There is a lot to do at the next three activity mornings in November and December. We'll need to clear glades of dominant vegetation to allow diverse species to thrive, clear overhanging branches encroaching on our valuable crab apple trees, clear paths and repair hurdles protecting our nature recovery areas.

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BIG WOOD AUTUMN ACTIVITY MORNINGS

Please join us at the next one. No special skills required, just a willingness to muck in.

 

On the activity mornings, we meet at the Big Wood Temple Fortune Hill entrance in time for a 10am start. Work takes place over a couple of hours with a tea break.

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Sunday 10th November

Saturday 7th December 

Sunday 15th December 

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​Join the Friends of Big Wood Volunteers WhatsApp group for activity updates, or contact 07712 704 164,  friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com. Please also take note of the volunteer handbook, link below.

Conservation activities can include wildflower glade management, clearing invasive and overly vigorous species, dead hedging and path clearance. On the activity mornings, we meet at the Big Wood Temple Fortune Hill entrance in time for a 10am start. Work takes place over a couple of hours with a tea break. Get in touch to find out more: friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com - see also the volunteer handbook link below.

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BIG WOOD KIDS 

Art, Music & Nature Workshops

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Being in nature has so many benefits for children. The Friends of Big Wood want to make fun nature-based exploration and creative learning accessible to local children.

 

Join ‘Animal Architects’, which is this year's last Friends of Big Wood KIDS nature, art and music workshops for 6–12-year-olds. It will be on 17th November, 10am-12 noon. All children ages 6-12 welcome. Drop-off point is the Memorial Gate entrance at the top of Temple Fortune Hill.

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​​Suggested donation is £10 per child, and £5 for additional siblings. Please give generously to support this not-for-profit initiative to get our kids back into nature! Look out for posters and scan the QR code, or Click on this Eventbrite link to sign up.

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Monthly Big Wood KIDS sessions will restart in February 2025, with alternating events for families with younger kids and drop-off sessions for 6-12 year olds. We are also working on creating fun ecology events for teenagers. 

 

The Big Wood KIDS volunteers have teamed up our fabulous partners, Caroline Chan of Mini Beat Music and Sophie Chan Cooke founder of YAS (Young Artist Society). Together they are Dream in Green, a hugely talented and creative art and music collaboration, who have nature and caring for the environment in their veins.

 
BIG WOOD GUIDED WALKS

Places on our guided walks are limited. If you want to join any of the ones listed below, please email Lotte Rasmussen on lotte@boyen.co.uk or text her on 07458-322-710, stating your preference. We ask for a £5 donation on the day to help cover the costs - under 16s go free.

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Sunday 3rd November 10 am - Fungi Walk in Big Wood, guided by David Humphries  We are delighted that renowned arborist and fungiphile David Humphries has agreed to lead another fascinating guided walk on Fungi in Big Wood. David has been managing the Hampstead Heath trees for over three decades and is the co-author of the 2015 book Fungi on Trees: A Photographic Reference. Also check out this link of his talk for the London Natural History Society

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If you want to join any of these guided walks in Big Wood, please email Lotte Rasmussen on lotte@boyen.co.uk or text her on 07458-322-710, stating your preference. We ask for a £5 donation on the day to help cover the costs - under 16s go free.
 

VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK

Barnet Council are in the process of updating their Greenspaces Volunteering Handbook. It 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 have a read. Get in touch if you have any questions.

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MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

A big thank you for supporting Big Wood for all our benefit by being members of the Friends of Big Wood. If you haven't renewed your membership yet, please do so now. 

As you will have noticed, we have moved the bulk of the membership renewal admin work over to Membermojo, a GDPR-compliant software widely used by small charities and voluntary organisations. Any queries, contact friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com 

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2024 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

Many thanks to the members who have already renewed their subscriptions for 2024. This is a reminder to the rest to pay their subs for the year. 

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JOIN FORM

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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. 

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 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. 

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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:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/stories-51282656/the-oak-tree-in-key-gardens-that-taught-the-world-a-lesson

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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.

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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

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