A CONSERVATION charity is urging Worcester residents to use their eyes and ears – and phones – to help protect threatened waterway habitats.

Following a national report earlier in the year revealing that 60 per cent of the UK’s animal and plant species have declined in number over the past 50 years, the Canal and River Trust has launched a Great Nature Watch campaign to try and protect them.

And it says former industrial routes such as the Worcester and Birmingham Canal are among the most vital corridors for wildlife, helping to sustain valuable but threatened species such as kingfishers, butterflies and dragonflies.

The trust is now asking people in Worcester to help it map these waterside habitats to ensure they remain a thriving place for animals and plants. People can use a free app called ‘enaturewatch’ or visit the trust’s website to answer a series of questions that will help the charity build up information about local rivers and canals.

While touring the towpaths, people can also learn about any wildlife they encounter using a special ‘spotter’s guide’ section of the app.

Mark Robinson, national ecologist for the Canal and River Trust, said: “The countryside has been fragmented over the last 50 years with increasing urban environments.

“Worcester’s waterway corridors are unique and we need to do all we can to keep them this way as we’re seeing so many species struggling for survival.

“Our ultimate aim is to ensure there are plenty of habitats for wildlife to move up and down our waterway corridors, through city centres, as well as remote parts of the countryside. “People power can make a big difference so we hope visitors to our canals or rivers will get round as much of our waterway network in Worcester as possible.”

For more information about Great Nature Watch visit canalrivertrust.org.uk/great_nature_watch.