Friends of Big Wood Nature Reserve
Newsletter - May - 2025
Glorious Big Wood
Dates for your diary:
Guided Walks: Bird Walk: Sunday 11th May, 9am - Tales from the Trees: Sunday 8th June, 2.30pm
Practical Activity Sessions: for more info please join the FoBW Volunteers WhatsApp group or contact friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com
Big Wood KIDS drop-off session for 6-12 year-olds: Insect Heroes in Big Wood, Sunday 18th May, 10am to 12noon
Thank you all for being Friends of Big Wood, and special thanks this month to those of you who were able to spare a bit of time at very short notice to help with the deadwood survey in Big Wood last weekend. This five-yearly survey of standing dead trees, as well as the biennial tree canopy survey in Big Wood, are part of our regular monitoring of trees in the wood. We undertake this ourselves with the aim of giving us a better long-term understanding of the tree health and varied lifecycle ecology in Big Wood.
A number of specialist wildlife surveys in Big Wood (and Little Wood) have also come up for their ten-year renewal and we are hoping to have updates on the state of ecology of vascular plants, fungi, moths and bats later this year. Survey reports will be uploaded on our website in due course.
Specific volunteering updates can be found on the FoBW WhatsApp group. Feel free to join with this link: Friends of Big Wood Volunteers, or contact 07712 704 164, friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com. Please also take note of the volunteer handbook, link below.
Extraordinary Big Wood Activity Sessions
We need to hold a couple of brief extraordinary Practical Activity Sessions this summer. They are unfortunately necessary to deal with new shortcuts and desire paths that have started being created by people and are leading to damage in the glades, wildflower and nature recovery areas. If you are interested in lending a hand to look after Big Wood and keep it in good condition, please use this link to join the Friends of Big Wood Volunteers WhatsApp group where more information will be posted as soon as it becomes confirmed. Or contact 07712 704 164, friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com. Your support is very much appreciated!
Please also see the compact updated Barnet Greenspaces Volunteering Handbook for useful practical volunteering guidance and safe tool use.
We hope you continue to enjoy our wonderful Big Wood. We had delightful guided botany and dawn chorus walks in April, and here are a number of other events to add to the enjoyment in May:
Guided Walks Season
Bird Walk with experienced ornithologist David Darrell-Lambert, Sunday 11th May, 9am
Explore the fascinating bird life in Big Wood with a guided walk by veteran birder David of Birdbrain UK, who manages to turn every one of his bird explorations into a very enjoyable illuminating experience.
If you want to join this walk, please email Lotte Rasmussen on lotte@boyen.co.uk or text her on 07458-322-710. We ask for a £5 donation to help cover the costs - under 16s go free.
'Tales from the Trees', a guided walk for all ages with naturalist author and broadcaster Bob Gilbert, organised by the HGS Quaker Friends, Sunday 8th June, 2.30pm
An exploration of the trees and other plants of Big Wood; the stories we have woven around them, how they got their names, their folklore and their uses, edible, medicinal or magical.
Meet in the front woodland garden of the Quaker Meeting House, 17 North Square, NW11 7AD. Bob aims to finish about 4.00pm, then tea and cake will be served back at the Meeting House. To register for this walk, please email jean@jenn.org.uk
Big Wood KIDS Creative Workshops
The next Big Wood KIDS workshop, 'Insect Heroes' will be a drop-off session for children aged 6-12. Discover the world of mini beasts, learn about their super powers and enjoy a morning of creative fun in the magical setting of Big Wood! We’ll be creating colourful collaged insects, making recycled bug hotels and making insect-inspired music! Book using this Eventbrite link, or scan the poster QR code.
All upcoming 2025 Big Wood KIDS sessions have now been scheduled and tickets will become available about three weeks prior to each event.
Follow Big Wood KIDS via Friends of Big Wood on Eventbrite (QR code on schedule below).
Get Tickets Now
Insect Heroes Creative Workshop presented by Friends of Big Wood KIDS
Date: Sun, May 18th • 10:00am - noon
Location: BigWood
If you are interested, please follow Big Wood KIDS via Friends of Big Wood on Eventbrite, to be informed as soon as tickets for future sessions become available.
Friends of Big Wood Membership Renewals
If you haven't got round to renewing yet, please stay a Friend and renew via this link: https://membermojo.co.uk/friendsofbigwood/renew Any questions, contact friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com
Volunteer Handbook
The Barnet Greenspaces Volunteering Handbook includes straightforward health and safety guidance to ensure that all volunteers remain safe while working in the borough's green spaces. If you take part in the activity mornings, please click on this Volunteer Handbook link and take note of the guidelines. Get in touch if you have any questions.
LITTER IN THE WOOD
Litter remains a problem and some of us regularly pick up litter as we go round the wood. If any one else wants to help and would like a litter picker, please contact us. We have a number of Friends who are regularly are picking up litter but please can all the Friends help to keep the wood clear of litter.
MORE ABOUT DEAD WOOD
We reported on the importance of dead wood. The official UK standard for healthy woodland habitat requires 20m3 of deadwood per hectare and most woodlands in the UK, including Big Wood, is below this level. It is important therefore that all dead trunks and fallen branches are left where they fall or are left standing.
A reminder that ageing trees and dead wood are vital for a healthy woodland habitat. A huge swathe of the woodland ecosystem relies on tree wear and tear- hollows, dead branches and fallen trees.
TREES INFO
There is a marvellous short clip about the management of oak trees and the importance of not compacting the roots in Kew Gardens following the great storm of 1987. Anyone who is interested click on the following:-
WEB SITE
Remember that all details are here on our web site so do signpost your local friends and neighbours to visit the site and encourage them join the Association and to be Friends Of Big Wood.
DATA PROTECTION
The Friends of Big Wood Organisation is aware of the new General Data Protection Legislation. Organisations such as ours, which keep a register of names purely for recreational reasons, are exempt from the new regulations. We would advise you all that the data stored is purely to enable us to provide information about Big Wood and no information will be passed to any third party. If, nevertheless, you would like your details deleted from the list, please email us
