Join us for our next growing workshop on Saturday 19th September when we will look at the basics of how to turn your waste into beautiful, crumbly soil that can be used in your garden. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/workshop-c...

Workshop: Composting: steps to success

In this workshop, we will look at the basics of how to turn your waste into beautiful, crumbly soil that can be used in your garden.

eventbrite.co.uk

Only a few days left to submit your comment on our planning application for the Vine Road Project. We hope many local residents demonstrate their support of the project.   

What can a pond tell you about the health of a city? More than you might think. Join Dr Rachel Walker on 15 Sept to explore urban pond conservation, indicator species, habitat management and practical monitoring techniques 🐸 🌍 🧪 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981358046... @barnescommon.bsky.social

At the end of July, our conservation volunteers alongside the young people in our Eco-Explorers summer camp helped @londonhogwatch.bsky.social deploy cameras as part of the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme on Barnes Common.

Last week, we visited @barnescommon.bsky.social to set up our NHMP cameras! A huge thank you to all our volunteers who came and explored the beautiful habitats and wildlife in the Common with us!🐝 The #NHMP is led by both @ptes-org.bsky.social and @hedgehogsociety.bsky.social

Join our next growers workshop on the 15th of August where we explore the wonderful world of herbs! Herbs are fantastic plants to grow in your garden. You can grow them in any space, and they have multiple culinary and medicinal uses.

Workshop: The wonderful world of herbs

We’ll have a look at how to grow different garden herbs, and sample some herbal teas brewed with plants growing at the project. Herbs are fantastic plants to grow in your garden. You can grow them in…

barnescommon.org.uk

Garden ponds are powerful conservation tools, providing vital habitat and connectivity for frogs, toads, dragonflies and more. Join Dr Rachael Walker's webinar on creating and managing urban ponds for biodiversity 🐸🌿 🌎 🧪 📅 15 Sept 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981358046... @barnescommon.bsky.social

How do we know if Rivers are Fit for the Future? Understanding the state of our rivers is the first step towards protecting & restoring them. Data helps build a clearer picture of the pressures facing our waterways & guides efforts to tackle them. 🧵👇

Urban ponds may be small, but they’re biodiversity powerhouses 🐸💧 Yet many are in poor ecological condition. Join Dr Rachel Walker on 15 Sept for a webinar on creating, surveying & managing urban ponds for wildlife 🌎 🧪 Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981358046... @barnescommon.bsky.social

If you live in Barnes, Mortlake, E Sheen or Roehampton, here's a chance to help shape future #flood resilience. We'd happily do the survey for free, but @wwtworldwide.bsky.social @barnescommon.bsky.social & @richmondcouncil.bsky.social are offering £20 haveyoursay.citizenspace.com/richmondecs/...

Hopefully this will be a better summer for #butterflies. We seem to have plenty of sightings locally. Here's a chance to learn more about them with our friends from @barnescommon.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nature-wal...

Nature Walk: Butterflies of Barnes Common

Discover butterflies and day-flying moths on Barnes Common on this morning walk, led by butterfly expert Karen Goldie-Morrison.

eventbrite.co.uk

Last night we were joined by ecologist Connor Butler who led a queer ecology walk across Barnes Common. Did you know that the Magna Carta was written in ink made from oak galls? That yew trees, although typically dioecious, can change sex?…

Once again our capital is sweltering hot. There’s an Amber heat-health alert in place until 9pm on Sunday. Look after yourself in the heat and check on any family members, friends and neighbours who may find it more difficult to stay cool and hydrated in hot weather.

Beat the heat: staying safe in hot weather

gov.uk

Due to the extreme heat expected today, we have rescheduled our Nature Walk: The Birds & The Bees - Queer Ecology of Barnes Common to the 8th of July. This means you’ve still got time to get your tickets! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nature-wal...

Nature Walk - The Birds & The Bees: Queer Ecology of Barnes Common

Join ecologist Connor Butler on a guided nature walk on the Common to explore the diverse and unusual lifecycles found on your doorstep.

eventbrite.co.uk

We have set up a Barnes Swift Group and put up around 30 swift boxes on a dozen houses around Barnes this spring with funding from Richmond Council’s Civic Pride Fund and support from the Barnes Handyman Station. Some households have also bought calling systems which can help attract birds.

