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Friends of the Cray at Crayford, Friday 6th March.Clearing litter along the river, downstream of Crayford town centre, before the vegetation gets going again and hides it in the undergrowth.
Meet junction of Barnes Cray Rd and Footpath 106, 10 a.m.
Wear work clothes and bring any refreshments required.
Native Daffodil season underway at Lesnes ...........www.facebook.com/lesnesabbey/posts/pfbid0fkHcv1FKyNY2UTSKw2TyCMk9BXBJGfAP56tMPj9w9HqyQCptStki3ZWU...
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NEXT THAMES ROAD WETLAND STAFF-SUPPORTED HABITAT MANAGEMENT SESSION - Friday 13th March.Book here: book.plinth.org.uk/e/LFbuahHJmCpxSAcd1D3J
Samantha Dhedhi will be back with the van full of equipment for one last 'big bang' winter period event ahead of the nesting season for Reedbed birds. This will focus on cutting more stands of dead Reed stems and removing previously cut material. This will enable us to quickly and easily access and cut down re-growth with a handful of people later in the year, keeping some areas of water open for Dragonflies, Damselflies and other species.
No particular skills needed. Kit and basic refreshments provided. Loos nearby.
The predicted rain held off for our previous staffed session on 13th February, and we had 8 volunteers who did 31 person-hours 49m work (thanks to Rowan, Ashton, Ian W, Jim S, Tom B, Pamela Z and myself, all of whom have been before, plus wholly new person
Alex).
Sam was joined by Simon Phillips (Head of Engagement and Learning at Thames21 HQ) and they put in 8h 30m of staff time onsite.
Jim shifted one of the piles of cut Reed opposite the 'crap trap' and
spread the material over the Cray end Nettle beds which will soon grow up and hide it. Ian and Ashton did more ditch clearance work. Everyone else re-pollarded some of the Sallows in shallow water at the sewer bank end of the lake to keep two sides of it reasonably open and make it easier for wintering ducks to fly in and out, as well as to reduce sumer drying of this area. Most branches hanging over open water at a low angle are left as potential Willow Emerald Damselfly egg-laying sites.
Four more Mottled Shieldbugs were found, making six in the last couple of months, this time under the bark of a fire-damaged Elder. A Cormorant flew over. As did 2 Canada Geese. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard. There were at least 2 Cetti's Warblers on the site and 3 Water Rails. A Water Vole latrine and feeding station were found. Jelly Ear fungus was growing on another Elder. Some early Blackthorn flowers were out.
Chris Rose. Volunteer Site Manager.
BEE SURVEYS KICK OFF AGAIN AT WOODLANDS FARM, SHOOTERS HILL.We'll soon be starting our monthly Bee walks/surveys again. The dates for the first 3 walks of the year are as below. They will all start at 2pm. Please let me know if you will be able to attend.
Monday 16th March
Monday 13th April
Monday 11th May
We hope to see you then.
Hannah Ricketts, Education Officer
<education@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org>
The Woodlands Farm Trust
331 Shooters Hill
Welling
Kent
DA16 3RP
Tel: 020 8319 8900
NORTH WEST KENT COUNTRYSIDE PARTNERSHIP look after the churchyard at St. Mary's, Old Bexley, with wildlife conservation in mind. Their next session there is:Wednesday 11th March. Meet 10 a.m. St Mary’s Churchyard, Manor Road, Bexley, DA5 3LY (black gates at end of Manor Road, there is limited parking on site).
We will be moving piles of wood chip onto the paths and maintaining pathway access by selectively cutting back vegetation.
Led by: Lucy Sawyer-Boyd (07809334071)
There are no facilities on site. Please enquiry with Lucy as to whether she can provide a lift from Hall Place or not.
goo.gl/maps/2Czb3X9qMs6KcPLg9
What3words: Meeting point = ///sheep.buzz.codes
Entrance gate = ///sushi.mole.washed
Any volunteers who plan to meet us on site should let the member of staff leading the task know as soon as possible so that they can pack the correct number of tools and inform them of any task changes/delays that may occur.
