Diario del proyecto Brent Friends of Parks Observations

Need a new route to explore - this app provides locations in UK.

https://www.gojauntly.com/

On the map !

Coming soon in 2024. Wildlife recording on site. We hope Bush Farm Collective will be going in the EuroBioBlitz April 2024 ! WTS !

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bush+farm+collective/@51.578043,-0.2684524,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x487611762668dfd3:0xe7f8391c13ce9ca0!8m2!3d51.579045!4d-0.2680649!16s%2Fg%2F11rvhv8hl8?entry=ttu

Mapping trees in Brent. Join in - free to sign up to an app you like.

Choose from:

5 of the Best: https://utopia.org/guide/the-5-best-free-tree-identification-apps/

Two of the best for Street Trees:

Tree Identification
Understanding what kind of tree you are looking after, or simply looking at, adds a whole new level of enjoyment. It also acts as a pathway to learning about trees or a particular tree in much more detail.

These are two of many apps available that have worked for us:

1. Woodland Trust Tree ID App Woodland Trust. App https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/tree-id-app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/british-tree-identification/id1112564089

Leads you through a series of questions to narrow down the options
Great for learning how to identify trees without the need for the apps
Focussed on British and common non-native species

1. PictureThis - Plant Identifier
   
   https://apps.apple.com/us/app/picturethis-plant-identifier/id1252497129?mt=8

Just take a good close-up photo of the leaves and see a number of options for what it might be.
Great for speed and less common species
Should be used with care before being definitive on more obscure species

If you want to go deeper and value the traditional approach, the benchmark guidebook is:

Collins Tree Guide by Owen Johnson & David More
Available from local bookshops through: uk.bookshop.org https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/collins-tree-guide-owen-johnson/668171?ean=9780007207718

Mapping trees in Brent. Join in - free to sign up to an app you like.

We are using the DAFOR scale.

This can be subjective, however, guidance generally followed by recorders is to under record using the DAFOR scale.

http://www.greenmansoftware.co.uk/products/fieldnotes/documentation/answers/surveymethods/dafor.htm

We found the scale adaptation noted by this group here: https://botanykaren.net/2021/07/31/dominant-abundant-frequent-occasional-or-rare/#:~:text=The%20final%20lists%20were%20broken%20down,Dominant%2C%20Abundant%2C%20Frequent%2C%20Occasional%20and%20Rare.&text=The%20final%20lists%20were,Frequent%2C%20Occasional%20and%20Rare.&text=lists%20were%20broken%20down,Dominant%2C%20Abundant%2C%20Frequent%2C%20Occasional

Locally not advised to be added to the DAFOR scale, with N used for regular comparison between 2 sites.

Great footage using a drone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pa0-3GMCSQ

To set the scene:

RSPB on return of the Swift this summer: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/natures-home-magazine/birds-and-wildlife-articles/migration/a-swift-adventure/?sourcecode=A22NC10024&utm_campaign=nic-22&utm_medium=email&utm_source=notes_on_nature_3&utm_content=aware_swift&utm_source=notes_on_nature_20220416&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=button-information-bird-swift-top-power-full&utm_campaign=notes_on_nature&sourcecode=&cta_sourcecode=&modulecontent=

Just to set the tone:
Here is the oldest living Oak tree in Middlesex County:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJOYllLvUUdkgR7oNCuNORC1E

Tree Mapping Brent:
St David's Close Chalkhill: Orchard Project and Brent Parks Forum:
https://www.goparks.london/park/greenhill-open-space
i. 3 Oaks - Quercus r.

Approx. 250 years.

ii. 1 Very large Sweet Chestnut.

Approx 70 years min.

