Worm Scientists are getting worried about our earthworms and believe that some species may be on the brink of extinction.

Did you know that Earthworms
• are really important to the fertility of our soil;
• create air passages through the soil;
• feed on decaying organic matter in the soil and help to recycle nutrients;
• were one of Charles Darwin’s favourite creatures and he wrote a book about them?

Your worms really count!
The Natural History Museum and Imperial College, London have launched an enormous and exciting nationwide survey and want as many people as possible to help them find out how many worms we have in our gardens, allotments, school grounds, playing fields, woodland and parklands and what species they are.

How and When?
It’s all going to be done in March with the help of diluted mustard and will be a bit like the earthworm equivalent of the RSPB birdwatch weekend! The “worm scientists” assure us that the mustard doesn’t hurt the worms but irritates them and brings them to the soil surface.

Get your FREE worm-watching pack
Everyone who volunteers will be sent a free worm-watching pack with full instructions, a magnifying glass and a chart so that you can tell which type of worms you have found. They want anyone over 11 years of age to get involved. If you are younger, ask an adult for help or ask one of your teachers if you can do a survey at school. The results then have to be input on the website where you will be able to see how they compare with other areas.

There are lots of fascinating articles about earthworms on the web but for a really fun one for the kids have a look at Worm World on http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/worm/pg000102.html


Background info from Soil & Earthworm Project
OPAL is an exciting new initiative that has been awarded a grant from the Big Lottery Fund and runs until December 2012. It is developing a wide range of participative programmes to encourage people from all backgrounds to get back in touch with nature, and to explore, study and learn about their local environments. The project will also generate valuable scientific data concerning the state of our environment through a number of nation-wide wildlife surveys.
The first survey is on soil and earthworms and will be launched in March 2009. It can be carried out in locations in your local area such as gardens, allotments, school grounds, playing fields, woodland and parklands. Survey packs will be available in March and will also be downloadable from our website. Each pack will include a fold‐out chart and accompanying information and answer booklet both designed by the Field Studies Council, an OPAL magnifying glass and all the resources needed to carry out the survey. The survey will take around 45 minutes and involves making observations and carrying out some basic chemical and physical tests on soil from test sites e.g. pH and texture. The activity will also involve an earthworm hunt where participants will follow a key to identify the earthworms that they find. The survey is aimed at anyone from age 11 upwards; however younger scientists can get involved with adult supervision. After the fieldwork activity participants can input their data onto the OPAL website and then view their data in relation to other local and regional tests. The data will be also analysed by scientists and outcomes will be used in the State of the Environment report to be published by Imperial College London at the end of the project.