How Naturenet Began
By Matthew Chatfield
W
hen I first started using the Internet,
Naturenet's old logo I naturally looked for something about rangers and
conservation. To my surprise, there was nothing relevant to this country at
all. So I started Naturenet, which has been going since January 1996. It is
an ongoing magazine of information which I find useful myself, and for others
to find out about practical conservation in this country. It has proved to be
very popular. I have had many enquiries, and the site continues to grow. This
May, I negotiated free space with a sponsor, Webscape, who continue to host
Naturenet in exchange for acknowledgement on the site. I was delighted with
a review in August’s BBC Wildlife Magazine which said "Naturenet...should
have something to suit all tastes", and compared us very favourably
with the recently opened Wildlife Trusts’ site.
About 1400 people have used the site in the last three months.
From the correspondence generated, they are mostly in the UK. But access to Naturenet
is free to all, and I receive enquiries from all over the world in my 'Ask
The Ranger' spot. Recent questions include:
• "What are the functional (behavioural) responses
in red grouse to increased predation?"
• "Would a badger take a pet rabbit, by digging into the run?"
• "How many species of birds would you find in the countryside?"
Jody Smith, age 10
In fact, typical questions a ranger might expect at work. I
do not always know the answers, but I can always point the enquirer to someone
who might.
Yes! There is a directory of sites which includes simple
information for sites in every English county. To get your site in our directory,
send a postcard to Naturenet with the following information: site name; contact
address, phone number, email/URL (if any), status (eg SSSI), no more than 15
key words listing features, habitats and species. It is free, and we will not
try to sell you anything.
We are always looking for contributors. We need help to do Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland too. If you want to contribute more, or are willing
to proof-read the data for your county, drop us a line. If you can, email
us. Recent examples of information added include schedules of the Wildlife
and Countryside Act; descriptions of British amphibians and reptiles; list of
British World Heritage Sites; contacts for UK government departments; larger
Woodland Trust sites in England. If you have any useful information on computer
already, we can probably use it.
Matthew Chatfield
This article first appeared in The Ranger magazine, Spring 1997. Warning: It's
now a bit out of date!
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