Kilmorey Mausoleum and Richmond Pocket Parks March 24th, 2012

While the current drought conditions in the Southeast of England are bad news for people and wildlife (so please save water), the gorgeous weather meant that the Environment Trust was able to offer a bumper volunteering day. Three groups were deployed to smarten up the borough, at Kilmorey Mausoleum and the ever popular Richmond riverside.

Tidal flooding has resulted in a build up of sediment on the riverside path, which has been colonised by vegetation.

Volunteers from the Columbia University Club of London get to work and reveal the buried path.

After a final sweep, several feet of path is again available to 'promenaders'.

The steps were also being overtaken by vegetation.

With the tide quickly rising, Columbia volunteers remove the last few plants ...

... producing a much cleaner appearance.

Meanwhile, the girls from Marymount School give Bridge House Gardens a spring clean.

A short distance away, the boys from Tower House School took on the task of re-laying a woodchip path at Kilmorey Mausoleum.

Visit the Kilmorey website for details of open days in 2012 http://www.kilmoreymausoleum.co.uk/Kilmorey/Kilmorey-Mausoleum-home.html

With a small mountain to move, the boys waste no time in filling barrows and buckets.

In no time at all the wood chip pile becomes a path, which is also beneficial to stag beetles.

 

The finished result looks ready for visitors.

There's even a pond.

The garden at Kilmorey is just coming back to life. Come and visit on one of the summer open days to see it in all its glory.

 

The Tower House boys get a rare glimpse inside the mausoleum.

And finally, the famous Kilmorey compost toilet is occupied.

Ham Common Litter Clearance - Saturday March 3rd

Members of the Ham and Petersham Association gather for litter picking on Ham Common.

(Notice something not quite right with this photo? Tell us via Twitter @EnvTrustVols or comment here)

This week the Environment Trust teamed up with the Ham and Petersham Association (HPA) to help clear litter on Ham Common. Despite the threat of rain, a group of willing volunteers clutching rubbish bags and litter pickers fanned out across the common and into the woods, emerging some time later with bulging bags of rubbish, which Richmond Council took away.

The invasive snowberry near the pond at Ham Gate was also tackled again, with all above-ground stems cut and more of the roots dug out. With the bluebells beginning to appear, it is easy to appreciate why it's important to remove the snowberry. Where the snowberry has become established, there are no bluebells. This site will need to be revisited to ensure complete removal of the snowberry in the coming years. 

The Ecology of Fallow Deer - Richmond Park February 26th

What a wonderful way to spend a sunny February Sunday, walking around Richmond Park learning about the ecology of the fallow deer.
John Lock, an Environment Trust volunteer and local deer expert, led a priviledged group on this fascinating walk. It didn't take long to get away from the crowds, to areas of the park where the ritual that is deer mating is played out each year. John put the group in the mind set of a male deer as it sizes up his rivals and competes for females. The group were shown, and were able to handle, a selection of fallow deer antlers from animals of all ages, to understand their importance in deciding the pecking order for male deer. Over the course of the walk, the group saw almost all the park's fallow deer and also some rather intimidating-looking red deer, the fallow deers' larger cousin.

John Lock explains about fallow deer antlers.

Richmond Park looking a bit like African savanna, complete with a herd of fallow deer.

Meet the cousins, aka the red deer.

White Lodge, Richmond Park.

Willow Spiling Saturday February 25th

With the perfect sunny weather for a spot of willow spiling, the Environment Trust's volunteers were eager to return to a project that has been developed over several years. The goal is to create a living willow defence against the action of the tide and wash created by larger boats on the river. This particular section of river bank is semi-natural, not being reinforced with concrete, as is the majority of the tidal Thames, but this also means that it is especially vulnerable to erosion. While natural river function is generally to be encouraged, the popular stretch of path between Kew Bridge and Richmond is a wonderful resource for local people and visitors alike, so the willow spiling will help to prevent it being washed away. Over time, sediment will accumulate behind the spiling, which hopefully will become vegetated, so creating a natural defensive barrier. Much better for wildlife than ugly concrete.

As always, the boys from Tower House School were on hand to prepare the willow and sycamore whips for weaving into the spiling. Another team of volunteers worked on tying the willow faggots together, while a third group had the tricky job of weaving the faggots between the living willow stakes. Despite the mud and the long walk to the site, everyone went away with a smile on their face, having completed another worthwhile task for the people and wildlife of southwest London. Two big bags of rubbish were also collected and carried the long distance back to the car park at Kew. This month, an old Batey Ginger Beer bottle, perhaps from the 1950s, was added to the vintage bottle collection.

