About Us
The Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre (WSBRC) is one of a growing network of Local Records Centres across the UK. It acts as a repository for high quality biological and environmental information in the county of Wiltshire and the Borough of Swindon.
Housed at the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's headquarters in Devizes, in the heart of Wiltshire, we are a small team of staff and volunteers who bring together, manage and interpret environmental records from a wide range of organisations, volunteer recording groups and individuals.
The WSBRC is housed at the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as a not-for-profit partnership whose stakeholders also include Natural England, local authorities and the network of County Recorders. It was founded in 1975 and transferred to the Trust from the Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Society (WANHS) in 1998.
Why do we gather this information?
By bringing a variety of environmental information together and interpreting it, an overall picture of the status and distribution of different habitats and species becomes apparent. If this information is collected systematically over time, real changes in the health of our natural world here in our bit of the South West can be monitored and accurately assessed.
The information we hold plays a fundamental role in ensuring that important areas for biodiversity are taken into account when considering plans for new developments or change of land use. Statutory agencies have legal responsibilities for regulating activities that may harm the natural environment, particularly where they might affect habitats, sites or species that are protected under UK or European legislation. The WSBRC provides a ‘planning screen’ service that identifies applications where such considerations apply.
The information we provide helps environmental organisations and land managers to target their activities more effectively – a vital consideration when resources are limited. Information supplied by the WSBRC supports the Wiltshire, Swindon and Cotswold Water Park Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs) by inputting data on habitats and species that require priority action.
Where do our records come from?
Environmental records for habitats, sites and species are obtained from a wide variety of sources including paid surveyors, commissioned surveys and information provided by other voluntary and statutory organisations; but most species records are collected by volunteers. A long tradition of volunteer wildlife recording exists in Britain. Even today, volunteers provide the bulk of the WSBRC's species records and we support these recorders by organising training and providing resources, such as equipment, where possible. A network of approved volunteer experts, the County Recorders, provide us with most specialist records but we also rely upon general recorders to keep us up-to-date on what is happening in the county. After all, no-one starts off as an expert!
Several long-term volunteer recording schemes have been set up to monitor different habitat types, and include protected road verges, river corridors and hedgerows. We have other short term volunteer recording schemes to help fill the gaps in our knowledge of Wiltshire and Swindon.
