Moss Safari Year in Review: Achievements and Insights

Each year, I use this quieter time to reflect on Moss Safari’s achievements over the past year. I also like to consider the aspirations for the coming year. The purpose of this blog is a personal record. It also provides an opportunity to summarise the impact of Moss Safari for anyone involved or interested.

I have provided some headlines in numbers, an analysis of our growing social media presence and an estimate of the virtual and face to face reach of Moss Safari in this calendar year. At the end I give some hints of what to expect from 2025. There is ‘Appendix’ at the end that lists most of the events that I have been involved with in 2024, with links to blogs and resources where I have made them.

Headlines

Estimated 500,000 viewers of cBBC Live Lesson in British Science Week which featured Moss Safari
19,732 views of Moss Safari website, an 67% increase on 2023
50, 000 word Moss Safari book manuscript written, submitted, copy-edited and first proofs reviewed, due to be published in 2025
15 Duralab Microscopes gifted by VITTA Education to Moss Safari for outreach
4 Live Moss Safari events at conferences (primary schools, science education and technician)
3 days on the VITTA Education stand at New Scientist Live, London
2 Live and online Moss Safari events
2 LaBLiFe Videos published
1 outreach event to a primary school
1 article published in Teach Primary
Moss Safari Kits developed and go on sale in collaboration with Edulab

In it’s headlines, Moss Safari looks like it is growing and spreading as a concept. Of course it is, but it doesn’t come without struggles. I have had a couple of periods of ill health, this has impeded both my ‘proper job’ and Moss Safari. It put back my book writing by about six months and I had to decline or postpone other opportunities. However, looking back, I am amazed with what has been achieved.

A growing social media presence

The Moss Safari website and blog had almost doubled its views this year, mainly tanks to the cBBC appearance.

Moss Safari website viewing figures from 2021-2024

Moss Safari’s Facebook page is one of the biggest drivers to the main Moss Safari website. We have now 124 likes and 187 followers (compared to last years 64 likes and 109 followers). Twitter, now X, continues to be turbulent and Moss Safari hasn’t really actively engaged. Instead, just keeping the account ticking over by posting some upcoming events, blog posts and replies to any engagement from our followers. Account followers have plateaued this year: 608 in 2022, 1,073 in 2023 and 1,157 today, 2024. However, activity has picked up significantly on Bluesky.

Blue Sky has been increasing in popularity. Although the Moss Safari account was set up in February 2023, it took off in November 2024. This was a moss and fungi post that received 4,900 likes, 172 reposts and 55 comments and I wrote this blog at the time. Most Moss Safari posts get around 15 likes and we get a least one new follower a day, currently at 1,200 followers, 934 following and 879 posts. This time last year, the stats were: 77 followers, 98 following and 91 posts.

Moss Safari is present on a few other platforms, but as yet I am not actively engaged:

Instagram currently 84 posts, 290 followers, up from 30 posts and 204 followers at the start of 2024.
Threads 191 followers up from 157 followers
TikTok – one post, 6 followers and 6 likes
YouTube – I need to develop this!

Outreach Reach 2024

I like to have a rough estimate of who I am reaching with Moss Safari events, so try to keep some record of numbers of people who attend events. It’s not always possible and despite growing numbers on social media, it is difficult to know exactly how many people do engage with moss and microscopy afterwards.

The Science Hub Technicians (Dec) 28 technicians
Cradle Hill Primary School (Nov) 90 primary school children, 6 primary teachers
New Scientist Live (Oct) estimate 100+ families.
Science and Computing Convention 2024 (June): 32 primary and secondary teachers
SciTECHConf 2024 (June) 48 science technicians
BBC Live Lesson (March) estimated 500,000 viewers
ASE Live Lesson British Science Week (March: 300 primary children
ASE Conference 2024 (Jan) 48 primary, secondary teachers and technicians

What’s coming in 2025?

Now that I have 15 microscopes to use for outreach, I intend to visit my three local primary schools to do a Moss Safari outreach morning or afternoon.

My book Moss Safari: Exploring the hidden life in moss will be published by Pelagic Publishing this year.

I plan to develop and sell Moss Safari merchandise to help support the work of Moss Safari through passive income.

I have a research project bubbling, that I would like to put into action, looking at increasing the accessibility and use of microscopes in schools. Hoping I can secure some funding and take that forward.

Continue to read, write blogs and spread the word of moss and it’s inhabitants.

Please subscribe to this website and blog to be the first to know.

Thank you

Thank you for reading this far. Without your interest and participation, Moss Safari would not be a thing. I am very grateful for the support from organisations and individuals who are supporting different aspects of my work. These include Wendy Ford and Andy Lloyd at VITTA Education (linked with Edulab and Duralab) for supporting the work of Moss Safari. The Association for Science education, the Royal Society of Biology, the BBC, CLEAPSS, the University of Brighton, Quekett Microscopy Association and the Amateur microscopy Facebook Group. There are many others and I am grateful to you all. Happy New Year.

Appendix: Events and Projects 2024

These are the events and projects that Moss Safari was involved with in 2024

Tue 3rd Dec 2024

12:30-2:00 PM Virtual Moss Safari for Science Technicians with a launch of secret techniques for successful Moss Safaris.

Technicians Tips and Secrets Downloadable Download

Moss Safari Headlines in Teach Primary Magazine. November 2024. Presented as a Key Stage 2 lesson plan of activities to do at school. It’s free to download, see pages 94-95.

Teach Primary 18.8