WALK THIS WATER WAY
Do you want your walk to contribute to citizen science and wildlife conservation?
If the answer is YES then why not download our Mammal Mapper app and get involved with recording mammals along waterways in your local area?
COMPETITION DETAILS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
The Task
With the launch of our updated Mammal Mapper app, recording mammal sightings has never been easier! All we’re asking you to do is walk 600m+ along a waterway whilst using the app to record any sightings or field signs of mammals you see along the way. We’re particularly interested in 5 key species – European otter, American mink, Water vole, Eurasian beaver and Brown rat – but records of any mammal species you encounter are valuable!
Why Mammal Mapper?
The great aspect of Mammal Mapper is that users can record a survey, during which the app tracks the route you are walking. This means that we can see where people have been looking for mammals, even if they haven’t seen anything. In turn this helps us to work out if areas where we have no records from are true absences of a species, or an artefact of nobody recording in those areas.
Why is this important?
The water vole is the UK’s most rapidly declining mammal, the American mink is invasive in the UK and the European otter has only recently embarked on its comeback and spread across the UK. Using Mammal Mapper, you can help us establish an inexpensive, low-effort monitoring system for these species that can be carried out by anyone!
What to do
- First, ensure you have access rights to where you are walking and are wearing sensible clothing
- Download the Mammal Mapper App and ‘Start Survey’
- Enter your mode of transport as ‘On Foot’ and enter ‘WTWW’ as the Survey ID
- Walk 600m+ along a stretch of water whilst looking out for mammals (such as otters, mink and water vole) and signs of mammals (such as footprints, droppings, feeding remains)
- Record any sightings and/or signs in the Mammal Mapper app along the way
- Submit your survey!
More Info
If you have any questions please contact app@themammalsociety.org
For more information about how to identify our target mammals, please see our Walk This Water Way leaflet. For printable life sized images of signs please see our identification guide. If you’d like to help us advertise the Walk This Water Way project, please feel free to save, print and distribute our leaflet and poster – Thank You!
Please remember to ensure you have access rights to whichever waterway you are walking along.
NATIONAL MAMMAL WEEK COMPETITION
This fantastic water way themed prize bundle could be yours if you take part in our Walk This Water Way survey! Simply complete at least one Walk This Water Way survey before midnight on the 24 October and you’ll be entered into the prize draw. For every survey you do, your name will be entered into the draw. So the more you survey, the more chance you have of winning! The winner will be announced during National Mammal Week on Friday 25 October. Please note, you are under no obligation to accept the prize should you only be interested in conducting surveys and not being entered into the draw. In the event of this happening, the draw will be conducted again.
Prize bundle contents:
A Mammal Society tote bag, eco-friendly bamboo coffee cup, cuddly otter toy and Mammal Society water shrew handbook!
How to Enter
Simply take part in a Walk This Water Way survey using the Mammal Mapper app.
When starting the survey you will need to use the code WTWW as the survey ID for us to register your surveys.
Every survey you submit will gain you one entry into the prize draw. The random draw will take place on Friday 25 October.
So what are you waiting for? Download the Mammal Mapper app and take part 🙂
Please note, by entering this competition you agree to the terms and conditions set out below.
Terms and conditions
Please read these terms and conditions carefully:
- The competition is to take part in a Walk This Water Way survey until midnight 24 October 2019. Each survey completed equals one entry to the draw. The prize draw will take place on Friday 25 October 2019.
- For a chance to win, at least one completed survey of at least 600m along a water way must be submitted.
- Your information will not be shared with any other third parties outside of the Mammal Society.
- You are under no obligation to accept the prize should you only be interested in conducting surveys and not being entered into the draw. In the event of this happening, the draw will be conducted again.
- These Terms and Conditions govern the Competition. All other information provided prior to entering the Competition including, without limitation, the route to entry for the Competition and the rules of the Competition, form part of these Terms and Conditions.
- The Competition will run from 11 October 2019 to midnight 24 October 2019. Therefore the closing date for entries is 23:59 GMT 24 October 2019.
- An entrant must enter their details fully on the app. If under 18, permission must be obtained from a parent or guardian before entering the competition.
- The young person or, if under 18, the young person’s parent or guardian, accepts all these terms and conditions by entering the competition. By entering the competition, entrants confirm that they have read and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions, and by the decisions of the Mammal Society, which are final in all matters relating to the competition. Any breach of these terms and conditions will result in the forfeiture of the prize. No correspondence will be entered into.