Green in 2014

Happy New Year readers! While thinking about New Year's resolutions for myself, I couldn't help but reflect a little on resolutions generally, research a little about the word, and look at the success of the New Year's tradition.
   
res·o·lu·tion  /rɛzəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ (thefreedictionary.com)
n.
1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.
2. A resolving to do something.
3. A course of action determined or decided on.


Do people still make New Year's resolutions? More importantly, perhaps, is the question: do people manage to keep them? One study in 2007 by the University of Bristol found a failure rate of 88% (although it suggests that setting small and measurable goals has more success: instead of "exercise more", you could instead aim to "go for a walk twice per week").

Frequently, goals include: improving physical well-being, improving mental well-being, making new friends, improving careers, and volunteering. This is great news for me, as I can tackle multiple goals with one fell swoop: I will continue to be involved in volunteering within nature conservation! I've been really impressed with the variety of benefits from volunteering. For someone committed to working in nature conservation, volunteering is a good way to keep skills up to date while between paid conservation jobs. There is the feel-good factor from helping to conserve wildlife and valuable green spaces. And there is an emerging body of evidence which points to the range of health benefits from "green exercise" or "ecotherapy", from reducing stress and feeling good to prolonging your life and improving your fitness - plus many people find it easier to keep up outdoor exercise such as walking or conservation tasks than exercising in a gym! I've also found volunteering to be a great way to see new places, encounter wildlife, and make new friends.

------------------------

So, how have I been tackling my New Year's resolution so far? Take a look at the next post to read about how I've been working with TCV to achieve my aims for 2014!

What resolutions do you have for 2014? Will you be making it a greener year? Why not comment with your New Year's resolutions, or tweet to @TorHeenan!

Hockley Woods (Autumn 2013)

It would seem Autumn is now underway, as the leaves begin to change colour and nature's harvest appears in the form of berries, nuts and seeds. Something else is making its presence known now too, popping up in the yet-mild and moist conditions: fungi!

A common sight in Autumn, fungi can burst through the
leaf litter to appear literally overnight!

Here are some images of Hockley Woods in Essex, a delightful place for a walk. The woodland trees include oak, hornbeam, hawthorn and sweet chestnut, and all seem to be growing and throwing down their respective seeds, berries and nuts with impressive abandon just now. These trees of the woodland, a mix of maiden and coppice, shelter the mycological interest which is very much evident now too. On a brief morning walk through the woods three weeks ago I saw a gratifying wealth of fungi, and captured some photos of them to both share here and to aid later identification!

Hockley Woods in Essex is an area of ancient woodland
which still shows the effect of Medieval management.

A "Blusher" Amanita rubescens and an "Amethyst
Deceiver" Laccaria amethystina stand side by side.

Another "Blusher" mushroom standing tall in Hockley Woods.

If this gets you excited about Autumn, perhaps you'll be pleased to hear that we have a dazzling display of colour to look forward to from the trees as they turn over the coming weeks. According to Brian Muelaner, the National Trust's ancient tree advisor,“Summer conditions have been ideal for a perfect autumn show”. If you'd like to find out more about why the weather this year has been just right for Autumn colours, the Guardian have an article here.

The Independent have also published an autumnal article, featuring the top 10 best Autumn walks of the UK. So, if you are looking for inspiration for your next walk, you can visit the article here!

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!

Volunteers Week 2013

Springing into Action!

Yesterday marked the end of Volunteers Week 2013, an annual event which celebrates the contribution made by millions of volunteers across the UK. So, I am writing about some of my recent volunteering experiences, and including some info on how to get involved yourself!

On Friday 30th May, I joined The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) for a 'Waltham Forest Green Gym' session at Lloyd and Aveling Park in Walthamstow. On this particular day we were helping to care for the trees in the community woodland to-be, some plantings of various native tree and shrub species that were put in place by members of the local community. While the trees are still quite young, it's important to keep down grass and other aggressive plants, that can actually out-compete the trees in their early years! To this end, we were weeding, raking and mulching, with some light pruning of dead wood from some of the trees too. We were lucky to have beautiful weather for the volunteer day: the forecast was for highs of 21 degrees Celsius in the London area, and although this looked unlikely when we started in the morning, the cold spell finally broke and the temperature suddenly jumped up around 10 degrees as the clouds dispersed! It began to feel like a Jungle down in the grass, and with the recent growth of the trees in the past weeks it began to feel like a real forest, especially with everyone crouching down to pull grass!

