The signs of spring are in abundance right now, but because of the coronavirus outbreak everyone is at greater risk of losing touch with nature. The Canal & River Trust charity has responded by launching an online wildlife quiz, so everyone can listen to nature.
The Trust, which cares for 2,000 miles of waterways across England and Wales (19 rivers and canals totalling 316 miles in Yorkshire & North East England), commissioned a survey that showed young people are less likely to be able to identify wildlife than older generations. According to the findings, only 59% of people aged 16-24 could identify a duck’s quacking sound, compared with 78% of the over 55s.
The survey also discovered 76% of parents believe they are less knowledgeable about nature than the previous generation, with 68% of parents also believing that their own children are less knowledgeable about nature than they were at the same age.
Some people are lucky and able to enjoy wildlife as part of their daily lockdown walks; more than eight million live within 1km of a canal (nearly 1.1 million in the charity’s Yorkshire & NE region). But to keep everyone in touch with nature, Canal & River Trust is throwing down the gauntlet for families to take part in a national intergenerational test of knowledge. Ear and Eye-Q Test is a simple, fun, multiple choice quiz, suitable for any age. Ten questions feature a wide variety of wildlife sound recordings from bats and blackbirds to geese and deer.
To test your nature knowledge with the Canal & River Trust Wildlife Ear and Eye-Q Test visit canalrivertrust.org.uk/ear-for-wildlife
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