Getting into ecology and conservation

Ask any ecologist or conservationist how they got into this line of work, and almost all will tell you about how they got stuck in with volunteering, and what awesome days they were!

Me in 2012, volunteering on a Water Vole survey with Row Baker at Arundel

Volunteering for the Sussex Wildlife Trust opened up to me a new world of local wildlife, and the passionate people who are trying to conserve it. There are many wildlife organisations out there wanting to engage with volunteers and recruit new members, and now social media makes it even easier to connect with these groups... a healthier use of Facebook and Twitter!

Myself and Laurie Jackson (who I also met through volunteering) have come up with a list of wildlife groups and recording schemes which people can get involved with, whether you're a student of biological sciences, a recent graduate, or just someone who is looking to get outdoors more and discover an endlessly rewarding new hobby...

Firstly, consider starting to keep a species list by signing up to iRecord: http://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/

Events/ short courses in wildlife identification, ecology and field skills:

Sussex Wildlife Trust https://www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/whats-on/category/adult-learning
Surrey Wildlife Trust http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/whats-on?categoryid=7&categoryid=7
Knepp Wildlands Safaris https://www.kneppsafaris.co.uk/Safaris
Field Studies Council (FSC) http://www.field-studies-council.org/individuals-and-families.aspx

For families and kids:

Sussex Wildlife Trust family events https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/whats-on/category/family-events
Surrey Wildlife Trust family events http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/whats-on?categoryid=9
Amateur Entomologists' Society Bug Club  http://www.amentsoc.org/bug-club/
Field Studies Council family activities http://www.field-studies-council.org/individuals-and-families/family.aspx

Specialist courses and training ecological consultants:

Bat Conservation Trust http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/professional.html
Mammal Society http://www.mammal.org.uk/training
Amphibians and Reptiles Group http://www.arguk.org/events
British Trust for Ornithology http://www.bto.org/news-events/training
Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) : http://www.cieem.net/events/category/56/cieem-workshopstraining
Acorn Ecology http://www.acornecology.co.uk/ecology-courses
Field Studies Council (FSC) environmental professionals http://www.field-studies-council.org/professional/courses-for-environmental-professionals.aspx

British Entomology & Natural History Society http://www.benhs.org.uk/about/meetings/

Freshwater Biological Association https://www.fba.org.uk/courses

The best advice after going on any training course or event? Get involved with wildlife surveys or field meetings straight away, either through the organisation you've just trained with, or a wildlife group local to you. Carry on with the learning and keep those newly acquired field skills honed; we all started out somewhere! 

National recording schemes & surveys:

• National Plant Monitoring Scheme http://www.npms.org.uk/
• National Amphibian and Reptile Recording Scheme http://www.narrs.org.uk/
• National Bat Monitoring Programme http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/nbmp.html
• Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society http://www.bwars.com/
• Butterfly Conservation http://butterfly-conservation.org/110/recording-and-monitoring.html
• Bumblebee Conservation Trust https://bumblebeeconservation.org/get-involved/
• Beetles and Beetle Recording in Great Britain http://www.coleoptera.org.uk/home
• British Trust for Ornithology http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys
• British Dragonfly Society http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/content/recording-dragonflies-and-damselflies-britain
• Mammal Society http://www.mammal.org.uk/surveys_and_monitoring
• British Arachnological Society http://www.britishspiders.org.uk/wiki2015/index.php?title=Main_Page
• British Lichen Society http://www.britishlichensociety.org.uk/
• Dipterists Forum http://www.dipteristsforum.org.uk/
• Hoverfly Recording Scheme http://www.hoverfly.org.uk/
• Buglife https://www.buglife.org.uk/activities-for-you/wildlife-surveys
• British Entomology & Natural History Society http://www.benhs.org.uk/about/meetings/
• British Mycological Society http://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/mycology/field-meetings/
• Pan-species Listing http://www.brc.ac.uk/psl/about

There are many more than I have listed here, so you could also take a look at the Biological Records Centre website: http://www.brc.ac.uk/recording-schemes

Most these groups also have facebook pages with very active online communities, so there are always people to turn to for advice.

And for those of you more local to the Gatwick area, check out these active groups...