Community Project Aims to Save the Barnes Swifts

Swifts are renowned as superb flyers and can travel up to 500 miles a day and indeed, spend most of their lives on the wing, feeding, sleeping, and mating. However, their numbers have declined by over...

barnescommon.org.uk

Due to the extreme heat expected today, we have rescheduled our Nature Walk: The Birds & The Bees - Queer Ecology of Barnes Common to the 8th of July. This means you’ve still got time to get your tickets! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nature-wal...

Nature Walk - The Birds & The Bees: Queer Ecology of Barnes Common

Join ecologist Connor Butler on a guided nature walk on the Common to explore the diverse and unusual lifecycles found on your doorstep.

eventbrite.co.uk

If you’ve got a garden or balcony, pop out a shallow dish of water with pebbles today. 🐝 This will help out many of the amazing species in your garden by giving them a safe place to drink. 💛 www.express.co.uk/life-style/g...

#SmallCharityWeek @barnescommon.bsky.social - another fabulous local small charity makes invaluable contributions to individual wellbeing & our environment "Such an inclusive & welcoming group, I really enjoyed working with them. Simply being in nature is wonderful for my well-being!" (volunteer)

Lovely to see the Barnes Hedgehog Highway on BBC London over the weekend! Please leave out fresh water for hedgehogs and other wildlife in a shallow container - it can be life saving in this heat. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Barnes highway helping the capital's urban hedgehogs

A hedgehog highway is a network of small holes and gaps that allows hedgehogs to move freely.

bbc.co.uk

Did you know? The UK lost ¾ of its ponds in just one century 💧 Yet ponds support 2/3 of our freshwater species and urban ponds could be key to reversing the decline 🌎 🧪 Join Dr Rachel Walker to learn how to create & protect them 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981358046... @barnescommon.bsky.social

Have you ever tasted nettle seeds? And how about dandelion and nipplewort greens? Come along to our growing workshop focused on weeds this Saturday, where we’ll be doing all that, and more. You might be surprised at how flavourful and nutritious weeds can be!

This Saturday our friends at @barnescommon.bsky.social are hosting a free family friendly event focused on flood resilience www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-...

Community BlueScapes Fair

Join us for the Community BlueScapes Fair, a free, family friendly event in Barnes focused on flood resilience and climate adaptation.

eventbrite.co.uk

Thanks to Ben Gritten for this great photo of a Painted Lady butterfly that we saw near the Leg o’Mutton nature reserve on our recent Riverside Walk during London Rivers Week. A butterfly with a fascinating life history...1/3

Over the last week we have had two break-ins at our office in the Pavilion at Vine Road Recreation Ground. Luckily these events took place at night when no staff were on site, so no one was hurt, but there has been some damage, and several items have been stolen.

Come join us for a fun, free and creative collage workshop focused on understanding and celebrating biodiversity on Monday the 15th of June from 6pm.

Access Day with First Bus is back 🚌 Fri 12 June, 11am–3pm at Fulwell Bus Garage. Open to Disabled people, carers, mobility needs & transport fans. Bus tours, control room visits + share accessibility ideas. Drop-in, but register your access needs: https://ruils.co.uk/campaigning/campaign-events/

#VolunteersWeek is here - a time to celebrate all things volunteering! Join us in thanking ALL volunteers & look out for a few spotlights on some local heroes we feel lucky to have met just recently richmondcvs.org.uk/volunteers-w...

Volunteers Week - Thank You to all Volunteers! - Richmond CVS

Volunteers’ Week is the annual celebration at the start of June to highlight and recognise the contributions of volunteers in the UK who are vital to so many charities and community organisations.…

richmondcvs.org.uk

This time of the year, you can spot mating pairs of Alder Leaf Beetles (Agelastica alni) on alder trees, for example around Barnes Pond. They are 6mm long, a beautiful, metallic blue in colour with a violet reflection.

Come and explore the Leg o'Mutton, this fantastic small nature reserve on a morning walk on Tuesday 2nd June, led by Veronica Schroter, local resident and Leg o'Mutton committee member. This old Victorian reservoir by the Thames was decommissioned over 60 years ago.

What a wonderful way to spend a sunny evening! Divya aka @fruitywalks took us on a tour of the fruit trees of Barnes. As well as the apples and pears many of us are familiar with, we saw an established kiwi vine with plenty of young fruits.