Forests and Humans MOOC

I recently completed the course "Forests and Humans: From the Midwest to Madagascar", a free online course from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This ran from September 30th til October 28th, on the coursera.org website.

I've taken a number of online courses before‎, using the coursera platform. This offering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison was shorter in duration than some (running over four weeks), but was packed full of information including video lectures, interviews, scientific journals and more. Whilst no stranger to forests - I already had a grounding in the subject through my undergraduate degree and my work as a Ranger - the course added a lot to my knowledge. It gave a global context for forests, covering forest ecosystems around the world in the first week. It then delved into the value of forests to humans, our effects on forests, threats to forest habitats and biodiversity, and some of the possible solutions for preserving forests into the future.

Each week of the course (a "module") included activities, and I thought this element worked really well. For example, Week 4 had us watching a video, and reading, about protecting forests for carbon offsetting, then posting our views in the discussion forums on using forests and owning carbon. Each week also included a quiz, which one needs to pass at 75% or higher to get a Statement of Accomplishment at the end of the course. Although this course was shorter than some of the others I have undertaken, the quizes were rigorous and had me wracking my brain on a number of occasions. I took this as a good thing, because testing is a useful part of learning and actually improves our recall and understanding of a topic. With two attempts allowed on each quiz, if you take the time to work through all parts of the module (and perhaps revisit some of the harder parts in between attempts), it is still very possible to get a passing score on the quizes.‎ I have a Statement of Accomplishment to prove it!

Overall, I really enjoyed this course. It was a great opportunity to expand on my knowledge of forests, putting my work in UK forests into a global context. I also got to talk to people in other parts of the world, and learn from them about their forests and the threats and conservation efforts therein. I think the course could be improved by developing on this aspect; perhaps some of the activities could involve working collaboratively with a peer. 

Green Flag for Belhus Woods

Belhus Woods Country Park (where I currently work) received the Green Flag award for 2015/16, which was great news. The Green Flag Award was launched in 1996 " to recognise and reward the best green spaces in the country", and the judges look at various criteria such as management, community involvement, conservation and heritage.

To celebrate this achievement, we held a flag-raising event on Wednesday 30th September. The under-5s "Puddleducks" group made their own flags using Autumn leaves, and there was cake and balloons. In other words, we celebrated in style.

Leeds Castle Food Festival

On Friday 11th September I visited Leeds Castle for their Food Festival! The festival ran over the weekend (finishing today), and featured fresh, regional produce from over 50 local food and drink producers. There were cookery demonstrations and talks as well, and all of this in the grounds of Leeds Castle in Kent, "the loveliest castle in the world"  (see leeds-castle.com for more info). A great family day out!

Shortly after arriving at the  food festival, we saw a demo by Wild Food UK on foraging. We learnt about some common plants and fungi that can be found this time of year, such as wood sorrel and brown pennybun (Boletus edulis).

Wild Food UK talk about foraging basics

We then spent some happy hours browsing the stalls, learning about Riverford Organic Farms vegboxes. (riverford.co.uk), tasting marshmallow cakes at Marshmallow Heaven (Marshmallowheaven.org), and trying and buying traditional Mead through Warner Wines (@warnerwine), who also plied us with sample of a rare coffee liqueur from Germany.

Other highlights include:

• Kent Cider Co. (http://kentcider.co.uk/) - we bought a flagon of  toffee apple cider!
• Mightyfine Things (mightyfinethings.co.uk) - a variety of spirits and flavours, such as sloe gin and plum brandy.  
• Snowdonia Cheese Company (www.snowdoniacheese.co.uk) - their cheeses have won gold medals in the world cheese award! Ruby Mist won gold this year. I brought away some Bouncing berry (mature cheddar with cranberries), Red Storm (vintage red) and Ruby Mist (mature cheddar with port and brandy).
• Poptata Street Fries (www.poptata.com/), established earlier this year. We bought their gourmet cheesy chips for lunch!

A wide variety of stalls, with the lovely Leeds Castle in the background.

Lunch: gourmet chips with cheese and guacamole!

Countryside Management Association: Olympic Park social

Some of the CMA members from the East of England region met on Saturday 27th June at the Lee Valley Velopark, near Stratford station. We were treated to a fascinating tour of the Velopark (including the Velodrome, mountain bike and BMX tracks), followed by a walk around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. We saw the wildlife areas, and learnt about their creation and maintenance from Lee Valley staff. We then retired to a local pub for dinner.

