Friends of Big Wood Nature Reserve
Newsletter - October 2026
Thank you for being a
Volunteer of Friends of Big Wood.
Our ecology monitoring programme of Big Wood is ongoing. Our volunteers completed botany and oak health surveys for this summer and again supported the Zoological Society London's hedgehog survey. Happily, hedgehogs continue to make their home in Big Wood, and are enabled in their nightly roaming habit by the many hedges in the Suburb.
We are now looking forward to the results of the latest specialist woodland spider and bryophyte surveys by the end of the year. Hopefully, the London Natural History Society can also be persuaded to come back for another botany survey in Big Wood next year. Fingers crossed.
Practical Conservation Activity Mornings
It's been a busy start to the autumn for the Friends of Big Wood. On the first practical conservation activity morning last Saturday, our volunteers worked in the glade nearest the Temple Fortune Hill entrance, which is full of wildflowers as well as tiny oak, ash and wild service tree seedlings, aiming for tree canopy height many decades from now.
Friends of Big Wood Volunteers, here are more dates for your diary:
Sun 18th Oct, Sun 15 Nov, Sat 28 Nov, Sat 5 Dec, Sun 10 Jan, Sat 6 Feb, Sat 6 March - Meet at Temple Fortune Hill entrance, 10am-12.30noon with a tea/coffee break.
We'll be looking after the glades, dead hedges, paths and ditches and protecting vulnerable nature recovery areas. If you are interested and want to know more, get in touch with friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com and/or join our FoBW volunteer WhatsApp group.
Walks & Talks
David Humphries of the City of London has agreed to give another of his popular and entertaining guided fungi walks on Saturday 24th October 10am.
We have also managed to engage author Ally Wilkes for a Halloween-themed woodland folklore guided walk 'Horror in the Woods - Plant Intelligence and the Forest' on Friday 30th October, 6pm.
If you want to join any of these walks, please either email Lotte Rasmussen directly on lotte@boyen.co.uk or text her on 07458-322-710, or email friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com. We ask for a £5 donation to help cover the costs - under 16s go free.
Nature workshops for Big Wood KIDS and TEENS!
The first Big Wood TEENS nature photography workshop in September was sold out and a great success. We will aim to organise another one soon.
This is the last change to book your 7-12 year-old onto this Sunday 4th October's 'Seeds & Journeys', creative nature workshop, starting off the new Big Wood KIDS series with a promising morning of outdoor exploration, creativity, games and storytelling. Book on Eventbrite.
Following this, the next workshop in the series will be 'The Wind Blows' on Sunday 1st November, 10am. We'll be taking to the air! Join naturalist and author Michael Holland and a local storyteller for a morning of experiments, making, games, listening & stories as they explore the remarkable world of flight. How do birds, bees & bats stay in the air? How can a seed glide, spin or sail on the wind? And what makes something fly in the first place? They'll discover some of the science and simple rules of aerodynamics behind flight in nature, make kites & paper planes, experiment with gliding & flying, and listen for the sounds of the wind and woodland. Expect plenty of hands-on exploration, creativity, curiosity & a few surprises along the way! Book on Eventbrite!
We are grateful to the HGS Residents Association for their generous support of our community outreach programme, so we can focus our main resources on nature conservation work.
Invitation to a Nature and Climate Film
On a related topic, the Friends of Big Wood are invited to attend a screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing film on the threats to British life from ongoing damage to nature and to our climate. More information here.
Location: Golders Green Meeting House
Date: Wednesday 21st October 2026
Time: 7.00pm - 9.00pm Tea, coffee and light bites from 6.30pm
Booking link to ensure a free place:
https://buytickets.at/goldersgreenquakers/2419579/share/0c2911e033ccf08ce2d5f62e030f936e
For further specific updates on volunteer events, feel free to
join Friends of Big Wood Volunteers WhatsApp group,
or contact 07712 704 164,
Please also take note of the volunteer handbook, link below.
Friends of Big Wood Membership Renewals
Please renew your Friends of Big Wood membership for 2026 if you haven't had a chance to do so yet. We need you! Our heartfelt thanks to most of you who have already renewed, including your kind donations.
Please also signpost your local friends and neighbours to visit our website and encourage them to become Friends of Big Wood, to help support our irreplaceable ancient woodland.
You can renew easily by following this link, or the one in your Membermojo reminder email.
Any questions, contact friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com
Thank you! We wouldn't be able to look after Big Wood without the support of our Friends!
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
