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.

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'

January News from Waltham Forest Green Gym

The Waltham Forest Green Gym will now benefit from new storage space at Lloyd and Aveling Park!

The volunteer group are now able to store tools at the site, which will help them with their work to maintain and improve the beautiful (and award-winning) park in Walthamstow, London. TCV volunteers have achieved great things at Lloyd and Aveling Park since the project launched here in August 2011, from planting and looking after new trees to building habitats for wildlife. This is a very popular site, and many people help to maintain it including Waltham Forest Council, TCV Waltham Forest, and the Friends of Lloyd Park.

 Yesterday's Green Gym session saw volunteers and staff weeding the formal gardens beside the William Morris Gallery, also well worth a visit, and then organising and inventorying the tools in the toolstore. Although the raingods blessed us with some showers, we were lucky enough to have some sunshine during the session too!

"The Waltham Forest Green Gym runs every Friday, meeting outside the Aveling Centre at 10.45am. All tools and light refreshments are provided, however volunteers should dress appropriately for outdoor work. Lloyd Park has a central pavilion (The Aveling Centre) with all necessary facilities, including a cafe, toilets and baby changing facilities."

The Green Gym is a FREE weekly session open to everyone to join. Help to take care of your local green space, get fit and have fun! If you want more information about the Waltham Forest Green Gym, visit the website or phone 020 8533 8022 (Mon-Fri) or email gg-waltham-forest@tcv.org.uk. If you don't live near Waltham Forest, there may be a Green Gym near you! Just take a look TCV's Find a Green Gym page to see where your nearest is.

...and if you like pictures of trees, take a look at Heenan Photography!

Green 2014: West Hendon Playing Fields with TCV

Continuing on from the previous post, I also returned this week to TCV's Barnet Green Gym project. I stepped in to provide cover for the volunteering session on Wednesday 8th January, as an experienced volunteer leader with first aid training, but this also helped me to contribute to my New Year's resolution for 2014 of continuing to volunteer in nature conservation. It was fantastic to reunite with the volunteer team there, and I always enjoy seeing the site at West Hendon Playing Fields as it is a large green space with so much potential for wildlife. The weather was also ideal for some outdoor work, remaining clear and dry for the session (unlike the previous day!).

Volunteers at the Barnet Green Gym enjoy the fine weather and make a difference for wildlife!

This was the first Green Gym session back at the site after Christmas and New Year, and the volunteers and leaders stood amazed upon their arrival as the recent volumes of rainfall had turned part of the Playing Fields into a lake. Luckily there was enough room to squeeze past the flooding and safely make our way to the tool shed. The task for the day was to prepare the fence-line beside the bowling green for planting of a native species hedgerow; this involved weeding and clearing dead vegetation from the area, and then digging and turning the soil. There were a few saplings hidden away in the vegetation that can form part of the new hedgerow, so this was a very positive result. The team managed to clear and prepare over 60 metres of hedgerow too which was an excellent achievement! Once this area has been planted up with native saplings, it will form a natural barrier that can be used by wildlife for food and shelter. Hedges can also allow some of the more shy species of animal to travel across the landscape, for example small mammals that might be wary of crossing open ground. Wildlife that might nest or feed in a hedge include bank voles and hedgehogs, whilst familiar faces such as the great tit and blue tit could also be found along a mature hedge.

 1: floodwaters completely obscure the path and nearly block access to West Hendon Playing Fields!
2: Lots of vegetation cleared by the hard-working volunteers.
3: A pair of Egyptian Geese enjoy the floodwater on the playing fields.

How are you doing with your own New Year's resolutions? Remember, you have more chance of success if you try to come up with small, measurable goals to help you achieve your aims! Why not comment with your progress, or tweet to @TorHeenan?

Green 2014: Walthamstow Marshes with TCV

So, following on from my previous post about New Year's resolutions for 2014 (and the benefits of green exercise or "ecotherapy"), here is a post about how I've been keeping my resolution to continue volunteering in nature conservation.

On Tuesday 7th January I headed out with TCV's Biodiversity Action Team in East London to tackle bramble at Walthamstow Marsh Nature Reserve. Although I've been involved with TCV for two years now, this was my first trip out with this particular project, and my first visit to Walthamstow Marsh. The marsh forms part of the Lee Valley Regional Park, and lying within Greater London it is a valuable space for recreation as well as for wildlife.

In spite of heavy rainfall, we made good progress with the task of cutting back bramble, and the sun made an appearance in the afternoon. Interestingly, we were working at the site of the first all-British powered flight, by Alliott Verdon Roe (founder of the Avro company) over the marsh. We were also close to the River Lea, with views of passing boats. It was great to see a new site and learn a little about its history, and the work to control bramble on the marsh should benefit a range of wildlife (which at Walthamstow Marsh includes Water Vole, Reed Warbler and Creeping Marshwort).