Wildlife groups and recording in Sussex:

Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre http://sxbrc.org.uk/
Sussex Mammal Group http://www.sussexmammalgroup.org.uk
Sussex Amphibian and Reptile Group http://www.sussexarg.org.uk
Sussex Bat Group http://www.sussexbatgroup.org.uk/
Sussex Ornithological Society http://www.sos.org.uk/
Sussex Botanical Recording Society http://sussexflora.org.uk/
Sussex Moth Group http://www.sussexmothgroup.org.uk/
Butterfly Conservation – Sussex Branch http://www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/
British Dragonfly Society - Sussex Group http://www.webjam.com/bdssx
Sussex Sea Search https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/what-we-do/living-seas/sussex-seasearch
Forest Row Natural History Group https://naturesbook.wordpress.com/events/

Sussex & Surrey:

West Weald Fungus Recording Group  http://www.westwealdfungi.co.uk/

Surrey:

Surrey Biodiversity Information Centre http://www.surreybic.org.uk/
Surrey Mammal group (Facebook page) https://www.facebook.com/groups/surreymammals/?fref=ts
Surrey Dormouse Group http://www.surreydormousegroup.org.uk/
Surrey Amphibians and Reptile Group http://www.surrey-arg.org.uk/
Surrey Bat Group http://www.surreybats.org.uk/
Surrey Birding Club http://www.surreybirdclub.org.uk/
Surrey Botanical Society http://www.surreyflora.org.uk/
Surrey Butterfly Conservation - Surrey & SW London branch http://butterfly-conservation.org/286/surrey--sw-london-branch.html
RiverSearch & RiverFly surveys http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/what-we-do/living-landscapes/conservation-projects/riversearch

So there you go! My apologies as if I missed any off - please comment below and I can add to the lists.

Behind the scenes...

Last Friday, Gatwick was officially presented with the Biodiversity Benchmark Award from The Wildlife Trusts. It resulted in a rare gathering of all the main players behind Gatwick's biodiversity project. Here's a run down of the key organisations involved, a sort of extended version of 'who we are':

On Friday Tom Simpson led the walk through Upper Picketts Wood, demonstrating the coppicing works which have been carried out by Gatwick staff along with external volunteers

Steve Bates Photography

Gatwick Greenspace Partnership

(Part of the Sussex Wildlife Trust and funded by the Airport and local authorities)

Represented by Peter Crawford, Kevin Lerwill, Tom Forward and Tom Simpson, GGP educates and engages the local community through coordinating conservation tasks, forest schools and bushcraft, wildlife walks and events. They have been working in and around Gatwick under various different names for over 20 years and in 2014 alone 45 task days were run, totaling about 351 volunteers! A melting pot of practical abilities and local wildlife knowledge (plus of course dashing good looks), these guys happen to be the first people I volunteered with after graduating back in 2009. 

Gatwick's first official Bee Hotel, now complete and open for business in Ashley's Field

The Wildlife Trusts: 

The central charity which works hard to promote wildlife awareness throughout the UK, linking up our landscape via 47 different regional Wildlife Trusts. The charity is responsible for giving out the country's only exclusively biodiversity-centered business award. Peter Dorans is the Benchmark Manager who traveled all the way from Nottinghamshire to visit Gatwick and present us with the certificate. He tells me that since the award system was set up, there are now collectively over 9,000 hectares of land managed by businesses for wildlife. Now I might have misheard, but I think that is the equivalent of all the wildlife reserve land put together in a large county such as Sussex!

  

Ashley's Field: part of a green hay strewing project to increase botanical diversity

(Steve Bates Photography)

Martyn Cooke of Surrey Bat Group, James Webster and Phil Milham of JSA, heckling at the back

(Steve Bates Photography)

JS Agriculture and Landscape Group 
These are the specialist grounds maintenance contractors (and my employers) who manage Gatwick's landscape both airside and landside. They carry out work in huge grass areas, shrub and flower borders, trees, hedgerows and footpath maintenance, all in an ecologically sensitive manner. With the kit and the know-how, they carry out heavier habitat works such as hay-cutting the River Mole grasslands, chainsawing and brushcutting plus transporting materials to and from our sites. James Webster is the fella who originally set up the Biodiversity Action Plans for Gatwick; now working for Ecology and Habitat Management Ltd, he consults in biodiversity at other airports as well as with us.

Tom Simpson, myself, Peter Dorans of The Wildlife Trusts, Ian Chalk and Hannah Deacon

 of Gatwick Airport Ltd (Steve Bates Photography)

Gatwick's Environment, Health and Safety Team

Ian and Hannah (pictured above on the right) along with others on their team, oversee our biodiversity project and this work comes under Gatwick's many other environmental commitments. Their team's knowledge of the airport operations and business, plus their enthusiasm and commitment to the local environment helps our project to run smoothly, ensuring we maintain a tight ship. These guys work really hard for the airport and along with Gatwick's Communications, their department has been great at backing what we do.

