Welcome to London Day of Nature 2024

Programme Summary

Session 1: 10.30am - 11.15am

London’s wild future: Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) – Sarah Smith & Francis Castro, Green Infrastructure Team at the Greater London Authority & Emily Hawkes, Nature Recovery Data Officer, Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL). Hear an overview of London’s LNRS and its progress so far and discover ways to contribute and support the emerging strategy.

Cultivating Nature Recovery – Russell Miller, arboricultural and ecological consultant and co-founder of ReNature London. In order to halt decline in nature and kick start recovery from below, some people need to act to restore locally viable habitats. Hear about how local knowledge combined with learning through active experimentation can create low cost interventions, with significant impacts on biodiversity at all levels. Get involved in a garden near you.

Speed Talk: London Geodiversity Partnership: working with local groups – Diane Clements, London Geodiversity Partnership. The aim of the London Geodiversity Partnership is to identify, conserve and interpret geological sites within Greater London. They work closely with wildlife groups, leading walks within the capital and GiGL hosts the citations for consultation by would-be planners. Diane has written a GiGLer article about LGP’s involvement in the project to reinstate Branch Hill Pond.

Water vole © Caroline Quinn

Session 2: 11.30am - 12.20pm

National Education Nature Park – Emma Woodhouse, Senior Programme Officer, Royal Horticultural Society. The National Education Nature Park is a free programme which sees children and young people lead the way in creating a network of green spaces in schools, nurseries and colleges across England. Emma will talk about the successes in London schools and look at the collective difference young people are making and the contribution to scientific research on nature recovery.

LNHS Update 2025 & What does an LNHS Recorder actually do? – Keiron Derek Brown, Chair Ecology & Entomology Section and Tony Madgwick, Bee & Wasp Recorder, London Natural History Society (LNHS). The regular LDN spot to hear from LNHS on their updates from the past year and future projects for 2025. Tony will then give an overview of some bee and wasp recording highlights from the last year, before outlining some of the recording roles and initiatives developed within the LNHS.

Speed Talk: Why bother with biological monitoring in a park the size of a postage-stamp? – Susanna Thornton, Biodiversity Lead at Friends of St John’s Garden. Suzanna explains their journey into the world of biological recording.

Common toad © Rebecca Harvey

Session 3: 1.20pm - 2.30pm

Speed Talk: Biodiversity at Energy Garden – Ellen Bidulka, Biodiversity Lead at The Energy Garden. Discover more in the Energy Garden Biodiversity Report 2023. Energy Garden repurposes disused trackside space into vibrant community growing spaces inLondon. Ellen works with community groups to survey, appreciate and improve the biodiversity in the gardens.

Buzzing in the East End (B.E.E.) – Scarlett Weston, Project Development Officer, Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Buzzing in the East End is an exciting initiative to make a buzz across 11 boroughs of east London, collaborating with local communities, landowners and residents to establish where rare bumblebees are and the current stae of their habitat.

The Non-native Species Inspectorate: who we are and what we do – Zoe Golding, Senior Inspector, Invasive & Non-Native Species Inspectorate. The Non-native Species Inspectorate is a branch of the Animal & Plant Health Agency and is committed to safeguarding animal and plant health for the welfare of people, the environment and the economy. The talk will discuss the collaboration with various sectors such as pet shops, garden centres and zoos, along with activities like mammal trapping, the Asian Hornet initiative and efforts involving monk parakeets.

Steps towards a Wildbelt; large scale nature recovery on London’s horizon – Mathew Frith, Director of Policy & Research at London Wildlife Trust. LWT and the GLA are progressing the London Rewilding Taskforce‘s recommendations to investigate the potential for large scale rewilding on the periphery of London. The constraints that such schemes might face and the opportunities they offer for nature recovery are discussed. A number of areas are being looked at in more detail and these will be briefly touched on.

Hatter Wood bluebells © Amy Palmer-Newton

Session 4: 2.50pm - 4.00pm

A choice of 2 workshops:

Biological Recording Basics workshop – Sarah Lewington & Claudia Watts, GiGL: Explore Camley St Natural Park with GiGL’s species experts and discover how to get started with biological recording. This Recording Apps table provides a useful comparison of the most often used recording apps. See the Camley St Natural Park Community Report in the GiGL Resources section below.

Planning for People: Designing neighbourhoods with purpose – Denean Rowe, Projects & Policy Manager at Town & Country Planning Assoc. Denean works in collaboration with Planning Aid for London, providing the advice service so that communities can participate meaningfully in the planning process. They have developed a free Planning Green Spaces Toolkit.

Useful GiGL links: Natural environment data in planning

GiGL’s Data Search Report factsheet for MoP

London Day of Nature Interactive Habitat & Site Mapping workshop – Vicky Kleanthous & Emily Hawkes, GiGL: A chance to discover what is happening across London, connect up initiatives and share knowledge. Use the online form to add activities to the map. View the interactive map here.

Interactive form instructions