Nature Near London: The Wood, Surbiton, Tuesday August 6, 2013

To mark our first event at The Wood in Surbiton, it was decided to welcome local residents with a summer picnic. After a bite to eat and a sip of ginger beer, a light taster session of volunteering was held where new volunteers, and not so new, cut back bamboo and self-seeded sycamore saplings, and removed the remains of a burnt-out car. The site, although highly cherished by the locals, suffers from anti-social behaviour. It is hoped that by holding occasional nature conservation events, that the site will become better-used by locals and less attractive to those looking for somewhere to engage in anti-social activities. As the site is small and used by local dog owners, fouling is another serious problem, which needs to be addressed. This first session allowed us to get to know the park better, as well as helping to open up the site by selective thinning of the vegetation, to make it more inviting. However, the emphasis is on keeping the park as the lovely wood that it is, but improving visibility and reintroducing some vegetation management. The park is located within a short walk of Surbiton station and directly adjacent to the Richard Jeffries Bird Santuary, and so it was that a sparrow hawk was seen and heard high up in the oak trees, along with the common sound of ring-necked parakeets. To read more about Richard Jeffries see this link. Local ecologist, Alison Fure, has recorded several other bird species and bats, at the park.