Friends of Big Wood Nature Reserve
Newsletter - February - 2025
With Winter lingering on, only snow drops and a few hardy spring buds have started to emerge in Big Wood, but the Friends of Big Wood are already very busy.
Several volunteers braved the frost on a beautiful Sunday morning in early January to clear two overgrown glades and clean out the bird and bat boxes to make them appealing homes for the next generation of our airborne friends.
The committee members are planning the event programme for the upcoming season, including new Big Wood KIDS creative workshops for different ages, guided walks and the AGM for our Friends with a special talk at Fellowship House on 6th of March. This is also the year to renew the Big Wood signage and update our cyclical ecological surveys. Our volunteers regularly assess the Big Wood oak trees and standing deadwood, and we are attempting the fiddly job of tree survey mapping.
BIG WOOD AUTUMN ACTIVITY MORNINGS
Please join us at the next one. No special skills required, just a willingness to muck in.
If you are feeling active, and want to be part of our volunteer activity mornings to look after the wood, please join us next Sunday 9th February January, 10am. As usual, there are no special skills required, just a willingness to muck in and enjoy the company of like-minded people making a real impact. 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.
Use this link Friends of Big Wood Volunteers to join the WhatsApp group for relevant activity morning updates, or contact 07712 704 164, friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com. Please also take note of the volunteer handbook, link below.
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.
Dates for your diary:
Sunday 9th February
Saturday 8th March
Our WhatsApp Group
For specific updates on volunteer events, please click on this link Friends of Big Wood Volunteers to join the WhatsApp group, or contact 07712 704 164, friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com. Please also take note of the volunteer handbook, link below.
AGM
6th March, 7.30pm at Fellowship House
Big Wood Kids Activity
Kids Creative Workshops
Booking has opened for the first Big Wood KIDS creative workshop of 2025! Nature-inspired art and music for 6-12 year olds in the beautiful Big Wood nature reserve. Sunday 9th February, 10am-12noon. Book a place on Eventbrite via this link.
Sign up to Big Wood KIDS on Eventbrite and be kept updated about upcoming creative workshops for children of different ages.
Friends of Big Wood Membership Renewals
Most of you have now renewed, and thank you very much for your continued support and kind donations. If you haven't got round to it yet, stay a Friend and please renew via this link: https://membermojo.co.uk/friendsofbigwood/renew Any questions, contact friendsofbigwood1@gmail.com
We wouldn't be able to look after Big Wood without the support of our Friends!
JOIN FORM
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
