Kingston University Biodiversity Action Group

13-12-2016: Rhodo bashing at Kingston Hill

On Saturday we had our first Rhodo Bash of the winter.

On Saturday we had our annual autumn woodland workshop. This year we concentrated on creating something from material that normally gets cut and composted/bundled on our site - brambles!

Last Saturday saw Kingston Hill playing host to the annual pond maintenance event at Coombehurst Pond.

The Big Butterfly Count (BBC) is a national survey run by Butterfly Conservation.
It aims to assess the health of the environment using changes in populations of butterflies and moths as these species react very quickly to change in their environment. This makes them excellent indicators of environmental health.

Want to count some butterflies at Kingston University?

Get involved with biodiversity this summer

Duckling feeding on the vegetation in the KU riverbank

This week we attempted to get into the river to undertake one of our river TLC sessions...

While I couldn’t resist the pun, it does sum up what we’ve been doing this week on the Hogsmill.

We had our annual bat walk around Middle Mill this year on Monday, followed by eel training on Wednesday.

As I’ve been a bit lax on blogging after events recently, this week’s blog is one of my famous mega blogs, four events, lots of photos and only one post to tell you all about it …

Its that time of year again. We are holding our next Bat Walk and eel training in May.

Please note that these are bookable events, you must be booked on with a confirmation email to take part.

A Middle Mill Eel from 2015

A fantastic local event this Sunday in the Tolworth area.

Discover this reserves hidden wildlife wonders.

10-03-2016: The battle of the sexes lost in a river!

*Warning - best not read when having any meal!
On Thursday volunteers entered the Hogsmill at Knights Park to do a litter clearance on the naturalised bank that was installed by volunteers in 2014.

The section of the river in the summer with students and staff enjoying the terrace

Come in and join the gang

What do these two images have in common? They are both sections of water habitats associated with the Hogsmill which we are trying to restore.

The following events and projects need your help to get them off the ground. Many of them are brilliant opportunities to learn transferable skills, help promote the local area and gain some volunteering experience which can all help you in your future plans after Kingston University.

We also have a call for help from final year degree student at Kingston University for participants living in Kingston to complete a short 5 minute questionnaire for her dissertation.

See below for more details:

The KU bird count in numbers

As promised last month, we've brought you the comparison between the bird counts for Kingston University sites and those surveyed by the pupils of Wimborne First School.

Every walk can turn into a wildlife walk if you slow down and take a bit more time

If you are free between 10am -4.30pm on Sat 20th Feb, and are looking for an unusual workout this weekend; why not join us in helping to make our ditches at Tolworth Court better for wildlife?

We will be reshaping the edges of the ditches so that wildlife can get in and out easily while clearing areas of blocked drainage channels.

Please sign up by emailing me by Thursday 18th Feb (10am) with your full contact details including a mobile number (used on the day if the event has to be cancelled).

Food will be provided, so don't forget to let me know if you have any food allergies or restrictions i.e. nut allergies, vegetarian, lactose intolerant etc.

Thank you,

08-02-2016: Counting Birds and Bashing Rhodo

Recycling our 2015 count sheets this year!

Between the 29th January and the 1st February, voluteers were busy spotting birds and bashing Rhodo through some very interesting weather.

If you are free on Saturday the 30th of Jan are are free to help with the Rhodo Bash at Kingston Hill, it would be great to see you. If you can let me know by Monday 25th January, it will allow me to organise extra supplies.

If you have heard of the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch, and were thinking about getting involved this year, why not survey at KU site, we are aiming to survey all of our sites as we did with the Butterfly Count last year.

We are still looking for help on the following sites, so if you have one hour free at any point between Friday 29th Jan and Monday 1st Feb, and would like to undertake a survey at any of of the following sites, please get in touch:

• Tolworth Court

• Surrey Club and the Reg Bailey Building

• Seething Wells

• Kingston Bridge House

• Dorich House

We've had a couple of date changes for some events in February and corrected some incorrect times on the previous calender. You can download the PDF of the updated calender here

Biodiversity events coming up

March 2018

Riverbank TLC: Wed 7 Mar @ Knights Park (13:30-16:00) Help us care for the river at Knights Park with the first litter pick of the riverbank and signage refresh of the season. Email by Mon 5 Mar to book your place.

Bramble Bash and other Woodland management: Sat 10 Mar @ Kingston Hill (10:00-16:30) Working with the Environment Trust, we'll be getting an area ship shape for tree planting in Autumn. Email by Wed 7 Mar to book your place.

Memorial Garden TLC: Fri 23 Mar @ Kingston Hill (13:30-16:00) Continuing our efforts to get plant seeds to grow our own flowers for the memorial garden this Spring. Email by Wed 21 Mar to book your place.

April 2018

Memorial Garden TLC: Wed 4 Apr @ Kingston Hill (13:30-16:00) Continuing our efforts to get plant seeds to grow our own flowers for the memorial garden this Spring. Email by Mon 2 Apr to book your place.

Green Woodwork craft day: Sat 7 Apr @ Kingston Hill (10:00-16:00) Learn some green woodworking skills at Kingston Hill Woodland. Email by Tuesday 3 Apr to book your place - SPACES LIMITED TO 10 PEOPLE. Over 18yrs only.

Memorial Garden TLC: Wed 18 Apr @ Kingston Hill (13:30-16:00) Continuing our efforts to get plant seeds to grow our own flowers for the memorial garden this Spring. Email by Mon 16 Apr to book your place.

Eel Monitoring Training 1 with ZSL: Wed 11 Apr @ Knights Park (14:00-16:00). Your first chance this year to get trained up to monitor eels on the Hogsmill River with the Zoological Society of London. Please note that you must be able to undertake 4 one hour monitoring sessions throughout the summer to attend. Email by Fri 6 Apr to book your place.

Riverfly Monitoring Training with ZSL: Sat 21 Apr @ Knights Park (11:00-16:00). Learn how to monitor the health of your local river using invertebrates. The survey techniques apply to all rivers in London. in exchange for free training, ZSL request that you commit to 6 monitoring surveys in your first year of surveying.
Email by Tues 17 Apr to book your place.

Sign up by emailing biodiversity@kingston.ac.uk

Other events from different groups:

The Lower Mole Project - run volunteer events throughout the year. Click on this link to go to their website for their latest events

Project Dirt (a network connecting and resourcing environmental and community projects) also advertise events and workshops in different locations - many in London well worth finding one near you.

Ongoing dates:

London Natural History Society events are free to members. A full list of events is available on their website.

What is KUBAG?

The Kingston University Biodiversity Action Group works within the University campuses and local area with the aims of improving green spaces for both wildlife and people.

We undertake practical conservation projects that aim to protect, enhance and create habitats for wildlife.

Check out our planned events for the 2016-2017 academic year

This blog is published by Sivi Sivanesan,

Biodiversity and Landscape Coordinator, Estates.

Kingston University Biodiversity Action Group - retired