine in the middle of the day, so this is the best time to join in with bug hunting and butterfly counting – when there will be expert-led sessions for people to enjoy.
Even flowers can be time sensitive. To see Jack go to bed at noon – a yellow-flowered branch of the daisy family that opens in the morning and closes around midday – with its flowers on display you obviously need to look early. Plus, there will also be a flora identification session at Manor Park field before noon.
HIGS trustee Dave Dives shares: “We have some interesting but often overlooked flora in the village so I am really looking forward to seeing how these are faring this year.”
Community gathering
Most importantly, the BioBlitz is meant to be a day for socialising with other nature lovers. There will be stalls at the Community Orchard in the morning and a wide range of attractions, all nature themed. The BioBlitz hub will also have stalls plus a totaliser where visitors can see how much has been identified as the day progresses.
Those with questions about nature – whether it’s a photograph of a strange insect in the garden, a sample of animal droppings or a puzzling wildflower – will have an opportunity to get them answered at the Meet the Experts session at the Bioblitz hub.
Legacy for the future
Data collected from the BioBlitz will be uploaded to the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Environmental Records Centre, where it will be part of the environmental baseline underpinning local planning.
This, in turn, contributes to an ambition articulated in the Neighbourhood Plan under the catchy title of ‘Project P12’ to bring together baseline environmental data for the parishes.
We hope the BioBlitz will encourage everyone, of all ages and levels of expertise, to get more involved in looking after local nature.
Perhaps someone coming and having a go as a ‘citizen scientist’ for an hour during the event might even end up with a new hobby? We really hope that everyone who comes along will find something to inspire them.
Histon & Impington BioBlitz is 7:30am-10pm on Saturday 27 June, at the St Audrey’s Close Community Centre, Histon, and neighbouring green spaces. Visit Histon & Impington Green Spaces for more details. The data will be published on the HIGS website.
Look out also for a talk about the BioBlitz experience and its findings in the autumn.
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