The Gatsbee Hives (Steve Bates Photography)

(Steve Bates Photography)

Gatsbee honey with Gill's handmade labels

The Gatsbees

A small collection of bee hives were installed in Ashley's Field in early 2014, to be maintained and monitored by local mentor Gillian Sentinella of  Central Sussex Beekeepers Association. Tom Simpson and myself are Gill's avid students, learning about 'natural beekeeping' and maintaining colonies in balanced harmony with the surrounding environment. We hope to register in the near future as a Sentinel Apiary for monitoring Honey Bee health, watching out for pests, invasive species and other environmental concerns which Honey Bees can act as indicators for. We do take a little of the honey now and then but without overly depleting their hard-earned stores!

(Steve Bates Photography)

Although not everyone could make it on the day, it was great to have this fantastic bunch get together and share in the achievement over a generous amount of food, drink and honey tasting.

We would also like to say a special 'thank you' to the Parson's Pig pub on the Balcombe Road, who in the threat of stormy weather came to our aid providing last minute shelter for mingling and refreshments. The pub has a lovely homely atmosphere and they even lit the fire for us especially! You guys rock.

To tree or not to tree...

...that was the question last Monday when a bout of bizarre weather rolled in. We have been up against some pretty rubbish conditions to get more Black Poplar trees planted on the River Mole floodplain. 

Braving the elements

Although intense rain and hail does add a certain edge to a task

It was the Security Leadership Team who drew the short straw, and fair play to them for persisting with this job! We had hoped to get a line of trees planted as close to the main channel as possible, which is a quite a challenge when the River Mole decides to misbehave. In addition to those we planted last year, these young Black Poplar whips were kindly provided by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and Wakehurst Place, so we are doing all we can to give them a good start.

Our line of native Black Poplar

The native Black Poplar tree Populus nigra subsps. betulifolia is under serious threat, with only around 38 mature specimens left in Sussex and 7000 in the whole of the UK. This tree naturally occurs in riverside woodland, which itself is now a rather scarce habitat due to modern land management practices. You can read more about the importance of this habitat and some of the efforts going into restoring it here: http://www.treesontheriveruck.org.uk/floodplain-woodlands.html

As these tree guards could be knocked over by the high flow (the Mole has a habit of quick-rising water levels and surges), Tom S. has directed the team in creating some log deflectors to snag debris and protect the bases of trees from getting bashed. These deflectors are staked into the ground with cut willow and we can continue building them up in time with extra logs.

Around 15 years ago, the River Mole here at Gatwick was diverted and sculpted to create large, natural-looking meanders and floodplain grassland. This habitat helps reduce the rapid water flow and flooding off the surrounding urban and airport areas, undeniably of benefit during the extreme wet weather at the end of 2013.

Scrub clearance to the west of Brockley Wood

After the trees were sited in their new homes, we continued on with some willow scrub coppicing to the west of Brockley Wood.

Habitat piling

Dead-hedging

As the day went on, Nathan was gradually morphing into another Tom...

Perhaps an improvement on the old Tom? I'd watch out if I were you buddy!

I imagine people might enjoy hearing about how badly behaved this lot were, but they actually mucked in and did a really grand job, plus not a single one of them ended up in the water... Sorry about that.

Carolyn, Nathan, Chris, Andrew, Allison and Julian

Thanks again team, we hope to see you out and about again this coming summer (if you haven't been put off!)

Dormouse update: Tenants wanted

...must be small, fuzzy and with a fluffy ginger tail.

Sliding-top Dormouse box: unlike bird boxes, the entrance hole is on the side which rests against the tree trunk, discouraging larger species or predators from using the boxes.

After carrying out regular box checks this year at Gatwick, we are yet to get a glimpse of the sneaky Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius). All the signs are there - a good woodland understory, including all their favourite food plants and even an old nest was found. Earlier this year, only a month after installing new boxes, we found bits of honeysuckle had been dragged inside (a typical dormouse behaviour), but alas, the weather suddenly turned cold again and there was no more activity. Pretty frustrating!

Equivalent to Hazel Dormouse graffiti: I waz 'ere... but not for long! 

On the left: a small grassy Harvest Mouse nest. On the right: larger Hazel Dormouse nest largely made up of stripped honeysuckle bark

Dormice are a protected species, but it is difficult to know how these small mammals are really faring as they are quite elusive, turning up in some odd places and in certain years seem scarcer than in others. Early in September I attended a dormouse ecology course with the Sussex Wildlife Trust to hear the latest science and thinking on these vexing little... critters.

