Shetland's wildlife is of special interest and value, in both a national and an international context. The environment, especially through tourism and the food industry, is also a key economic asset for Shetland. Consequently, environmental conservation, and promotion of biodiversity, are important issues.

Accurate, up-to-date information about Shetland's wildlife is a prerequisite for addressing these issues properly.

Shetland Biological Records Centre (SBRC) was established in 1998 with support from Scottish Natural Heritage, Shetland Amenity Trust, Shetland Enterprise Company and Shetland Islands Council, together with matching funds from the European Regional Development Fund (Objective 1). The project is managed by Shetland Amenity Trust.

The key objectives of SBRC are:

• To gather all available information on Shetland's natural history (including habitats, wildlife sites, and as many species of animals and plants as possible), and collect new information to fill gaps in existing knowledge.
• To provide information for conservation, planning, business, research, education and the general public
• To promote and support systematic biological recording within Shetland
• To help conserve Shetland's environment, and raise awareness of its biodiversity, by providing up-to-date and accurate information

SBRC wants to hear from anyone with an interest in recording Shetland's wildlife, at any level.

To find out how you can help, or for more details about this exciting new project, contact SBRC at Shetland Amenity Trust.

FROGWATCH
This is a major new survey, designed to find out more about the distribution and spread of Shetland's amphibians. Shetland has no native amphibians, but Common Frog and Common Toad have both been introduced.

Only Frogs have been successful, although there may possibly be a small population of Toads in Shetland that we are unaware of. Frogs are now widespread on most, if not all, of the inhabited islands, but our knowledge of precise distribution, and whether numbers are increasing or declining, is somewhat hazy.

If you would like to take part in this exciting new survey, please contact Roger Riddington at Shetland Amenity Trust for a free information pack and survey forms. The pack has been designed particularly with school children in mind, but we are keen to here from naturalists of all ages if they find frogs, anywhere in Shetland.

• NEW EMAIL ADDRESS
  SBRC now has its own email address: contact us direct at sbrc@zetnet.co.uk