Moss Safari: Review of the Year 2023

Well, with another year almost complete it is a good time to remember and reflect on what Moss Safari has achieved this year. Moss Safari is certainly spreading and has a lot of potential to spread further.

This blog summarises on what has been an incredible year for Moss Safari.

I have managed to engage directly with over 200 adults and over 100 young people using face to face or online live moss safaris.

Through social media, Moss Safari continues to reach fellow enthusiasts in the classrooms or hobbies.

Read through the details below and find out the exciting opportunities that 2034 holds. Including one huge development, that I’m super excited about.

Moss Safari continues to have these main aims:

• Engagement with nature on your door stop through noticing moss, appreciating moss and exploring it with a microscope.
• Encouraging the use of microscopes at home, particularly by young people, but also adults who are interested as a hobby or citizen science. We want people to pick up a microscope and use it.
• Participate in natural history and scientific study – science is for everyone and there are opportunities out there. Moss Safari shows that there is still much science to be done, still lots of opportunities for people to become experts and contribute to science on a local, national and global scale.

Let’s see how Moss Safari has tried to meet those aims. I know that there are lots of people doing Moss Safari for pleasure, in their classrooms and in clubs, so the spread is hopefully further than what is listed here.

Moss Safari on Social Media

Social media is a great way to share Moss Safari, encourage others to use the resources and to learn from like minded people. It also is a measure of interest by the number of followers and the interactions. Whichever social media platforms you use, please do follow Moss Safari for updates, information and ‘learnings’.

• Twitter, now X, has had a turbulent year and I was concerned it might not survive. However, I have a lovely network of other Moss Safari enthusiasts and enjoy the interactions that we have on Twitter. Also the number of followers has increased significantly this year: 608 this time in 2022 to 1,073 today.
• Facebook currently with 64 likes and a 109 followers.
• Instagram currently 30 posts and 204 followers
• Threads @moss_safari@threads.net has 157 followers
• Blue Sky I only joined recently and it’s full of moss enthusiasts – to date, 77 followers, 98 following and 91 posts. If you need a code to join, let me know I often have a few.

Moss Safari Website and Blog 2023

The number of visitors and hits to the Moss Safari Website and blog has almost doubled this year:

• 2022 visitors 2974, views 6060
• 2023 visitors 5415, views 11,725

However, I only have 31 subscribers and would love more – so while you are here, do subscribe! I promise only a couple of emails a month, if that.

Find out the most popular blog posts of 2023 here.

Moss Safari Events 2023

The online and face to face live events really do bring Moss Safari to the masses and inspire them to do their own. Here are the events that Moss Safari has been part of over the past 12 months. Have you attended any of these?

Publications

Moss Safari featured in CLEAPSS Bulletin, 178 Autumn 2023

Chandler-Grevatt, A. (2023) Moss Safari: What lives in moss? Science in Schools. The European journal for science teachers. Issue 63. Available online.

Podcasts

Knowing Nature Podcast Going on a moss safari, Episode 26 Mar 2023 (116 Listens to date)

Grubbing In The Filth: An Invertebrate Podcast Moss Safari with Andy Chandler-Grevatt OCTOBER 02, 2023 GRUBBING IN THE FILTH SEASON 1 EPISODE 33

Mossing Around and #iseemoss hashtag

Having taken an interest in the inhabitants of moss, I have been trying to improve my knowledge of moss itself. At the same time this year I have been in the fortunate position to travel to some amazing places, namely Alaska and the Galapagos Islands.

I have started a series of blogs (there are several only partially written, that I need to get finished and published). This is called the Mossing About series and it even has it’s own web page.

Closer to home, I see moss everywhere. On pavements, in supermarket carparks, on walls, in car door frames. The #iseemoss hashtag allows me to share with other moss appreciators the beautiful moss cushions I see around my local area on most days. Look out for and feel free to use the #iseemoss hashtag. 🔬💚

Collaboration with Vitta

Being ‘down with the kids’, Moss Safari is ‘collabing’ with Vitta Education, with Andy becoming a LabLife Ambassador. We now use equipment provided by Vitta to do Moss Safaris at events and we have some exciting plans for 2024. See below.

My learning

Research for the Moss Safari book. I have been scouring the latest scientific research on the Big Five organisms to put together stories for the book (details below). I’ve been learning a whole lot more about life in moss and the more I read, the more fascinated I become and the more I want to tell you all about it.

Tardigrade Lecture Series. This year was 250 years since the tardigrade was first discovered. In recognition of this, twelve lectures, one a month, were given online by tardigrade experts. It cost 25 euros, but was worth every cent.

Quekett Microscopical Club. I joined as a member and enjoy their publications and updates, took part in the World Microscopy Day presentations and was privileged to be part of their New Scientist Live stall. I am learning a lot from this community.

Royal Society of Microscopy, I joined this out of interest. It is a bit high tech for me, but I read the regular journal and realise how much their is microscopy and how little I know!

British Bryological Society. I joined this society this year, mainly to get access to their wonderfully informative journal. I am finding it a great place to learn and celebrate all things bryological. It just so happens it is their centenary of being founded.

Biology Education Research Group (BERG). Part of the Royal Society of Biology, BERG offers a chance to work with like-minded education researchers. I presented some ideas to them earlier this year and got some really useful feedback.

Future of Moss Safari in 2024

• Conferences, presentations and sessions. I am already booked into the Association for Science Education Conference in January 2024 and with the Surrey and Sussex Science Learning Partnership conferences. I am always happy to consider opportunities. Get in touch for availability and prices.
• Collaboration with Vita Education: Look out for some Moss Safari videos to help you get the best out of doing Moss Safaris.
• Moss Safari Primary School Kits, in collaboration with Vitta Education, we are producing Moss Safari kits for Primary aged students with resources for five curriculum linked lessons. Watch this space!
• Moss Safari: the book. By the end of 2024, Pelagic Publishing will have published the book I am writing on Moss Safari. Moss Safari: the secret world of moss will introduce readers to the Big Five multicellular organisms that commonly live in moss. Each organism has incredible adaptations to survive in moss, an important part in the global ecosystem, fascinating implications in science and a whole lot of mystery that scientists are trying to decipher.
• CBBCs Big Science Lesson. This is huge news. In March 2024, Moss Safari is going to feature on the CBBC’s Big Science Lesson Live. This will be broadcast to hundreds of thousands of primary school children and be online there after.

I am always looking for opportunities to spread the word of Moss Safari, engage young and older people with the hobby and maybe even a career in biology. Do get in touch via the contact box.