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WOODLANDS FARM (SHOOTERS HILL) WILDLIFE SURVEY EVENTSIf interested in taking part, please contact Hannah Ricketts <education@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org>
Wednesday 18th June, 1pm - Plant Survey
Monday 23rd June, 2pm - Bee Survey
Thursday 3rd July, 9.35pm - Bat Survey
Thursday 10th July, 2pm - Bee Survey
Wednesday 23rd July, 9.20pm - Bat Survey
Tuesday 5th August, 2pm - Bee Survey
Let me know if you are able to join us for any of these surveys.
Thank you.
Hannah Ricketts
Education Officer
The Woodlands Farm Trust
331 Shooters Hill
Welling
Kent
DA16 3RP
Tel: 020 8319 8900
FREE PLANT IDENTIFICATION WEBINAR, JUNE 12th.National Plant Monitoring Scheme
Back to basics: Want to get more familiar with wildflowers and how to ID them? This easy-to-follow plant anatomy session will help break down barriers for learning.
Join Sarah Shuttleworth: Specialist Botanical Advisor, Plantlife, in this free webinar
Training Webinars | National Plant Monitoring Scheme
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Welcome to the training webinars booking page. A list of exciting, relevant and educational webinars are shown in the table below. See the table for information about each webinar including date, ti...
NORTH WEST KENT COUNTRYSIDE PARTNERSHIPThe partnership runs occasional habitat management sessions at Bexley locations, though most are in nearby-ish parts of NW Kent.
Wednesday 25th June – Hall Place and Gardens, Bourne Road, Bexley, DA5 1PQ
We will be performing a tool maintenance day down in the yard at Hall Place. This will involve checking tools and sharpening any that require it.
Led by: Nina Skinner (07816128553)
Meeting Time and Place: 10am at the yard in Hall Place.
FRIENDS OF THE CRAY AT CRAYFORD - DATE OF NEXT EVENT CHANGED to Friday 13th June.Advance notice that the next litter clearance session has been switched from June 6th to the 13th.
Join the group to tackle litter and possibly Himalayan Balsam along the banks of the lower Cray,
Meet 10 a.m. at the downstream end of Waterside Gardens, Crayford, where Footpath 106 heads off down the river. (see graphic below).
All welcome, no particular skills needed.
Equipment will be provided. Wear appropriate clothing for being out in the open and avoiding stings from Nettles and scratches from Brambles, and bring something to drink.
Best wishes
Sarah
New webinar: Safeguarding for friends groups, 16th July.Hello
16 July 2025 - 12:00pm to 1:15pm - online event
Safeguarding is important to ensure that people engaged with an organisation's activities are safe from harm as much as possible. Many local authorities are now requiring groups to have safeguarding policies in order to hold events, so this is
something that London groups will need to consider.
We're holding a webinar to help groups understand their role in safeguarding and how to adopt policies appropriate for their group.
For more information and to register, please click here
Safeguarding for friends groups
cpre-london.eventcube.io
Safeguarding is important to ensure that people engaged with an organisation's activities are safe from harm as much as possible. Many local authorities are now requiring groups to have safeguarding p...
Category Archives: Reptiles and Amphibians
Karen welcomes student visitors to Crossness Nature Reserve
I entertained some very enthusiastic (despite the rain) young naturalists at Crossness Nature Reserve last week. Students from Hertfordshire’s Simon Balle Academy came all the way over to south-east London when they heard about our Slow Worms. Two very clever … Continue reading
Posted in Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Erith Marshes, Reptiles and Amphibians
Tagged Crossness, reptiles, student project
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Bexley Natural Environment Forum submission on Old Farm Park housing and ‘landscaping’ proposals
Conservation group (full submission below) reiterates its objection to the Old Farm Park sell-off and sham consultations, highlights the need for new developments to be zero carbon, criticises the fact that one sixth of the land being taken over will … Continue reading
Lizards and butterflies herald spring at Thames Road Wetland
So warm and sunny was it on March 15th at Thames Road Wetland that although it felt like the kind of day the Lizards would start to come out in force, they didn’t begin to show on the old tyre … Continue reading
Posted in Butterflies, Reptiles and Amphibians, Thames Road Wetland
Tagged Comma, Lizard, Small Tortoiseshell, Snipe, Thames Road Wetland, Water Rail
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Erith Quarry – work begins without Bexley Council’s promised consultation on biodiversity ‘management plan’
Bexley Council has failed to fulfil its written undertaking to consult Bexley Natural Environment Forum and London Wildlife Trust, prior to construction works beginning, about the biodiversity management plan for what little will be left of the important Erith Quarry … Continue reading
Marsh Frog (Pelophylax ridibunda) at Thames Road Wetland – Jason Steel gets quality photos
Jason Steel captured a juvenile Marsh Frog at Thames Road Wetland a few days ago and took these photographs, easily the best of the few ever obtained of this species at the site. These non-native frogs, which were introduced to … Continue reading
Thames Road Wetland latest – Mk2 Harvest Mouse ‘safety’ tubes, Brown Argus confirmed and dumped car reported to police
Much time was spent yesterday (7th September) replacing Mark1 Harvest Mouse monitoring feeding tubes with a much safer Mk2 version that is also attached to a bamboo cane rather than in-situ vegetation. The new design features an ‘escape’ hatch at … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley Council, Butterflies, Dragonflies and Damselflies, Reptiles and Amphibians, Thames Road Wetland
Tagged Bexley Council, Brown Argus, Cetti's Warbler, Grass Snake, Harvest Mouse, Marsh Frog, marsh sow-thistle, Migrant Hawker, Police Crayford Safer Neighbourhood Team, River Wansunt, Thames Road Wetland
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Lizard species in Bexley – there could be one in your garden, or both on your allotment site ….
With Bexley one of the three best Boroughs in London for our declining reptile species, but the Council repeatedly approving building on their prime habitats – all the while making lazy, complacent and unsubstantiated claims that their populations will not … Continue reading
Now Bexley Council officer recommends building on 10% of Crayford Rough, a wildlife site of regional importance.
The onslaught against the most valuable wildlife sites in Bexley is set to continue this week as the planning committee meets on 14th April to consider an application to redevelop the old Electrobase industrial site between Hall Place and Crayford … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Bexley Council, Biodiversity Action Plan, BNEF, Braeburn Park, Common Lizard, Consultations, Crayford, Crayford Rough, development threat, Environment, Open spaces, Planning, Plants in Bexley, Reptiles and Amphibians, SINC, Slow Worm, Uncategorized
Tagged BAP, Bee Orchid, Bexley Council, Bexley Council Core Strategy, Bexley Council planning committee, Bexley SINC review, Common Lizard, Crayford Rough, Crayford Strategy and Action Plan Bexley Council July 2005, London Plan, Metropolitan SINC, NPPF, Pyramidal Orchid, Slow Worm, Yellow Vetchling
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Newts in the spotlight: Smooth (or Common), Palmate and Great Crested in Bexley
All three native species of Newt can be found in Bexley. Only the Smooth (or Common) is widespread and likely to turn up in an average garden pond. The Palmate and Great Crested have restricted distributions in the Borough. Joe … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Reptiles and Amphibians
Tagged amphibians, Great Crested Newt, Palmate Newt, Smooth Newt
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Absence makes the heart grow fonder – Little Egret shows up at Thames Road Wetland
The first Little Egret ‘on the deck’ at Thames Road Wetland since winter 2014/15 was seen in the ‘west pool’ on the 30th March. This apparent absence (though for much of the time the site is unmonitored) is perplexing given … Continue reading