Box checking in the woodlands in Crawley, West Sussex

Course tutor Laurie demonstrating how to 'bag up' a box containing a potential nest

The course was attended by an enthusiastic bunch of environmentalists, keen naturalists or people simply wanting to get involved in monitoring local Dormouse populations and the better management of woodland habitats. We had a bright and charming course tutor in Laurie who has a lot of hands-on experience with these and many other wee mammals. 

Bag 'o Dormouse - the weight and general health of each individual is recorded

This nest contained very new dormouse babies called 'pinkies', which are just visible in the centre. We only took a quick glance and then the box was placed back on the tree to minimise disturbance.

My highlight of the day was seeing a Dormouse run up a tree, showing off some brilliant arboreal acrobactics. There is a surprising amount to know about this superb little mammal, too much to sum up here and as I don't want to give away all the secrets from the course, here is a selection of the stranger dormousey facts we have learned:

1. There are many species of Dormouse - the Hazel Dormouse is the only one native to the UK

2. Adult females sometimes pool their young together in creches, possibly so that they can take it in turns to go out foraging. 

3. They do not just eat hazel nuts (which are seasonal and they don't bother storing), they also tuck into various flowers, pollen, nectar, fruit, aphids, caterpillars and teacakes*

4. They are descended from one of the most ancient rodent families

5. When handling dormice (under supervision of a qualified handler) it is advisable to roll up your sleeves

6. There are few reports of people being bitten by dormice, except for one unfortunate PhD student I know who must be finding particularly irritable ones.

* one of these facts might not be verified

(Muscardinus avellanarius) the Hazel Dormouse. 

In latin the word dormir means 'to sleep'

I used to be a bit cynical about how much small mammals could tell us, but I now see that by putting in a decent survey effort they can give an indication of the current condition of our woodlands for other wildlife. The next step in Gatwick's dormouse work is to carry out some Hazel coppicing and to increase our survey effort by installing more boxes. You can find out more about these and other UK small mammals here: http://www.mammal.org.uk/species_hub

September Summary: New beginnings

This has never been my favourite time of year as it usually signifies the end of things – life slows down, flowers disappear, invertebrate diversity drops, the grass turns yellow, evenings creep in earlier and the mornings take their sweet time to get going. Migrating birds, such as Swallows and Martins, ram this point home by flying thousands of miles, risking storms, starvation and predators just to get away from it all. This time last year, sitting in my portacabin next to an aircraft hanger, a sense of poignancy pervaded.

The last of the dragons - a female Migrant Hawker, one of the latest active dragonflies

However, this year feels a little different as September has signified the beginning of new things. With the added help of other naturalists I have been squeezing in as many different ecological surveys as possible and we still have some exciting new ones to come including fungi, small mammals and pond invertebrates. I have been trying to cover as wide a range of species as possible.

The rare Bechstein's Bat we found earlier this month in Brockley Wood, North West Zone

The removal of American Signal Crayfish continues in a section of the River Mole - they love the spam.

The most commonly found species in our dormouse boxes - a Copper Underwing Moth

So there is life out there other than Craneflies!

The two main components of our Biodiversity Action Plan consist of monitoring wildlife, then hands-on conservation work to improve habitats. As the main survey season ends, our autumn practical tasks are kicking off with activities such as dead-hedging, reptile and amphibian hibernacula construction (a dug pit filled with rubble, logs and brash) and thinning out of old and dense tree plantations.

Airport volunteers opening up a woodland ride into Upper Picketts Wood. This creates 

space for the remaining trees to reach their full, healthy potential...

...also allowing the sun's valuable energy to strike the woodland floor, benefiting groundflora and fauna

Our first airport staff volunteers of the season were the Accounts Payable Department, lead by West Sussex County Council's Volunteer Co-ordinator, Darren Rolfe and assistant Tom Weedon. The day was a definite success; no wind, no rain, no trees dropping onto volunteers plus only one piece of equipment went missing in the long grass - must be some kind of record!

Thinning out the young tree plantation, targeting the Crack Willow for removal

Ashley's Field with a well-supplied work station

I joke of course, all our volunteer days go more than smoothly here. This group were a fantastic bunch with bags of enthusiasm and together they made a great difference. I must say I’ve never seen conservation workers so well kitted out, I mean, a cafetiere in the middle of a field? Fair play... mine's an espresso macchiato, please!