Please remember to bring with you; suitable clothes for the weather conditions, a packed lunch and suitable footwear (we insist working boots with steel toecap and mid sole are worn at all times to comply with health and safety and insurance considerations). We will supply all other equipment, gloves and safety equipment and also hot drinks and biscuits throughout the day.
Each project will be led by a NWKCP member of staff who will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have throughout the day. A health and safety talk will also be given at the beginning of each project.
We write a risk assessment for each task day, and a copy of this will be brought to the site and available for you to read if you wish.
51°26'24.4"N 0°09'16.5"E · 51.440111, 0.154583
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Category Archives: Budget
Council consultation on selling off 4 specific open spaces. PLEASE RESPOND: deadline 18th September.
Following a ‘technical evaluation’ Bexley Council is pressing ahead with its plan for selling off 26 pieces of open space, and is running a public consultation on moving to dispose of the first four sites. The deadline is Friday 18th … Continue reading
New grounds maintenance contract process raises yet more doubts over Council’s ability to take biodiversity duty seriously
As a new contract for grounds maintenance went out to tender, we have discovered that the Trees and Nature Conservation Manager in the Parks and Open Spaces section ‘was never part of this process’ . Nor has there been any prior consultation with … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley Council, Budget, vegetation management, Volunteering
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Save Our Parks! Protect and invest in the UK’s public green spaces. Sign the petition!
National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces campaign update. Given that Bexley is pressing ahead with its sell-offs agenda, this will be of interest to local residents. August 2015. We are pleased to report that tens of thousands of people … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley Council, Budget, development threat, Open spaces, Parks
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Sidcup walled garden project off to successful start
The Sidcup Community Garden Project, a scheme to maintain the gardens at Sidcup Place following Bexley Council funding cuts, had a good turnout at its first hands-on event on Saturday 8th August. Sidcup Ward Councillor Rob Leitch sets out the next … Continue reading
Support Old Farm Park / anti sell-offs campaign at Weds 15th Council meeting
Petition to halt Old Farm Park sell-off plan goes to full Council meeting on July 15th. Please show your support! The campaign to save open spaces from sell-off by the Council continues. Old Farm Park is ‘the big one’, in … Continue reading
FotS adds to its events schedule as Danson garden work stepped up
Please find below our updated and expanded calendar of events for the next couple of months. You will see that we have increased the number of events in The Old English Garden at Danson Park as at this time of year the … Continue reading
More research shows lighting negatively impacts Bats – BNEF says Bexley’s proposed budget-driven lighting cuts present an opportunity to tackle the problem
New research has shown that the Common Pipistrelle Bat, often found in urban areas, has its foraging and thus feeding activity disrupted and constrained by artificial lighting, especially where there are larger gaps in tree cover: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3111115/Bats-disappearing-cities-Artificial-lights-creating-ecological-dead-zones.html Bexley Natural Environment … Continue reading
Posted in Andersons Group, Bats, Bexley Council, BNEF, Budget, Bursted Woods, Consultations, Environment, Erith Quarry, Light pollution, Mammals, SINC
Tagged wildlife corridors
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Environment Forum submits FOI request on wildlife site management
Request for basic information unanswered after 3 months. Group resorts to FOI request so it can talk to Councillors about ongoing management problems in relation to wildlife. Those readers who have been involved in Bexley Natural Environment Forum, or … Continue reading
Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation report ‘in the long grass’ for over a year – is Bexley taking biodiversity seriously?
Having recently been subject to considerable criticism over its vegetation management on sensitive wildlife sites, we would normally welcome Bexley Council’s apparent enthusiasm for some long grass, but not when it is (metaphorically) being used as a repository for the … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley Council, BNEF, Budget, Danson Park, Erith Quarry, Land sales, London Wildlife Trust, Open spaces, Planning, SINC
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