Walthamstow Marsh, with plenty of water in the ditches that run across the site. The River Lea
and boats can be glimpsed in the background, and beyond it the urban landscape of London intrudes.

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Take a look at the next post in the series, which talks about my volunteer work with the Barnet Green Gym!

Barnet Green Gym: Zero to Launch

TCV London Health Manager, Chris Speirs (front centre), and Cllr Robert Rams
of Barnet Council (front right), discuss the exciting new project which launched today!

Today was one of those milestones, the kind that are really worth shouting out about. It was the official launch of TCV's new project the Barnet Green Gym. This project, the first Green Gym in the borough, is in partnership with Barnet Council, who are very much on board. Councillor Robert Rams has spoken up in support of the project: "“It is fantastic to see an initiative such as the Green Gym in Barnet and I wish it every success in Barnet" said Councillor Rams (see article here). He also came along to the launch event today, and enjoyed his morning judging from his tweet!

Great morning with the #greengym in West Hendon Playing Fields pic.twitter.com/cfF8OlMQ9p

— Cllr Robert Rams (@CllrRobertRams) September 11, 2013

So what is a "Green Gym" anyway? Green Gyms are a fantastic idea that unite environmental and social aims, projects that get local people active and healthier but also achieve nature conservation at the same time. Local people learn skills and help to look after their local green spaces. Win-win! Yesterday's task involved cutting back some blackthorn bushes near the orchard area, and creating beetle habitats in the cleared space. Volunteers made the habitats by digging down and installing logs in an upright position, mimicking dead tree stumps that are important habitats for many invertebrates including Stag Beetles (a protected species here in the UK).

Barnet Green Gym group, with Project Officer Gareth Chalmers
(centre, in blue) and Volunteer Officer Tom Heenan (left, in green)

The project has been in progress at the West Hendon Playing Fields site since June, following the award of a grant from the Big Society Innovation Bank (read more here). Taster sessions have been taking place every Wednesday since the start of July... until today's Official Launch: the Barnet Green Gym is now officially open! I have been very fortunate to be involved from an early stage, assisting Gareth Chalmers (the TCV Project Officer) with a site survey in June and then helping on the weekly volunteer sessions. We have tackled a wide variety of tasks already, from maintaining footpaths and managing woodland areas to creating wildlife habitats. The project has really been building up steam, it's been fantastic to see the number of volunteers increasing and their involvement in the project increase too as the weeks have rolled by. TCV have been getting different organisations on board, for example a contingent of volunteers joined us today from the Martin B Cohen Centre for Wellbeing. It's inspiring to see the amount of people supporting the project, and the benefit people are getting out of the volunteer tasks as well.

Unfortunately my involvement in the project will be coming to an end now, as I pursue other goals. The Barnet Green Gym has been very close to my heart though, and I will really miss my Wednesday work session with the volunteers. It's not only the volunteers that feel the benefits of the fresh air, exercise and friendliness every week! If you are interested in the Barnet Green Gym, you can find out more at www.tcv.org.uk/london/green-gym-london/barnet-green-gym, or find out more about Green Gyms generally (and find one near you!) on the TCV website at www.tcv.org.uk/greengym.

Volunteers warm up at the first official Green Gym session today

The group get ready to work, with a wide range of tools and tasks

Tom Heenan and volunteer Lynne cut the blackthorn down to size!

Newly created loggeries add wildlife value to the site!

Chigwell Tours

I have started working with a company in Chigwell called Chigwell Tours & Visits (www.chigwelltours.co.uk). Established in 2011, CT&V delivers guided tours and walks in the area of South West Essex. I am currently volunteering, and training to be a tour guide for the season which commences in April.

My voluntary role has involved all sorts of things so far. I've designed a banner stand, and had input into the website, new brochure, and a "sample tour" video. I've assisted with creating the marketing strategy, and have assumed responsibility for social media communications. All this plus a number of admin tasks in the office; quite an interesting range of experiences for me, and working for a tourism company puts a different spin on things.

Tour guiding will be very interesting. I will initially assume responsibility for 'Scenic' guided tours, one of three driving tours run by CT&V (the others being 'Historic' and 'Celebrity' tours). This will include Epping Forest, with a stop at the Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge, and also a walk through Hainault Forest. Other possible stops include Epping Forest Deer Sanctuary, Roding Valley Meadows, Fairlop Waters, and Lambourne Hall & Church; the tour explores ancient woodland, rare floodplain meadows, lakes and more! All accessed from a London Underground station, as the pick-up/drop-off point is at Theydon Bois tube station just 20 mins from Stratford.

