To mark the International Year for Biodiversity, Natural England has teamed up with the Guardian and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History to give people the opportunity to name 10 rare species.

There are more than 50,000 species living in Britain, but most are known to only a few experts. Even some of our most endangered species have only scientific names to describe them, so it’s hardly surprising that their decline has not been headline news.

All of the species in the competition are listed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan as priority species for conservation, we want you to come up with names that will inspire people to do more to protect them.

Enter the online competition here

Of the ten, the edible, medicinal lichen Usnea florida is found locally on the Island.

April 2010 saw the successful launch of Plantlife’s Wildflowers Count, an updated version of the Common Plants Survey which has taken place nationally every year since 2000. The aim is to build up a picture of the common wildflowers, where they grow, either in the countryside or our towns and cities, whether they are declining or increasing, as they are good indicators of the health of our environment.

The survey aims to attract anyone with a love of wildflowers, and you don’t need to be a skilled botanist, everything is explained in the free survey pack supplied when you register your interest.

We allocate each surveyor a 1km square within 5kms of their home where they can choose to walk a wildflower path, or survey two plots, or both, identifying plants from a list of 99 all chosen to be easily identified using the ID guide provided, and all representing different habitats. Those who have good botanical skills can become super-surveyors and record everything that they see.

Find out more www.plantlife.org.uk where you can register, email wfc@plantlife.org.uk or telephone our hotline on 01722 342755 and leave your name, address and telephone number.

We were blessed with perfect weather for Go Wild in the Woods, our special biodiversity celebration day on 2nd June at Firestone Copse.

The day started bright and early at 5am with a dawn chorus walk followed by lots of other great wildlife activities throughout the day including pond dipping, woodland crafts, wildflower and butterfly walks, tree climbing, canoe safaris and outdoor art, drawing to a close with night time bat walks and moth trapping.

Many environmental organisations took part and all were kept very busy with a continuous stream of families and other interested participants. Many families found enough to keep them occupied all day.

Also happening during the day was the Island’s very first BioBlitz, one of a host of such events taking place this year throughout the country. The National Bioblitz is all about volunteers, scientists, naturalists, wildlife enthusiasts and members of the public working together to find as many species as possible all within a twenty four hour period! The event saw experts seeking out everything from lichens to spiders and beetles and pond life. Stream dipping, moth trapping at dusk and the dawn chorus walk provided cooler diversions from the hot sunny weather.

At the end of the 24 hours, a staggering 431 species were recorded from Firestone Copse. This is an impressive score for our first Bioblitz event. Amongst the more unusual species were a nightjar clearly seen at dusk, wild service trees growing along the water’s edge, red and black froghoppers and flounder and grey mullet in the creek.

A huge thank you to everybody who took part in the day!

Visit the iSpot website to view pictures of a selection of species recorded.