Volunteering can be very sociable, and there were both familiar faces and less familiar, friendly all. The Waltham Forest Green Gym has a mix of ages and backgrounds, plus the very helpful leaders (such as Lisa, Trudi) and the Project Officer (the man himself, Gareth). The day also included a tea-break at half time, with bananas shared around!

Waltham Forest Green Gym volunteer days run on Fridays, but there are also opportunities with BAT (Biodiversity Action Team) East to get out and get stuck in to some conservation work. Find out more at TCV volunteering in the Waltham Forest area here.

Happy volunteers at Waltham Forest Green Gym

On Sunday 2nd June, I persuaded my girlfriend to join me for some volunteering in Epping Forest with the Epping Forest Conservation Volunteers (EFCV). This group help the City of London Corporation to manage the extensive and varied habitats of Epping Forest, London's largest open space.

The fine weather held for the volunteer task on the Sunday, which took place on Warren Hill, behind the Forest HQ not too far from Loughton. Our task for the day was woodland maintenance - careful work (because of nesting birds) felling Sycamore trees, as they are taking over some parts of woodland, and management of the Forest aims to keep a more balanced and diverse assemblage of species. Also, being on the edge of a grassland, our work to control the Sycamore trees also benefits the lowland heath species that might otherwise become crowded out by trees eventually. A Forest isn't necessarily all woodland, in fact many include a range of habitats (the term originally referred to an area set aside for Royal hunting!). In Epping Forest, a number of grassland areas would have been traditionally been kept open through grazing. Lowland heath is internationally rare now, and the UK has 20% of the globe's share of this habitat!

EFCV are a very welcoming bunch, an active and mixed group of people. They are very knowledgeable too, and they were willing to share their knowledge - Spencer Cleminson, one of their leaders, helped me to refresh my felling skills, and to introduce Natasha to this activity! We had an excellent day out in the woods, the weather continuing in its warm theme but with plenty of shade trees to keep us cool. This is a lovely part of the forest too, and surprisingly not very busy with people. Why not get up there and explore it for yourself? The hill has a pretty aspect, and the woodland has some more open parts with old oak pollards in addition to the thicker woodland areas.

EFCV run work parties on alternate Sundays, plus the occasional weekday too. Find out about the group and their upcoming here.

On Thursday 6th June, I took myself up to the Epping Forest Field Centre at High Beach - where there are environmental education, grounds maintenance, and admin volunteering opportunities. On this occasion I started the day with some grounds work, clearing some of the plants that were overgrowing the paths around the centre grounds (especially the stinging nettles as they don't mix well with children!). I then helped tutor and team leader Hannah Rose with a local primary school group, who came to the field centre to learn about minibeasts. The children explored life in the pond first, dipping with nets to see what lives beneath the lilies. Then we all headed over to a woodland area to explore the terrestrial minibeasts on the forest floor and beneath logs. Needless to say, with the Field Centre grounds in the heart of Epping Forest, there were plenty of creepy crawlies for the children to find and learn more about!

Once all this excitement was over and the children returned to school, I assisted Gin Cameron who is in charge of the Grounds at the Field Centre. We were building mini biomes from plastic drinks bottles, which would be stocked by a visiting group on another day with soil and water and plants. This would then create an ecosystem in miniature.

As as you can see, there was a lot of variety in my day at the Field Centre. No two volunteering days there are the same! If you're interested in volunteering, you can aim for particular roles (such as Teaching Assistant, Ground Worker) or help with a wider variety of tasks instead. Find out more about volunteering at the Field Centre here..

--------------------------

There are endless possibilities when it comes to volunteering. It can be sociable, satisfying, educational and career-enhancing. Why not try it for yourself? If you are thinking of volunteering, the organisations I wrote about in this article are excellent choices. Another option in this area would be the Redbridge Conservation Volunteers - just a short journey away in Redbridge, and some tasks taking place in Epping Forest district for example Woodford and Chigwell. There are a range of practical tasks, workshops and family events in the Redbridge area; find out more here.

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) are also active across Britain, so it is worth checking for volunteer tasks in your area, wherever you are!  Find out more about volunteering with TCV generally here.