At the Olympic VeloPark! Thanks to Roger Cole for the photo.

It was interesting to walk around the site of the 2012 Olympics  and see the London Olympic legacy. As well as being informative, the social was a great chance to touch base with some of the other members in the region and discuss the CMA. Many thanks to Derek and Ges, for organising the social and showing us around!

The Countryside Management Association represents professionals in the greenspace and countryside sector, and supports development of staff, students and volunteers. Benefits include training and study days, CMA “Ranger” magazine, networking opportunities, international links, and professional accreditation. Membership is heavily discounted for unwaged members - including students. For more information visit countrysidemanagement.org.uk.

Langdon Hills Butterfly Surveys

My partner Natasha has been taking part in butterfly surveying at Langdon Hills Country Park since last Summer. This Country Park is part of the Langdon Living Landscape, one of the best areas for butterflies in whole of Essex. The survey route covers a number of species-rich meadows, interspersed with semi-natural woodland and hedge-lined rides. I accompanied Natasha on June 28th and made a note of interesting species, butterfly or otherwise! Cattle were present in Johnson's No.2 field, doing their bit for conservation.

Meadows can be incredibly rich habitats!

Martinhole Wood:
Other: Black Bryony, Scaly Male Fern, Bluebell, Wood Dock, Dog's Mercury, Wood Avens, Honeysuckle.

Johnson's No.1 (Meadow)
Butterflies: Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Common Blue (we think), Essex/Common Skipper, Comma.
Other: Meadowsweet, Birds-foot Trefoil, Red Clover, Tufted Vetch, Yellow Rattle, Ox-eye Daisy, Self-heal, Tragopogon seedhead (Goatsbeard or Salsify).

Horse Ride
Butterflies: Comma.

Johnson's No.2 (Meadow)
Butterflies: Large White, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood.
Other: Field Rose, Pheasant, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Wild Carrot, Ox-eye Daisy, Self-heal, Cinquefoil, Shrew.

If you're interested in getting involved with butterfly surveying, Langdon Hills Country Park has a number of survey routes in both the One Tree Hill and Westley Heights areas of the park. Contact Langdon Hills Country Park for more information. If volunteering isn't your thing, then I'd still recommend taking a walk around the Country Park to see some of the brilliant butterflies!

Soprano Pipistrelle Roost Count

Twilight on Wednesday 24th June saw Natasha and I at Hanningfield Reservoir (EWT), sat on a picnic blanket, awaiting the emergence of over 500 bats. Essex Bat Group were running a Soprano Pipistrelle Roost Count, part of their work to map bats across Essex and track changes to their populations over time.

Hanningfield Reservoir.

Awaiting bats!

There are 10 species of bat found regularly in Essex, with Common and Soprano Pipistrelles being the two most common. Over 500 Soprano Pipistrelles were counted over the course of the emergence, which took just over an hour - Natasha and I personally counted 364 individual bats! There was also a large bat around, recorded on a bat detector and pegged as "noctule or leisler's or serotine".

Soprano Pipistrelle in blurry flight.

I got involved with the Roost Count at Hanningfield through my involvement with the Langdon Hills Bat Group, which formed last year through the Langdon Living Landscape (under the guidance of Essex Bat Group). We've been out to various sites across the Langdon Ridge to look for bats, and have discovered a number of different species in the area. If you're interested in getting involved with the Langdon Hills Bat Group, I'd recommend getting in touch with John Hunt (at Langdon Hills Country Park) at langdon.hills@btconnect.com. Please remember that all bat species and their roosts are legally protected in Britain.

Adult Learners' Week

 Adult Learners' Week 2015 ran from 13th to 19th June. So the question is, what did you learn?

"Adult Learners’ Week is the UK’s largest  festival of learning, and the overall purpose of the initiative is to raise demand for learning and skills. It highlights the benefits of learning of all kinds, learning for work, informal learning as well as learning for personal development." (wikipedia.org) 

I'm currently learning about "Managing Behaviour for Learning" through a free online course from the Science Learning Network, provided by Canvas.net. We've been learning how to positively influence the behaviour of students through our own behaviour. Interesting stuff if you work in any kind of teaching situation (I'm thinking environmental education sessions!).‎

This is the latest in a number of online courses I've taken (others have included "Cultural Studies & Modern Languages", "Community Journalism" and "Teaching Adult Learners") . I believe quite strongly in continuing development, and not just professional "CPD". With the current online learning revolution, a wide variety of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are available to help you learn about a topic in your spare time around your other commitments. 

