Congratulations to Edward B in Year 8, who has co-authored a 31-page scientific paper which has been published in the Natural Resources Wales journal.

Edward discovered the rare scaly cricket on the beach at Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire in the summer of 2022, in an area where it was not thought to live. Edward and his father did extensive research last summer, setting traps to monitor the crickets’ habitat and extent of their population.

Edward said: “When we went to Pembrokeshire for a holiday, we thought it might be the right habitat for the species. We put plastic cups with cat food on rocks on the beach to attract crickets. We had to hide them from seagulls and dogs, we hoped the cricket would smell the food and fall in. On the first try we caught one! We tried to find further populations on the beach. The life cycle of these crickets is two years so it will be interesting to see if this was a ‘blip’ year’.

It is an amazing achievement to be a published scientific author at the tender age of 13 – well done Edward!