Whale Track: people power for conservation
The Big Green Give Match Fund is live! Donate now to ensure our Whale Track community can continue to protect whales and dolphins in Scottish seas.
Whale Track is a 5,000 strong network of volunteers, or citizen scientists, who monitor and record marine wildlife. The data gathered by the Whale Track community contributes to important scientific discoveries and generates the knowledge and evidence to protect whales and dolphins, restore our marine environment, and tackle the impacts of climate change. Donate today and invest in the people working to protect Scotland’s marine wildlife.
FOR THIS WEEK ONLY, the Big Green Give will DOUBLE any donation you make.
ONE DONATION, DOUBLE THE IMPACT
Help safeguard this vital citizen science programme by donating today to ensure the Whale Track app is futureproofed and the Whale Track community is supported. We are aiming to raise £10,000 over the next week. The best bit is that the Big Green Give will DOUBLE each donation made between mid-day Thursday 18 April and mid-day Thursday 25 April.
THIS COULD MEAN A MASSIVE INVESTMENT OF £20,000 IN OUR WHALE TRACK COMMUNITY.
WHY IS WHALE TRACK IMPORTANT?
Scotland’s seas are of international importance to marine life and in need of protection. The pressures faced by whales and dolphins globally are huge and the threat of extinction for some species is real. Studying cetaceans is notoriously difficult as they spend much of their lives submerged out of sight. Over the past 30 years, Whale Track volunteers have built an important long-term picture of whale, dolphin and porpoise movements in Scotland. The data gathered by these citizen scientists provides valuable evidence on their distribution, health, and threats. Citizen science is a vital tool for deepening the understanding of species in our seas, while providing people the opportunity to have a positive impact on our blue planet.
WHY SHOULD YOU DONATE?
Whale Track is a growing community consisting of tourism businesses, fishers, seafarers, wildlife groups and individuals. 2023 was a record-breaking year for the Whale Track community – for the first time in HWDT’s history, over 10,000 sightings of whales, dolphins, porpoises, and basking sharks were reported in a single year by members of the public. As the Whale Track community grows and the number of sightings increases, the time period it covers lengthens, meaning the data that's collected becomes increasingly valuable for studying whales and dolphins. While the app is free to all and accessible, we must invest in Whale Track to safeguard this colossal public effort to protect our seas.