Gatwick Greenspace Partnership (GGP) of the Sussex Wildlife Trust are the main conservation group here, carrying out community and environmental projects in and around Gatwick. I hear it has been nearly 20 years and they are still going strong. So when's the party, guys?

   Another aim of ours is to increase local awareness of GGP's work and to strengthen ties with the airport's numerous departments. Earlier this month, we set up a communications stand at the British Airways offices at Jubilee House, demonstrating the conservation works around Gatwick in order to engage the staff. 

Kevin Lerwill of Gatwick Greenspace Partnership and Phil Townrow of British Airways Engineering

Phil Townrow, aka 'Phil the Bin', also joined us on the day: an interesting British Airways engineer who is green of mind and passionate about reducing the environmental impacts of aircraft operations, through projects such as aircraft waste recycling and biofuel production. Another example of how much is going on behind the scenes of an international airport and how little is known about it!

British Airways has ground-breaking plans for a biofuel plant, due to start operating in 2015

And so looking ahead there will be no time to relax in October, with a final push on reptile and mammal surveys, a jam-packed conservation schedule and a brand new Gatwick Greenspace team member joining the ranks; the pace is now picking up on Gatwick's Biodiversity Action Plans.

A surprise visit by this Dunnock who flew into the portacabin - maybe it was after my hobnob biscuits?

Gatwick's Alien Invaders

A battle is being fought all around Gatwick Airport... Aliens landed here quite some time ago, but together JS Agriculture and Gatwick Greenspace Partnership have plans for defeating these invasive species!

American Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus)

Signal Crayfish burrows in the bank and Himalayan Balsam growing along

 a section of the River Mole at Povey Cross

An important part of our Biodiversity Action Plan is to monitor the presence of non-native species occurring on Gatwick's land and to come up with plans to tackle them. As they have been established in our countryside for quite some time they are virtually impossible to eliminate, so instead we aim to control them as best as possible, reducing their impact on our native flora and fauna.

Bucket 'o' crays:  They have reached plague proportions in our part of the River Mole.
We humanely euthanise them under instruction from the Environment Agency

Tiny wee Signal Crayfish from the River Mole

The American Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) was introduced to Britain in the 1970's and escaped from fish farms into our waterways. Having witnessed the size and quantity of their tiny larvae I'm not surprised they did! They are tough little pioneers and easily colonised our waterways; unfortunately they carry a disease which our native White-Clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) is vulnerable to. As a result White-Clawed Crayfish are now pretty rare and highly protected in areas where they still remain.

Our licensed crayfish traps with fish bait. 

Signal Crayfish have a voracious appetite and eat whatever they can get their claws on, be it aquatic plants, fish fry or invertebrates. They also burrow deep into river banks which causes destabilisation, erosion and eventually bank collapse. By trapping them on a section of the river and reducing the number of large, voracious adults I hope to see a positive effect on the aquatic biodiversity.

Gatwick Greenspace volunteers Adrian and James removing Himalayan Balsam; 

waders are not such a bad job on a hot summers day

Another problem alien here is Himalayan Balsam, which was introduced to Britain in 1839 as an attractive ornamental garden plant. It is a rapid coloniser, spreading along our waterways, growing very tall and quickly out competing our native flora. It has impressive pink flowers which are a good nectar source for bees and other pollinators, but perhaps at some cost to our own native wildflowers.

Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) in flower

The root of the problem: the fleshy roots die back each winter, meaning the soil is left loose and exposed. This however does mean it is easy to pull up. 

The seed pods are pressurized, popping open at the lightest touch, scattering seeds into waterways which are then carried far and wide. The roots of this plant are weak and die back each winter, resulting in exposed mud which then erodes easily away .

Gatwick Greenspace volunteers are all-weather people with the correct gear, precautions and an ample supply of refreshments (I can testify to their high-standard biscuit selection!) On one of the hottest days of the year, they tackled a good length of the River Mole around Povey Cross, pulling up every individual balsam plant they could find.

Balsam is heaped into piles to rot down before it has flowered and seeded

Volunteer Georgina with a near full-grown Signal Crayfish

Gatwick Greenspace Partnership conservation volunteers at Povey Cross, North West Zone

The JS Agriculture team, balsam-bashing in the southern part of Horleyland Wood,

 Land East of the Railway Line

We are continuing the fight against Gatwick's invaders for the next few weeks. If you interested in volunteering and conservation around Gatwick then check out the website for Gatwick Greenspace Partnership, part of the Sussex Wildlife Trust.