March and April 2020 were set to be a busy few weeks for the TeviLIFE-C team to install more of the much-awaited, livestreaming nature cameras. Then the global pandemic struck. Unable to visit the far reaches of the county—including wildlife locations on the Isles of Scilly—the team came up with a parcel-sized alternative. 

The core aim of Tevi is to help businesses grow, whilst also encouraging growth in the natural environment. Our online portal for environmental information; Lagas.co.ukcontains environmental data, to help stakeholders in decisions to enhance the natural Cornish setting that much business here is dependent upon. 

Part of Lagas (Cornish for ‘eye’) will feature camera streams and videos of wildlife, landscapes and seascapes from across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Given the current circumstances, in which public appreciation of nature has sky-rocketed yet many people may not be able to fully experience nature, this element seems more important than ever. 

Inspired by some fantastic video clips from our partners at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust of beavers, badgers, hedgehogs and heron—to name a few!–our lockdown initiative was to distribute Camera Traps as widely as possible across the county. Also known as remote cameras, trail cameras or game cameras, camera traps are battery-powered, self-contained units for people wanting to watch wildlife without disturbing it. When a mammal, bird or even insect enters the detection zone of the camera, short video or photograph is automatically recorded. 

Most mammalian species in the UK have evolved to be nocturnal and come out in low-light or darkness. Sensors in our devices activate the infrared (IR) feature to provide light for exposure in these conditions. Unlike traditional white flash, infrared allows for secrecy. The IR assisted videos are monochrome whereas videos captured in daylight are coloured. The fox cubs in the video below were playing in the low light of dusk: 

We are extremely grateful to the network of Tevi businesses (listed below) that have accepted one of our Camera Trap packages. Our full LIFE-C package will livestream footage online, whereas the video of the animal’s activity caught on our trail cameras needs to be manually downloaded and sent to the TeviSENSE team. We have already received clips of foxes, badgers, swallows and lots of rabbits!  

Watching the videos that our partners have already returned, I feel a new affinity to our local creatures going about their uninterrupted business in our beautiful surroundings—copses, fields, meadows, moors, campsites, public gardens, private gardens, rivers, streams, orchards, adventure parks…and beyond.  

Moreover, the videos—or data—of our wild animals and the landscape they inhabit provide crucial information to share when making land-use decisions. Hopefully, we can keep the value of Cornwall and its nature in people’s minds as we return to normality.  

Thanks again to our TeviLIFE-C Camera Trap Network! We appreciate the hard work you are putting in to find reliable vantage points and get the best videos back to us: 

Circular & Co. 

Atlantic Brewery 

BF Adventure 

Bosinver Farm Cottages 

Cabilla 

Cornish Camels 

Cosawes Barton 

Cosy Corner Holiday Park 

Ekopod 

Fat Apples Café 

Happy Habitats 

Little Pengelly Farm Accommodation  

Lower Marsh Farm 

Mollins Antis Interiors 

Potager Garden 

Silverlake Design 

Telegraph Museum 

The Real Food Garden 

The Sanctuary 

Trebah Garden 

Treeve Moor House BnB 

Trenannick Farm Cottages 

Tresco Abbey Gardens 

WilderMe CIC 

 

Do you have live streaming web cam of nature that we could show on Lagas? You will be fully credited with your business name, logo and a link to your website. 

Please get in touch with us at [email protected]