According to the UK Adult Learners' Week website, adults in the UK would love to learn new skills such as cooking and baking, playing a musical instrument, or learning a language. Obviously some of the more practical skills might be harder to teach through an online medium, but you will be surprised at the range of courses that are out there. Many are also provided by names which carry weight, such as universities or professional institutions. So although you won't be wearing a cap and gown, you will have the chance to study at Universities across the world and benefit from top-quality teaching from experts in their subjects.

Offline education can involve wearing cool threads. Copyright Will Folsom

Why not put your feet up and learn something new in the comfort of your home?

 My advice is, if you haven't already, take a look at some of the websites below (my favourite MOOC websites so far) to find a course that takes your fancy, whether it's for business or pleasure. With free learning in your own time, there's nothing to lose!

• www.coursera.org 

• www.canvas.net

• www.open2study.com

• www.open.edu/openlearn

• www.futurelearn.com

Knepp Castle Estate Rewilding Project Tour

EuCAN (European Conservation Action Network) have organised a guided tour of the Knepp rewilding project on 5th & 6th July 2015. The tour itself will take place on the Knepp Castle Estate in Sussex for a limited number of EuCAN members and supporters on Monday July 6th, with the option of camping on the estate the night before (July 5th). 

The Knepp Rewilding project is the inspired brainchild of Charles Burrell the owner, and is a very interesting example of an alternative and sustainable method of land management. See http://www.knepp.co.uk/  for full information on the project and the Knepp Estate.

Our re-wilding project uses large herbivores to drive habitat changes across the Estate. The various herbivores cows, deer, horses and pigs - affect the vegetation in different ways helping to create a mosaic of habitats including open grassland, regenerating scrub, bare ground and forested groves." (Knepp Wildland Project).

Costs:
Tour of the Rewilding Project only: £10
Tour, overnight camping, supper and breakfast and picnic lunch: £30 (for those in work or retired:) / £20 (unwaged).
Alweston to Knepp minibus transport return:   £15

Please contact nigel @ eucan.org.uk for further information and to reserve a place. You will be asked to transfer the money on booking into the EuCAN bank account.You can also find more information on the EuCAN website at http://www.eucan.org.uk/uk/agriculture-and-sustainable-land-management/

Knepp Castle © Robin Webster

Bonsai Heaven

On 10th May I attended a Tai Chi workshop at a beautiful place in Surrey called "Herons Centre". In addition to workshop space, the centre has 7 acres of grounds which includes an award-winning Bonsai nursery, landscaped Japanese gardens, orchards and a koi carp pond. "It is literally a Bonsai heaven  for anyone interested in the pastime" (www.herons.co.uk). The founder, Peter Chan, is author of "The Bonsai Bible" and numerous other books, and holds 21 Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medals - he knows his stuff! Even if Bonsai isn't one of your hobbies, the trees and grounds at the Heron Centre are well worth a visit.

Bonsai bonanza at the Heron Bonsai Nursery!

Some of these bonsai were over 100 years old.

Herons Centre also has landscaped Japanese gardens,a koi carp pond and an ancient orchard.

A heron!

Almost like being abroad...

The Zhen Wei Academy's Tai Chi workshop was very interesting, covering the whole day and including Qigong, the Yang 85 (long form) and Yang Shi Taiji Duida (rare two-man set). I'm currently training in Shaolin Mizong kung fu with Zhen Wei Academy, rather than Tai Chi. As someone who has done very little Tai Chi before, working through the entire Yang 85 sequence in one day was intense and challenging but I really enjoyed it. Being able to run through the whole sequence at the end felt like quite an achievement; doing this with the rest of the group out in the landscaped grounds of the Heron Centre was very memorable.

Part of the group working on a rare two-man Tai Chi sequence.

Group shot from Zhen Wei Academy's facebook page.

Bioblitz Results

The One Tree Hill Bioblitz, at Langdon Hills Country Park, took place on 3rd May. A Bioblitz, for those who haven't come across one before, is a group effort to find as many species as possible in a given location. We also had over 30 people involved in the event, and for some this was their first experience of surveying for wildlife! It was great to see so much enthusiasm from so many people.