Woodcock Park: https://www.goparks.london/park/woodcock-park

i. Wingnut tree: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/the-garden/gardens-plantings/trees/caucasian-wingnut/?msclkid=575f7dfcba9f11ec8d2738e59f395e3a

Parks and Gardens Trust Historic info page: https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/woodcock-park-and-kenton-grange?msclkid=575df3adba9f11ecb97fc1b1c04dda69

Friends of Woodcock Park Website: http://friendsofwoodcockpark.uk/friends.html?msclkid=575f0624ba9f11ecb940a5d458ac90a0

ii. Mulbery tree

Mulberry Tree: https://www.fruitexpert.co.uk/fruit-trees-bushes/mulberry-trees/?msclkid=0e156882baa211ec83f43349054abb7d

General video Mulberry : https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Mulbery+tree&docid=608049017282395929&mid=7857391A89466DB8360B7857391A89466DB8360B&view=detail&FORM=VIRE&msclkid=515e468fbaa211ecab42b8abc4f8a328

Cuttings: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Mulbery+tree&docid=608015314671858504&mid=5AE2CD4D60334E4534B35AE2CD4D60334E4534B3&view=detail&FORM=VIRE&msclkid=515e8711baa211ecad3fce401827b7e8

The Narrow-leaved Bitter-cress (Cardamine impatiens) is a scarce plant in London and Hertfordshire; with apparently the only known site being at Fryent Country Park. It occurs there naturally; the last known London and Middlesex location being 'near Harrow' in 1901, which could actually be the same place as now, since the Wembley side of the Country Park was part of the parish of Harrow until 1894.

And then it was regarded as extinct in London and Middlesex.

Until re-discovered in the 1980s at Fryent Country Park.

Though related to the 'Bitter-cress' species that occur as weeds in gardens, it is much taller reaching about our waist height. Each set of leaflets is attached to the stem with a pair of characteristic arching stipules. Narrow-leaved Bitter-cress does prefer some slight ground disturbance where patches of soil are exposed, as for example on the hedgerow ditches . Elsewhere in Britain it occurs, for example on the exposed river banks of the River Medway and the River Seven, and on scree in the Pennines.

Wildlife recording with Barn Hill Conservation Group
Barn Hill Conservation Group run a number of wildlife recording projects.
Surveys also aim to provide information about how conservation work is
affecting wildlife. A key output from surveys are the records of the wildlife.
The essence of a wildlife record or biological record as they are usually
called, are five crucial pieces of information. Those are the species name
(correctly identified), date, location (a grid reference is the standard, but
other systems may be used plus text descriptions to provide further
information), the number/s of the species observed, and the recorder’s
name. Additional information may include the life stage of the species (for
example, egg, adult), habitat information, time and weather; and other
data depending upon the survey.
Records are data. They provide information to others. And knowledge
when analysis is shared. Barn Hill Conservation Group uses records locally
to inform local conservation; and shares the records with wildlife
organisations such as the London Natural History Society regionally and
with the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. At some stage the records go
through the county Biological Records Centre, in our case Greenspace
Information for Greater London (GiGL for short; pronounced ‘giggle’) and
are further shared with the National Biodiversity Network.
Records need to be accurate including the species identification. For this
reason, there are checks within each recording scheme and a process of
‘validation’ and ‘verification’. Data protection is important. On the human
side it can be seen from the list of five essentials above, that records also
contain personal data about the recorder themselves which is subject to
the General Data Protection Act.
While records are shared, they are submitted once only, as entry into
different schemes would involve duplicating the work while also causing
confusion when the records are analysed and stored.
Recording schemes differ and the technology is advancing. A range of
Apps (for example, iNaturalist, iRecordButterflies) are available for field
use and in some cases to aid identification. Apps also have the advantage
of automatically providing an accurate grid location, date and time if a
record is made in real time, or the record is accompanied by a
photograph.
Barn Hill Conservation Group survey and monitor populations of the
Common Frog, butterflies and meadow plants. The Group also records
rainfall at Roe Green Walled Garden with a rain gauge station that is part
of the national Meteorological Office coverage. Other surveys may have
more individual requirements and include: Hedgerows, Great Crested ​
Newts (under Licence at Roe Green Walled Garden), occasional records,
and invasive species.
The Group encourages anyone interested in learning or joining to make
contact.
30.11.2021

Kensal cemetery Area !
Thank you Kensal Project.