Crane Park Island, Saturday December 15th

After heavy rain the previous day, the clear weather was ideal for a spot of hedge work. With limited hedge suitable for laying, our task was to trim the hedges lining the gravel path around the nature reserve. These hedges are important habitat for nesting birds and also discourage people and dogs from disturbing water vole habitat on the edge of the island's ditches. This week, the ditches have been de-silted, allowing water to flow freely again. As well as trimming the island's hedges, there was just enough time to plant some yellow iris along the recently de-shaded upper mill stream to allow water voles to migrate and mix with populations further upstream.

 Pat delicately trims the hedge lining the path and the ditch.

 The River Crane with the Butts Farm estate in the background.

 Ditches de-silted and willows pollarded the nature reserve is waiting for the arrival of spring.

 Shabby-looking red campion (Silene dioica) flowers remind us of summer.

 Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) flower heads with the next generation of plants germinating in-situ.

Gold finches like to eat teasel seeds, but this year there have been so many flowers that even these birds have been unable to finish them off.

At this time of the year flowers and fruits of spindle (Euonymus europaeus) provides a much-needed splash of colour.

One clump of yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus) has now been joined by others, which will provide additional water vole habitat.

 

Fishponds Park, Surbiton. Tuesday December 11th

This was the Environment Trust's second event at Fishponds Park in Surbiton. A new drainage pipe is being laid and hopefully the pump will soon be repaired to allow the rather stagnant ponds to come to life again. Nevertheless, the park was looking wonderful under a crisp winter's day, and our Kingston Greenspace Volunteers got to work removing sycamore saplings that contribute to the over-shading of the upper pond and drop their leaves into the pond creating a highly enriched environment that is not ideal. The results of our work won't be apparent until spring, although at least walkers are now able to stroll around the upper pond, thanks to our volunteers clearing a swathe of brambles. Previously, only those adventurous enough to risk life and limb by tip-toeing between the brambles and the pond and trampling brooklime plants (Veronica beccabunga) were able to make the journey. Now there is a legitimate footpath from which to admire the view across the upper pond. Finally, and as usual, we carried away two bags of rubbish, along with a discarded bird-feeder, and a woodcrete bird box.

 A family of swans navigate around the frozen pond.

 A lovely day for volunteering on a crisp winter's day in Surbiton.

 The upper pond, a haven of peace and tranquility.

Kingston volunteers Elliot and Dean set about the task of taming the bramble patch ...

... and admire their handiwork.

The upper pond, a little less shaded than it was.

Tolworth Brook/Surbiton Stream Woodland Sunday December 9th

Today, the Environment Trust's Kingston Greenspace Volunteers gathered at the Raeburn Avenue car park to continue the task of coppicing hazel to increase the floral diversity of the woodland and reduce competition and shading of the young oak trees in the woodland. Wood chip was also laid on muddy paths, and, of course, rubbish was cleared from amongst the vegetation.
Although the woodland near the car park seems quite young, there are areas of hazel coppice that are evidently older, and although it's only December, some bluebell shoots were spotted already appearing. As yet, it's too early to tell whether they're English or Spanish bluebells. Spring will be here before we know it.
Also, for the first time the group was able to use the facilities at the Surbiton Pet Club - thank you.
In conversation with representatives from the Environment Agency earlier this week, it soon became clear that they were not familiar with the Tolworth Brook. According to a report published by the National Rivers Authority (NRA) in 1993 (the Strategic River Corridor Survey of the Hogsmill Catchment), the brook is referred to as the Surbiton Stream. So, it all depends which map you refer to.

 The Kingston Greenspace Volunteers are joined by Ron the dog and family .. da doo ron ron...

 Jean and Linda get to grips with the dreaded brambles...

... and win.

 Philip, flanked by the Tolworth Brook/Surbiton Stream, improves the muddy path.

Red Bull drop by to offer moral and liquid support.

