Citizen science for local conservation
Small counts.
Real science.
Scan the marker post, count what you can see, and you've just added to the long-term record of that place. No app, no account, no fuss.
Why it matters
Most of what happens to a pond is never written down.
Wildlife slips away quietly, in the gaps between surveys. Monitoring used to mean an ecologist visiting twice a year; hundreds of tiny, well-structured counts do it better. Powered by the people who are already there, Creature Counts is your helping hand.
How it works
One minute by the water
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01
Scan
QR codes on marker posts at fixed stations. Scanning the code opens a guided count for that exact spot — the location is never in doubt.
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02
Count
A calm, guided sweep of the area. Tap for each animal you can see. Seeing none? That's a valuable record too, and just as easy to submit.
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03
It becomes science
Every count is stored with its time, station, weather and effort, so scientists can correct for conditions and see the real population trend.
Projects
Counting has begun
Southend-on-Sea · Live now
Southchurch Terrapin Watch
Tracking the terrapin population of the ornamental lake at Southchurch Park, and what it means for the pond's native wildlife.
Visit the projectMore places are getting ready to count. If you help look after a pond, a park or a stretch of water, yours could be among them — here's how.
The science
Counts scientists can trust
A count only helps wildlife if it can be compared with every count before it. So the method is the same for everyone, every time: where you stand, how long you look, what you write down.
Fixed stations
Counts happen from marked vantage points, so observations are comparable across people, seasons and years.
Timed scan counts
One slow sweep, counting animals visible now — an established survey method that avoids double-counting.
Absence matters
Recording zero is as easy, and as welcome, as recording fifty. Without knowing when animals weren't seen, population trends can't be trusted.
Flagged, never discarded
Unusual records are flagged for an expert eye rather than quietly rejected. Nothing is ever erased; judgement is added on top, in the open.
Get involved
Bring counting to your patch
A friends-of-the-park group, a wildlife trust, a council, a school, even an office building! If you help look after a place with water and wildlife, you can join in. Creature Counts is free, always: there is nothing to buy and nothing to subscribe to, just a community and its local environment.