Citizen scientists wanted for online mission exploring Northumberland’s historic landscapes

Deep Time is a series of exciting online missions where anyone can join the search for previously unknown sites of natural and historical importance.

Over 1,000 people joined the last series of missions, searching for archaeological monuments.

Spearheaded by DigVentures and National Trust, the mission detected over 18,000 features - such as burial mounds, Roman roads, and deserted medieval villages – including 12,802 that were previously unrecorded.

Of these, over 6,000 sites were found within a 150km sq area encompassing Wallington Estate, including 40 Boundary Banks, 41 Enclosures and 23 Holloways. Of these, 4,599 were previously unrecorded.

This time, the mission will be to search for sites of natural importance – such as standing water, saltmarsh, swamps, and woodland – across five North East landscapes, including Hadrian’s Wall corridor, Wallington Estate, and Northumberland coast.

The mission will again be spearheaded by DigVentures, supported by Natural England as part of the Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment programme, and in partnership with Durham Wildlife Trust, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, National Trust, Northumberland Coast National Landscape and North Pennines National Landscape.

“No previous experience is necessary; we’ll teach you everything you need to know. All you need is curiosity, an internet connection, some spare time, and a willingness to learn,” said Dr Brendon Wilkins, founder and Co-CEO of DigVentures and the project lead for Deep Time.

Training starts on August 15. To sign up, go to digventures.com/deep-time/take-part