Manor Park, Old Malden Sunday November 25th

Continuing our foray into the borough of Kingston, the Environment Trust's 'Kingston Greenspace Volunteers' (now with their own Facebook page), descended on Manor Park in Old Malden to do a spot of woodland management.
Manor Park is a Green Flag park and a wonderful open space for the local community. There's plenty of woodland, including some younger plantations which are in need of a little attention. Our work site for the day, close the railway embankment, consists of oak, sweet chestnut, hawthorn, elder, alder, and ash. Despite concerns about ash die-back, which seems far more widespread than at first thought, the self-seeded ash saplings at Manor Park were growing much too close together which had resulted in all the trees becoming very tall and skinny. As such, a little thinning was called for to give the healthier specimens, of all species, a better chance to mature. This will also help to improve the age-structure of the woodland as new tree seeds germinate as a result of more light reaching the ground. Furthermore, this should also encourage wild flowers to germinate, which in turn will improve the insect and bird life within the woodland.
In terms of improving access for local people, this patch of woodland had become rather notorious (according to passing dog-walkers) as a haven for 'couples'. By opening up the woodland, and removing some collapsed wire fencing, more people will be encouraged to explore the wood and enjoy its tranquility, which should discourage anti-social behaviour. We also collected a bag of rubbish that was taken away for recycling. Unfortunately and bizarrely, the best and most mature portion of the woodland has been sold for private use, which may threaten the entire area. We hope the owner and Kingston Council will work to ensure that this valuable habitat is maintained for use by all and is not subject to inappropriate development. If nothing else, a toad that we disturbed will need to navigate its way back to the pond to breed in the spring.
There's still a lot to be done at Manor Park, including improving the nearby pond, so we hope to make a return visit soon, perhaps in February 2013.

 Ash trees tightly packed, with little light reaching the ground (September 2012).

 The team (left to right): John, Nicola, Gerrard, Cllr Ken Smith (St. James ward).

 John caught red-handed.

 Gerrard ('Oh, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay...').

 A toad was rudely awoken when we removed the dilapidated wire fence. 

Click to hear toads in spring. 

 The thinned-out ash trees. They're still too close together, but we'll return to reassess the situation next year.

A new path leads walkers through the woodland. 

A nearby wall mural paints an interesting picture.

Tolworth Brook coppicing etc. Tuesday November 13th

As the Environment Trust's new Kingston project gathers pace, our volunteers returned to the Tolworth Brook to improve the area for people and wildlife. The Raeburn Avenue car park has a reputation amongst the local as somewhere that anti-social drinking etc. is a recognised issue. The aim of today's task was to open up the wooded areas a little, to improve sight lines and also to provide the young oak trees with more light and reduced competition from other shrubs.  Apparently, there used to be an open-air swimming pool on the car park site. While all trace of the pool has gone, the hazel trees, oaks and hawthorn planted on the fringes of the car park are all the same age. Consequently, the uncoppiced hazel has over-shaded the oak trees resulting in all the leaves sprouting from the top of the trees, rather than evenly on all sides. To improve this situation, surrounding hazel trees were coppiced (a traditional form of woodland management) to improve the health of the oaks and create a more diverse age structure. This form of management will also hopefully allow wildflowers to germinate which will benefit insects and thus birds. To help things along, a few wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) rhizomes were planted.
As well as managing the young woodland, the group removed several large items of rubbish from the area, including an inflatable mattress and an old, and extremely heavy, boiler. Quadron Services, kindly provided a trailer to allow disposal of the rubbish.

 Coppicing will allow more light to reach the ground and encourage wildflowers to germinate.

A young oak tree is given more space to grow with extra light and reduced competition.

Kingston volunteers, Elliot and Dean, planting wood anemones.

The Trust's volunteer officer, Gerrard, puts his back into removing a lump of rusty metal.  

River Crane, Twickenham Rifle Club site Sunday November 11th

When the suggestion of a nature conservation task at a rifle club was suggested, it seemed like an unlikely proposition. However, the Twickenham Rifle Club site adjacent to the River Crane is a locally important undisturbed grassland, and together with a small area of woodland and the surrounding parkland, makes a valuable contribution to the habitat continuity along the river, and this is despite the heavily (and inappropriately) concreted section of the River Crane. The site was also formerly the location of watercress beds, but sadly long-since gone.
The Environment Trust teamed up with the Friends of the River Crane Environment to relay woodchip footpaths, trim hedges, paint over graffiti and pick up a mountain of rubbish.