The boys get to work preparing sycamore whips.

Nick showing the others how it should be done.

This is the tricky weaving bit.

What a lovely day to be beside the Thames.

The finished article. Come back and see it come to life in the spring.

Plus, the winter aconite bulbs we planted by the Kew railway bridge are in flower.

Spiling with the aid of a digger.

Ham Common Habitat Management, Including Removal of Invasive Snowberry Saturday January 21st

 

Before

After

With the continued mild weather we again had a good turnout for our Ham Common event, including the reliable and enthusiastic boys from Tower House School.

Ham Common was grazed until the 19th Century, since when it has reverted to mixed woodland of oak, ash, silver birch etc.



Our task was to clear scrub, including invasive snowberry, from around a small pond to encourage the growth of wetland plants in the pond, and ground flora on the banks, and to improve public access to the area.

The Tower House boys didn't need much encouragement to get to work with loppers clearing away brambles from around the pond, while another group of volunteers took on the snowberry (see the separate page for more details about this species http://www.etrutvolunteering.blogspot.com/p/snowberry-symphoricarpos-albus.html). With little information about how to effectively manually remove snowberry, we took a two pronged approach of digging and pruning. Being such a deep-rooted plant, it is inevitable that there will be enough re-growth for the group to make a return visit.

Clear from self-seeded sycamore saplings and brambles, the pond is much more open and light and now provides a lovely area away from the hustle and bustle of Richmond Park. 

 

New volunteers are always welcome to join us, usually on the last Saturday of the month. Recently, we've been joined by two young volunteers (and their parents) working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Award. Volunteering with the Environment Trust is a great way to fulfill the volunteering requirement of the D of E, so please get in touch with chris.cockel@environmenttrust.co.uk and see this link for more information about the volunteering part of the award http://www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/doing-your-dofe/activities-sections/volunteering/

   

No flint hand axes this time, only a 19th Century apothecary's bottle, which almost found its way into the recycling.



Hedgelaying and Habitat Management at Crane Park Island Saturday December 17th

This month's task saw the Environment Trust's volunteers making a welcome return to the wonderful Crane Park Island Nature Reserve for a spot of hedgelaying.

Despite the chilly and damp weather, 29 eager volunteers gathered at the foot of the historic shot tower and armed themselves with loppers and bow saws.

The island is made up of a mosaic of habitats, including hedges that provide valuable habitat for birds, small mammals, amphibians and invertebrates, and also prevent curious visitors from falling into the river.

The Tower House boys took on the task with their characteristic enthusiasm and soon got the hang of this traditional countryside skill. At the other end of the island, another group continued laying a hedge that was started last year, and managed to lay a large hawthorn tree after careful preparation by Ian, the reserve's dedicated local volunteer.

The final photograph shows the finished article with the shot tower in the background, and there was universal agreement about the sense of satisfaction felt in seeing a job well done.

So, well done to all our volunteers for completing another successful event, and for another great year of conservation volunteering around Richmond.

Happy New Year!

Richmond Foreshore Clean-up Saturday 26th November

 Another weekend, another river clean-up for the Environment Trust's merry band of volunteers. This time we were working by Richmond's famous bridge, removing many year's-worth of rubbish. Yet again we were joined by girls from Marymount School and boys from Tower House School. So, next time someone complains about "the youth of today", at least in Richmond our youth are giving up their time to improve the appearance and health of Old Father Thames. Never mind a little bit of mud! Also doing their bit, were the lads from Richmond College, and plenty of local residents, including one of our patrons, Bamber Gascoigne. In addition to the clean-up, the Environment Trust led a history and ecology walk on the Richmond side of the bridge, with participants learning about the workings of the Richmond Half Lock, the Tudor wharf at Richmond Palace and finding out more about the creatures that inhabit the river foreshore. Our visiting archaeologist, Elliott Wragg, of the Thames Discovery Programme, identified a prehistoric hand axe, while Joe Pecorelli, the Environment Trust's resident aquatic ecologist, helped the group to recognise invasive mitten crabs and zebra mussels, amongst many other things.

Thanks must go to the Port of London Authority for providing the yellow metal cages used for removing rubbish, and to the unnamed café under Richmond Bridge, for providing much-needed refreshments to the Trust's volunteers, but in 2013 became very unfriendly by banning our volunteers from using their loo - bah humbug ...

Don't forget, our next outing will be on Saturday 17th December starting at 10:00 am, when we'll be holding a pre-Christmas hedgelaying event at Crane Park Island Nature Reserve. Don't miss it!