I was responsible for organising the event, and handling the records afterwards - a significant undertaking in itself! After I spent some time working on our species lists from the event (attempting to get identification down to species level, and eliminating duplicates) we had a list of over 136 different species from roughly 3 hours of surveying. That's a new species found for every 80 seconds! The information from this event is being passed on to local and national databases that monitor wildlife, increasing what we know about the wildlife in the area and thus helping us to protect it.

Prizes for the Best Guess (for guesses closes to the final species total) and Best Blitzer (for greatest overall contribution to the recording) have been decided, and Bioblitz t-shirts will be awarded to winners at the next big Country Park event, which is the Friends of Langdon Hills group's Curry & Glow-worm night on 3rd July. For more information about this event or the Friends group, you can contact Langdon Hills Country Park on langdon.hills@btconnect.com or 01268 542 066.

 

BNA Conference 2015: Bugs, Birds and Antlers

The British Naturalists' Association held their national conference in Epping Forest yesterday. The BNA is 110 years old this year, which makes it an association of some standing by any account. It attracted as speakers Nick Baker, Professor Ian Newton, and Norma Chapman, outstanding naturalists all.

BNA 2015 National Conference held in Forest School, Epping Forest

I attended the conference with my partner Natasha, as my second BNA conference and her first. The day commenced in the Great Hall of Forest School with an introduction from BNA chairman Roger Tabor, and then we dived straight into the Field Workshops. Attendees had to choose which session to attend, ranging from "Botany and Bats" to nature haiku writing, which was no easy task! Natasha and I elected to attend the Spider Safari first, followed by a session of Owl Pellet Analysis. Attendees then reconvened in the Great Hall for a buffet lunch, and this was superb.

The afternoon consisted of presentations and talks in the Theatre. A number of awards and fellowships were received by the worthy, and then attendees were treated to talks from Nick Baker on 'Building a Naturalist', Norma Chapman on 'Deer in Britain', and Professor Ian Newton on 'Bird Migration'.

The conference was excellent throughout, and I would very much recommend attending one! If you want to know more about the BNA, you can visit their website at www.bna-naturalists.org.

Nick Baker receiving a BNA Fellowship Honoris Causa

Nick Baker delivers his talk, 'Building a Naturalist'

One Tree Hill Bioblitz

Sunday 3rd May 2015

1pm-4.30pm: Bioblitz!
5pm onwards: “Thank you” BBQ

Langdon Hills Country Park, One Tree Hill, Corringham, Essex. SS17 9NH.


An afternoon of surveying, a race to record as many species as possible! This will be a group effort open to experts, amateurs, and anyone with interest and enthusiasm. The Bioblitz will be a chance to find out more about the Country Park and try your hand at surveying for wildlife. Meet at One Tree Hill main car park (by Information Room), and base camp will be nearby.

The afternoon will finish with a free BBQ, providing a chance to socialise and to find out more about the Friends of Langdon Hills. This will also be a thank you to everyone for taking part! Food and soft drinks provided. Please get in touch with any special dietary requirements.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend the BBQ to ensure there will be food for you! Please get in touch with the Country Park on langdon.hills@btconnect.com or 01268 542 066 to RSVP or for more information.

BNA Brightlingsea Boat Trip

On 25th January we joined the BNA (British Naturalists' Association) for one of their events: a Brightlingsea Creek Boat Trip. The BNA ran two boat-trips on Brightlingsea Creek in Essex, with local bird specialists on board as guides. In between there was a talk in Brightlingsea’s historic Wreck House overlooking the harbour, from former Assistant Harbour Master Brian Percival, covering his experiences and sightings of wildlife in the harbour. The building itself was fascinating, and Brian's records of wildlife were impressively detailed and persistent over a long period of time.

The Wreck House, Brightlingsea, Essex

Natasha and I attended the talk first, and then took the second boat trip onto the creek. It was cold out on the water in January, but there was much birdlife to see and we were in knowledgeable company. BNA Brightlingsea posted their list for the day on facebook, and included: redshank, little grebe(dabchick), avocet, grey plover, ringed plover, green plover ( lapwing), dunlin, black tailed godwit, shellduck, curlew, oystercatcher, marsh harrier, brent goose, grey lag goose, herring gull, black headed gull, turnstone, pigeon, mallard, teal and mute swan. Phew! Quite a list.

Ritchie Jacobs shares his knowledge of Brightlingsea birdlife

A variety of birds were spotted in and over the creek