Saturday 26 June
Wren Wildlife & Conservation Group will be holding its first in-person/physical meetings
Please do join us for one or both walks
10am – Wanstead Park (meet by Wren stand near the Tea Hut)
A botany-focused walk led by local naturalist, Tricia Moxey
FREE but please book to give us a sense of numbers:
https://www.
2pm – Wanstead Park (meet by Wren stand near the Tea Hut)
An invertebrate-focused ‘expert showcase’ walk where we get to watch (from a safe distance) as experts show us what insects and other invertebrates can be found locally and the techniques that can be used to find and study them.
FREE but please book to give us a sense of numbers: https://www.
Whilst both activities are free, please sign-up using so that we can get an idea of numbers.
As it is a weekend, some free parking should be found in the surrounding area.
The Spring 2021 Wren Newsletter, click below:
Wren NewsletterSpring21
Beware of Giant Hogweed
How to recognise it, with Wren member Mirza
Wanstead Moths And Butterflies
A fully illustrated report written by local expert Tim Harris – click below
Wanstead Moths_Report 2020(1)
Help Save our Skylarks
Many of you will be aware of the skylarks on Wanstead Flats and will have heard them singing as they soar into the sky lifting everyone’s spirits with them.
Unfortunately they have been unable to breed successfully for several years due to several factors including some unintentional disturbance from humans and dogs.
Disturbance can cause birds to abandon their nests and any young birds may flee, get lost and end up starving to death.
We are in danger of losing the last few of this critically endangered species. They have already disappeared from Leyton Flats.
For this reason fencing will be installed this year at the end of February to try and protect any that remain and hopefully allow them to breed. While the fencing is going up members of the Wren group will be around as much as possible to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to approach us – at a safe distance of course.
http://www.wrengroup.org.uk
Wren 2020 Winter Newsletter
out now
Go to Newsletter Page or click here Winter 2020 Newsletter
Wren Practical Work is Back
Important volunteer work to maintain the Bluebell Woods and other areas in Wanstead Park. See Diary for dates and Meeting site.
Starting on Thursday, the Meetings have been approved for the November Lockdown
Please try to bring your own gloves, and don’t share Wren tools but stick to one set. Otherwise we will work fairly normally at a social distance.
Virtual Field Meeting 15
Prof. Anson Mackay will talk on
Ancient Lake Baikal: the Sacred Sea
Lake Baikal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most incredible ecosystems on our planet. It is situated in southern Siberia, one of the most continental regions on earth. It is the oldest, deepest, most voluminous lake in the world. Given its size and depth, Baikal alone contains 20% of the world’s surface freshwater (that is, freshwater not locked up in the ice caps or glaciers). And because of its great age (over 25 million years) over 75% of the thousands of species found in the lake are found nowhere else in the world today; from plants and animals that can only be seen through a microscope, to the world’s only truly freshwater seal. But the lake is under major threat from pollution and climate change, and an increasingly globalised economy.
Professor Anson Mackay (UCL & Bushwood!) is one of the world’s leading experts on the environmental history of Lake Baikal. He will provide us with an introduction to this amazing ecosystem, how it came to be so special, and a scientific perspective on pressures facing the lake in the past, in the now, and into the future.
Thursday 27th May at 19-30
Register now, it’s free, at:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/wren-wildlife-and-conservation-group/ancient-lake-baikal-the-sacred-sea-with-anson-mckay/e-vbxlgv
VFM 14 Swifts
from Edward Meyer
Thursday 22nd April 7pm
Edward Meyer is an expert on these summer migrants and will tell their amazing story.
Virtual Field Meeting 13
The South of Epping Forest:
a brief History
Listen to theTalk here:
Mark’s new book on the subject will be out in May 2021.
https://www.uhpress.co.uk/
VFM 12 The lichens of Wanstead
This will be an introduction to the weird and wonderful world of lichens, present nearly everywhere but largely unnoticed. A lichen is not a single organism. It is a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic algae and/or cyanobacteria.
In his talk, Bob will introduce us to some of the fascinating local lichens, what to look out for, and perhaps where you might find them….
If you missed it a recoding is available at: https://youtu.be/LPty0hXjnrA
Plans for the Restoration of the Mortuary Site on Manor Park Flats revealed:
click link below to download and read
TMF-flyer-JD-amends-A4-003-final-1(3)
The History of Eping Forest
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