SOCIETY is in danger of producing a nation of environmentally illiterate schoolchildren, who are unable to identify the species of birds in their gardens, according to a North-East academic.

The research by Newcastle University's school of marine sciences and technology, discovered very few of the children would recognise common species if they saw them in the wild.

The university yesterday warned society was in danger of producing a generation of "armchair biologists" who could write scholarly essays about species, but fail recognise them if they landed on their laps.

Professor Stewart Evans carried out a survey of 217 Tyneside schoolchildren, aged seven to 16, between October 2000 and September 2001.

The survey found that children's ability to name species was extremely poor when shown colour illustrations of garden birds, such as the house sparrow and starling - which are so common, they can be seen on a daily basis.

Conversely, the children were able to recognise birds such as the puffin, robin, woodpecker and kestrel - because of they appeared in adverts, on Christmas cards, or in cartoons and nursery rhymes. This suggests that the limited knowledge children do have appears to be unrelated to their experience of the environment at first hand, the academic said.

Prof Evans said: "Paradoxically, we seem to be producing a public that is environmentally illiterate at a time when environmental issues, like global warming and conserving the earth's biodiversity, figure high on the regional, national and international agenda.

"It is unrealistic to expect people to care for the local environment if they are unaware of the organisms that live in it."

All the seven and eight year-olds involved in the survey were able to recognise the robin, while only half of the seven year-olds correctly identified a blackbird.

The survey also revealed that the children's knowledge showed relatively little improvement with their age.

There is also evidence that science fieldwork in schools and universities across the UK is declining rapidly.

Dr Steve Tilling of environmental education charity, the Field Studies Council, said scientists and educators needed to work more closely together to deliver lifelong learning in the environment sector.