People / Unsung Hero
Unsung Hero: Richard Bland
The passionate naturalist is trustee of Avon Wildlife Trust, member of a variety of groups including Friends of the Downs & Avon Gorge, Bristol Naturalists Society and Bristol Ornithology Club, and until recently editor of the Nature in Avon publication.
Fascinated by starlings, Richard Bland would count the birds on his way to school. He remembers wondering how the birds knew exactly when the sun would set, even when the days were becoming shorter in winter, as if they had an internal clock.
When he moved to Bristol to teach history he quickly joined the Bristol Natural Society, which was dedicated to preserving the city’s wildlife.
is needed now More than ever
He also joined the British Trust’s Ornithology and spent the next 22 years as its regional representative, helping to protect and preserve native bird species.
During this time he was responsible for all the surveys carried out in the area surrounding the county while he was in charge.
He invited, supported and inspired bird watchers from every corner of the county to help gather accurate and specific data for each area of the surroundings of Bristol.
“We were not scientists, we just enjoyed counting birds,” he said, stifling a laugh.
Back in 1973, Richard asked 30 volunteers to count birds in their Bristol gardens during the winter months. The Bristol Bird Watch is still going strong, with volunteers currently analysing the results of last winter and the data collected used by the RSPB and also the government.
Richard reserves a particular affection for the Downs and he’s been interested in their fate and preservation ever since he arrived in Bristol. “This area still takes up a lot of my time,” he says, adding that the Downs is still an area that has a lot of pressure from financial and commercial threats.
He’s a firm believer that communication is the key to conservation: “There is a lot of campaigning asking for money… when the easiest and most important thing to do is inform people about what is going on. You need the knowledge first, and then you can make the difference.
“The best thing is knowing that I am contributing to create a national understanding of what is happening and how the way the world is changing is having an impact on wildlife”.
Read more interviews with Bristol’s unsung heroes at b247.staging.proword.press/people
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