 What a load of old rubbish - well done Patrick!

 The nicely woodchipped path, minus Special Brew cans.

 The low autumn sun reveals a network of cobwebs covering the damp grass.

 Quins fans, please take your unwanted flags home!

 Despite the glorious sunny afternoon, this isn't what a river should look like.

 The woodpecker bench with fresh wood chip.

Arches at the base of the wall are evidence of the former watercress beds. 

The sun sets on another day of  volunteering.

Wenlock's Olympic legacy.

Rhododendron removal at Kingston University Saturday 10th November

At Kingston University's Kingston Hill campus Rhododendron ponticum, planted for its attractive flowers that bloom in early spring, has been allowed to grow unchecked in the numerous woodland areas that surround the site. The plants spread vegetatively as well by seed, with each flower head producing between 3000-7000 seeds, meaning that each plant is capable of producing millions of seeds. When Rhododendron becomes dominant in an oak woodland, like the one at KU, it shades out native species with its dense evergreen foliage and produces a huge amount of leaf litter that adds to the problem. There is also some evidence to suggest that the soil chemistry is altered by the presence of Rhododendron, making the soil unsuitable for native plants to grow. Furthermore, the fungal pathogen Phytophera ramorum that causes sudden oak death, has also been associated with Rhododendron ponticum, which is just another reason for getting rid of it.
With this in mind a group of KU student volunteers, taking part in London Student Volunteering Fortnight, set to work with loppers, bowsaws and mattocks to rid the woodland of Rhododendron.

Plants were quickly cut down to size, with the height of those yet to be removed seen in the background.

Finally, the native oaks and birch trees have space to breathe.

After a day's work, the woodland is transformed.

River Thames Clean-up Saturday November 3rd

What a delight it was to see over 40 volunteers ready and eager to do their bit to clean up the River Thames near Richmond Bridge. So, it was with tremendous regret that the decision was made to send everyone home due to the water level being too high. On Wednesday when the site was visited to ensure the rubbish cages were in place and that there was something to clean up, it was possible to walk along the exposed foreshore to a large mound of rubbish that our group didn't manage to remove last year. The issue seems to have been not that the tide didn't go out far enough, but rather that the amount of rain in the upper reaches of the Thames in recent days has resulted in increased volumes of water coming downstream. Even referring to Environment Agency data, the picture is not very clear http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Research/WE_301012.pdf
The boys from Towerhouse, undaunted by the situation and determined to make a difference, set off along the towpath armed with black rubbish bags and later returned with quite an impressive haul. Meanwhile, Martine and her grandsons headed down the Surrey bank towards Ham House and collected four bags of rubbish.
The river clean up at Richmond is intended to not only clean up our section of the Thames, but also to support the work of the Marine Conservation Society  as they seek to reduce the amount of plastic litter in the sea and on beaches. The MCS have a number of litter campaigns: No Butts on the Beach!, Break the Bag Habit,  Go Plastic Bag Free, Bag It Bin It - Don't Flush, and Don't Let Go.

Support the setting up of Marine Proteced Areas around the UK by signing a plege here http://www.mcsuk.org/mpa/

The intention is to reschedule the Richmond clean up for Saturday December 1st, with a slightly later start time of 10.30am. The draw-off comes to an end on December 9th. 

Rubbish mound in the River Thames at Richmond Wednesday 31st October

Mudlark Vic hunts for treasure under Richmond Bridge 31st October

With the water level too high, the only thing left to do was to enjoy a spot of stone skimming. 

Tower House boys return with bags of rubbish collected along the towpath. 

An invasive Chinese mitten crab revealed under a rock.

Hindu deity Ganesha looking slightly the worse for wear on the foreshore.

Richmond Bridge looking fabulous in the sun, Nov. 3rd 2012.

Compare the 2012 scene with this view on Nov. 26th 2011.

Nov. 3rd 2012

Nov. 26th 2011

While this sky lantern landed in Kenton Recreation Ground, northwest London, many are believed to end up in the sea, where they are thought to pose a threat to wildlife. Next time Don't Let It Go!

See this shocking video of a seagull eating a plastic bag.

Let's help Richmond and Kingston Go Plastic Bag Free