Kingston University Biodiversity Action Group

21-12-15: Get Bashing!

We had our first volunteer rhodo bash of the season on Saturday the 12th of December

Mid November saw volunteers getting creative with wood during two events at Kingston Hill.

The 2015 pond teams after administering some TLC to the ponds at Kingston Hill and Penrhyn Road.

RMI volunteers at the end of Saturday's training

Warning – a longer then usual update on the Riverfly Monitoring Initiative training and the annual Eel Conference at ZSL.

A work in constant progress - planted veg in the Penrhyn Road growing space.

Our annual pond TLC day is back!

Saturday the 31st of October.

Kingston Hill

10am-4.30pm

It’s messy fun and a great day out! We really need help to keep the pond in a good condition for amphibians and invertebrates that use the pond throughout the year.

As usual bribery will be in evidence in the form of food :)

If you can help, please email me on biodiversity@kingston.ac.uk by Sunday the 25th of October.
Thank you

07-10-2015: Event notification: Confirmed Woodland Workshop Dates for 2015 and 2016

Due to popular demand, we have added two woodland workshops to the 2015-2016 academic year.

The first workshop will be on Saturday the 14th of November, from 10am-3.30pm at Kingston Hill.

The workshop will focus on carving skills as we attempt to make utensils on the day :)

This event is FREE

Spaces limited to 10 people (you must be over 16 years of age)

If spaces are full, there is an option to be added to the waiting list.

Thank you

01-09-2015: a week of summer cleans and clearances

A little rain isn’t enough to put this group off!

Last Wednesday saw Nursing Students on Alternative Practice Week, come out to help clear brambles off of the nature trail at Kingston Hill.

Have you seen the new summer challenge taking place on the Hogsmill?

... you may be in for a big surprise.

While things are quietening down for the summer at the uni, other organisations as well as KUBAG will still be running events through the summer.

The river bank volunteers get ready to pull some cress

06-05-2015 - Help wanted

We're looking for help next Wednesday on our river bank maintenance afternoon (1.30-4.30)

The new planting is establishing, but so is the existing watercress which we need to cut back to give the new plants a fighting chance.

We also have small Himalayan Balsam plants to get out before they start flowering.

If you can help, please email biodiversity@kingston.ac.uk with your name, contact number and shoe size for those who need to borrow waders/Wellington boots - if you have Wellington boots please bring them along :)

30-04-2015: An unexpected catch

We found these minnows when checking the eel trap last week, the first time they have been recorded in our eel trap since the project began!

Are you are interested in volunteering on the eel monitoring project with ZSL?

There is still time to sign up to the training session next Wednesday at Knights Park from 2-4pm

Email me to sign up by clicking here

23-04-2015: Eel training and other upcoming events

First eel trainee class of 2015

We had a great eel training event on Wednesday at Knights Park and Middle Mill.

The signs of a good honey tasting

We are proudly doing our bit to help bees at Kingston University - we have our own beehive at Kingston Hill maintained by dedicated staff and volunteers throughout the year. We warmly welcome new volunteers to get suited up as beekeeping assistants and were pleased to sign a few more eager people up at this event.

We have run our honey tastings at Kingston Hill for the last two years, but this year we wanted to bring the taste of honey to our other sites. For 2015 we chose Penrhyn Road as our new location.

Egg hunt anyone?

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter, it’s been a quite week at the uni, the undergraduates are off for revision week before they start their exams, however we are still conducting wildlife surveys and there are a few new and old ones for volunteers to get involved with.

February and much of March has been a busy month with events changing dates, new joint events with the Environmental Working Group and the change of seasons from winter to spring making for a fun and hectic schedule for biodiversity volunteering.

This is a bit of a bumper blog to catch you all up on the goings on over the KU campuses – and from the number of photos that will follow, I’m going with the old adage – a photo is worth a 1000 words!

Event notification: Wild Neighbours talk with David Attenborough!!

The Rose Theatre will be playing host to the annual Environment Trust given by their Patron Sir David Attenborough. The talk is on Saturday16 of May 2015.

This year the theme is urban wildlife. Joining Sir David will be Gordon Buchanan, renowned wildlife cameraman and presenter of 'The Polar Bear Family and Me’ and more recently the 'Snow Wolf Family and Me'. Elly Berry and Judy Puddifoot from BBC2’s Young Vets will also be speaking. They will discuss the best course of action if you should discover injured or abandoned wildlife in your local environment. There will be a short Q&A session at the the end of the talk and additionally a selection of Sir David's books will be available to purchase as well as the chance to have your copy signed.

The tickets have just gone on sale to the general public this weekend and there were around 50 tickets remaining on Monday, so if this is a talk that you want to attend, book fast!

23-02-2015: Water Water everywhere – pollution, frogs and ditches

We had a great turn out at the pollution training course last week at Kingston University.

New date for the Orchard day

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Due to low numbers we are moving the orchard day to Wednesday 11 March.

12:30-4pm

Places are limited to 15 people so book your place by emailing biodiversity@kingston.ac.uk with your name, email and phone number.

Join us on Tuesday 24 Feb to learn how to care for our Orchards in London

The last of the results have been submitted to KU and we'll be submitting them this week.

The table below contains the results for our other sites.

We were only short a few sites this year, so hopefully next year we'll get all of our sites covered.

Thank everyone who took part in the survey this year for all of your hard work.

06-02-2015: Kingston University’s: The Birds and Bashing Rhodo - now showing on a campus near you!

Odd camera goings on, on the 31st!

29-01-2015: Event notifications

'REWILDING' WITH GEORGE MONBIOT

Environment Trust host a talk and Q&A with George Monbiot chaired by local MP Zac Goldsmith

Duke Street Church, Richmond, SRY TW9 1DH

February 10th, 2015 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

More info here

FREE POLLUTION MONITORING TRAINING WITH SOUTH EAST RIVERS TRUST AT KINGSTON UNI

Free training from SERT on recognising and assessing pollution incidents in the Hogsmill River

Kingston University. Knights Park Campus

Wednesday 18th of Feb

1-4pm

Places limited to 30 so please book your place by emailing biodiversity@kingston.ac.uk

21-01-15: (Kingston) - A river runs through it

What we associate with the Hogsmill River- download the full feedback sheet from the Hogsmill Partnership meeting here

15-01-15: Litter litter everywhere...

Last Wednesday KUBAG has the pleasure of joining forces with one of the newest societies starting up at KU – the Kingston Uni Environmental Group; undertaking a litter pick at Middle Mill.

The Environment Group in Action

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