Think about what data you need from us; many people think we can provide them with anything they might care to mention, or at the other end of the scale, their ideas of what we can do are very limited.
Below are some of our commoner types of enquirers, what we can and cannot do for them, and why.
Student: We are often approached by students asking us to perform data searches for a small area or to request a distribution map of a certain species. These are entirely reasonable requests and we do our best to fulfil them. What we cannot do is entertain requests for ‘Phase One data for the whole of Avon’, ‘Distribution of Wild Birds’ or suchlike. In the first instance, these are huge datasets that may take days (if not months) to compile and present to an enquirer, and secondly, requests for large datasets that are not searchable on computers can be too time consuming to perform, creating unreasonable demands on staff time.
Students are encouraged to think about the nature and extent of the data they require before submitting any requests. If students wish to become more deeply involved in projects within BRERC, then please consider volunteering. Use the contacts link at the bottom of this page to get in touch.
Landowner: If you own a small wood, meadow or other parcel of land and wish to see if we hold any data for it and the surrounding area, then feel free to submit an enquiry to us. Providing the enquiry is for non-commercial purposes, such as wildlife conservation, there will be no charge (within the guidelines of our public Charging Policy.
Wildlife Recorders: Species List and Grid Reference Maps
If you plan to record wildlife in a certain area, it is of course useful to know what has been seen there before. We can quickly and easily provide species lists for any location. We can also provide maps showing 100m grid squares with six-figure grid references, which can aid with your recording.
In general, it is best to consider carefully what data you require before requesting any information from us– the more precise your request, the less time it will take us to do the enquiry, and the more relevant the results will be to you. The golden rule is not to make the enquiry too big or too vague!
Having said all this, if you are not sure what you want, then feel free to ask our advice. We deal with many people who are not sure what they want or what we can provide them with, so we are well versed in advising people on the possible options.
Please see the What To Provide Us With section for details of how to submit an enquiry.
Non-Commercial Data Search Start Page