Meet the Litter Critters

Join the Friends of Sturt River Landcare Group volunteers as we delve into the intricate and complex web of life found down among the leaf litter. For the past couple of years we have been concerned about the variations in the number of invertebrates - bugs, bees, butterflies, beetles, snails, spiders, ants and even the humble native cockroaches - that show up in our planting sites. Some sites have critters in abundance. Others seem to have a lot less.

Being nature-lovers, we wanted to know more. So we've designed a citizen-science activity to helps us understand more about life among the less cuddly wildlife.

You don't need to be able to identify or key out species. If you don't mind dirt, have reasonable eyesight, and can match the shape of animal to a silhouette, describe the shape of surrounding plants, and count small animals using a hand-held lens, you can do this.

If, on the other hand, you:

• suffer from allergic reactions to bites and stings

• have an asthma diagnosis (or symptoms of asthma)

• have a history of anaphylactic shock

• generally find things with lots of legs make you feel queasy

this is NOT the activity for you.

This activity is not suitable for kids under the age of 12.

The friends will supply tools, equipment, training, data collection sheets, morning tea and advice. The critters will do the rest.