I have already picked up a lot of very interesting information about the area which, even though I grew up here, I didn't previously know. Would you have thought that there was a Roman settlement in the Chigwell area known as 'Little London'? That Chigwell is London's closest village? Known that Epping Forest, London's largest open space, was known as 'the cockney playground' and 'the lungs of London' after the railway arrived there in the 1800s and allowed those in East London to easily escape the city for a day in the countryside (and the ale houses)? Or guessed that Hainault Forest was ten times its current size in Henry VIII's time, and bigger yet when it was once part of the great Forest of Essex? I am looking forward to starting with the Tours next month and sharing the open spaces in my area with others!

In other news, some of my nature and landscape Photography will be displayed very soon in Buckhurst Hill, in the Parish Council's new Community Gallery project. Read more about this on my Photography blog!

Summer Run-down

Howdy folks,

Just a wee update on goings-on at work and suchlike. Summer was a bit of a wash-out in the end, with the coldest UK summer since 1993! Still, it wasn't all gloom and drizzle. After the best holiday ever in June (walking the West Highland Way in Scotland - proving that Essex isn't the only way!), I started getting to grips with my new part-time job at my local Essex Wildlife Trust reserve. I continued volunteering when possible, although this was very difficult for the first month or so while I was trying to settle in at EWT. In early July, I headed back up to Scotland for a music festival, T in the Park - sadly the "summer" had begun to go head over heels by this point, and the weekend was a mix of sun and rain. Great music though :) The acts I saw included Coldplay, Jimmy Eat World, Brandon Flowers, Beyonce, KT Tunstall, Weezer, You Me At Six, Pendulum, Ke$ha, and the Pretty Reckless. Phew!

T in the Park, 8th-10th July

Upon returning to bonnie Essex, I went on a Tractor Driving course for work. Interesting is one word to use... Scary another word. The health and safety video you have to watch, with all the accidents that can happen? Horrifying! I began to use some of the skills learnt on the course at work, including helping out with haymaking on the reserve. July also saw me run 10km with the karate club (who were raising money for kids to compete abroad), and I beat my previous time from 2 years ago which felt fantastic.

Haymaking on the reserve

August saw us gearing up for some events at work - an opening event in September at the building where our office will be, and then an Autumn Fayre on Oct 1st. With average London temperatures of only 18c, it was certainly an interesting August. Haymaking was postponed a number of times due to rain, but there were plenty of other things on our plate! I continued with inductions at EWT headquarters, and worked on a display about the reserve for the September and October events. While mowing at an EWT reserve one day I was also attacked by wasps, stung 14+ times, and ended up in A&E, that was exciting. Plus, I was kept busy with my other commitments and interests: I went on a 3-day residential Mammal ID course in Surrey, led a Tree Walk with BTCV, and continued my volunteering with various organisations. And girlf and I broke up... 'Nuff said there.

Me on the Mammal ID course

September arrived, and wow! The sun made an appearance a few times hehe. I got the September event prep out of the way, which was a relief, and then ran a stand on the day to give people more info about the reserve and what EWT do there. Some of the highlights of the month included having lunch at my sister's new flat, helping out on a "Wildlife Presenter" event at Greenwich Ecology Park (BTCV), going surfing in Devon with some FSC friends, taking up Ballet (!), going on an FSC Badger course, heading out to Billie Jeans for dancing with friends, and passing my Trailer Driving Test (and gaining a new category on my licence).

Making wildlife films with the public - and yetis!

The first weekend in October... Yet another record, in a record-breaking year for weather. October 1st, day of the Autumn Fayre: hottest October day in Britain, on record, ever (or in 100 years depending on which articles you read). Hang on though folks, it's only the start of the month so who knows what might happen! It was certainly a glorious, if unseasonally-hot, day for an Autumn Fayre - 30c, "making it hotter" (on that day) "in England than in Mexico, Antigua and the Sahara Desert" [Sunday Mirror]. There were many different stands and activities, and a steady stream of people throughout the day. From archery and ferret roulette to steak burgers and a country/folk music band, I was certainly impressed with the event! The fayre was organised by Countrycare to celebrate their 25th anniversary, and was held in cooperation with EWT (as we manage the reserve where the event was held... though Countrycare own part of the site, just to make things confusing!).

Autumn Fayre on the reserve

Anyways, that's a rundown of life as a part-time Ranger, part-time volunteer on the border of Essex and London. Ciao for now :)