30-09-2017: Riverfly Monitoring Initiative Training at Kingston University

New volunteers getting to grips with kick sampling

We had our first Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (RMI) training event on Saturday. It was a great day, with enthusiastic trainees learning how to conduct riverfly monitoring, learning how the monitoring helps us detect acute pollution incidents.

02-09-2017: Grass grass everywhere…

We had our first biodiversity event of the new term on Saturday. University volunteers were joined by the Environment Trust’s Duke of Edinburgh volunteers to manage two habitats of grassland at Kingston Hill. The first – our acid grassland by the school of Music; the second – an area of established invasive bamboo by the Kingston Hill Pond.

31-07-2017: 6 days left to count butterflies

Part of the nursery team counting butterflies at Knights Park. 

I hope that everyone’s butterfly counts are going well.

The children at the KU nursery have been enjoying doing counts every day, having firmly court the counting bug, they have ventured further a field onto the Knights Park terrace to do counts too :)

The weather during the last few weeks of the count haven’t been the best. If you’ve got time to do another count this week while the weather is warm it would be great to have a backup count before the Big Butterfly Count 2017 finishes on the 6th of August.

Fingers crossed for clear, warm weather for the majority of this week.

All the best

13-07-2017: Counting on you to help us count wildlife this summer

We’ve had a really busy July so far, and we have some surveys this month where we need your help.

04-07-2017: Biodiversity training and survey events in July - Dragonflies and Butterflies.

We need your help to undertake surveys of our dragonfly and butterfly species around Kingston this summer.

Dragonflies:
To help get surveyors up to speed, a free Dragonfly identification workshop for Kingston and Hogsmill  is being provided by the London Wildlife Trust (LWT) as part of their Water for Wildlife project.

In return for the free training, we are asking people to  to commit to monthly surveys. These often take between 11;00 and 15:00 and take place across weekends and workdays.

There are only 5 spaces left on the course. If you are interested in taking part please email LWT directly on wfw@wildlondon.org.uk for more information and to book your place (event details on LWT website).

17-06-2017: Open Garden Square Weekend and upcoming events.

Read Set Garden...

Volunteers ready to greet guests during out first time participating in the Open Garden Squares Weekend.

01-06-2017: Balsam Bashing the May away

Pepper drooling to get stuck into bashing balsam

May was a month filled with Balsam bashes...