Census and sensibilityUnder the impacts of climate change, many species are being forced to change their habitat ranges, which makes it all the more important to gauge trends.

You can, of course, join one of our many research expeditions in Europe or further afield, and help collect precious data on the health of species and their habitats. And you can also contribute locally: wildlife from bats to badgers, and from butterflies and beetles to birds, are today more and more the subject of organised surveys in which you can participate.

Results from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme have confirmed many people's perception that 2008 was a particularly poor year for British butterflies. For 12 species it was the worst year since records began in the 1970s. The Independent newspaper has launched its own butterfly survey: readers are encouraged to search for as many of the UK's butterfly species as possible and a section of the newspaper's website has been set up for recording sightings.

Two other major wildlife surveys were launched recently to map the health of UK wildlife, from grass snakes to bumblebees. The British Trust for Ornithology's Garden Ecology Team is working with Froglife and The Herpetological Conservation Trust on a new survey to find out how reptiles and amphibians use gardens, the first ever national ‘stocktake'. The aim is that amateur volunteers will catalogue species including the common frog, smooth newts and slow-worms.

And British Waterways, the organisation that manages 2,200 miles of British canals and rivers, recently launched its 2009 Wildlife Survey. Now in its sixth year, this year's waterways survey has a particular focus on spotting the 25 native species of British bumblebees.

These surveys follow the huge success of this year's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch survey, the largest mass-participation wildlife survey in the world, which attracted 552,000 participants and recorded over 8.5 million birds in one January weekend. In addition to this, and the Big Schools' Birdwatch, which also took place earlier this year, the RSPB runs two year-round schemes, BirdTrack, an online bird recording scheme, and its Bird Conservation Targeting Project.

Bugs are under threat as never before, and Buglife conducts surveys each year to help keep an eye on what's happening. If, like me, you love dragonflies (which have an almost mythical status in Japan), The British Dragonfly Society is running a five-year project called Dragonflies in Focus, with the intention of eventually producing a national atlas of where these fantastic creatures are found.

The Common Plants Survey, organised by Plantlife International, aims to build up a picture of the health of our countryside by recording not just the rarer species, but also the common ones which play pivotal roles in ecosystems.

Fond of moths? Get involved with the Garden Moths Count, organised by Butterfly Conservation. Rather batty? The Bat Conservation Trust runs a number of surveys which anybody can take part in - whether you're an expert or just someone who's interested in these fascinating creatures. Everybody likes ladybirds, so you might like to join in the UK Ladybird Survey. In Britain, around 46 species belong to this family, although only 26 of these are recognisably ladybirds. However, the invasion of the harlequin ladybird poses grave threats to our native species.

Many people, including pest controllers, builders and developers, mistake the endangered water vole (‘Ratty' in Wind of the Willows) for the brown rat. The Wildlife Trusts are calling for members of the public to inform them when they see one of these fascinating creatures - and you can help by visiting their Water Vole Project page.

In our neck of the woods, you can do your bit for badgers. In Wytham Woods (in which Earthwatch has long had a presence) near Oxford a badger count has been an annual event since 1976. This year's event, held in conjunction with Oxford University, will take place on the evenings of May 5, 7 and 8. No experience is necessary. For further information contact Nigel Fisher on Nigel.fisher@admin.ox.ac.uk

And what is the badger's staple diet? Here is the chance to get right down to earth! The Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network is an exciting new initiative that is open to anyone with an interest in nature, and by taking part in a simple and fun soil and earthworm survey you can contribute to important scientific research and help update the national record on earthworm distribution.

By taking part in any one of these, in a modest way you can become certainly not the master, but surely the servant, of all you survey.

Report by Simon Laman.