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Winter in the Woods

This is a marvellous, free event on Thursday 4th January 2024, from 1pm to 3pm. Click on
https://www.fobec.org.uk/wp/events/event/winter-in-the-woods/
to see all the details.

Educational Year 2022-2023

We were fully booked for the Summer Term and total pupil numbers for the school year 2022/23 have seen an increase to 2100.

All our courses are curriculum-linked and provide children with the opportunity to learn about and connect with nature and also to discover the joy of the natural world. We are so happy to be able to share our nature reserve and its amazing wildlife with so many children. We hope that in future years they continue to engage with nature after they leave us and grow up with a sense of ownership of the environment and a desire to protect it. Please visit our School or Youth pages.

Reconstructing Murky Pond 2020-2021

Murky Pond had developed a leak, so with the combination of an increasing amount of accumulated silt and a falling water level it was difficult to use it for pond dipping.

It was decided to reline it and we started to dig out the silt in autumn 2020, which became very wet. Eventually the solid was removed, revealing how deep the pond actually was and explaining why the only plants growing in it were reed sweet-grass, Glyceria maxima and yellow flag, Iris pseudacorus, both deep water specialists and not noted for supporting invertebrate diversity. More …

Improving Accessibility at the Environment Centre

In the past, during winter months, it has often been difficult getting round the Reserve.  We have had flooding near the ponds, and thick mud near the Monterey Pine and Attenuation Ponds.  After a lot of research, and thanks to a very generous grant from the Hadley Trust, we have created a wonderful perimeter path with several benches at ‘Pause and Ponder’ points. More …

-Chestnut coppice is 100% sustainable: our supplier cut, harvested and processed the timber from well managed Weald woodlands. Coppicing means that the wood is cut at ground level. The cut stools regrow vigorously, taking up far more carbon dioxide than a newly planted tree; these trees are harvested on rotation (every 25 years) for many years to come.

-The coppiced timber is ‘cleft’ (split) into rails and posts using traditional tools and skills.

-Chestnut is the ideal fencing material: chestnut is full of tannin (a natural preservative) and has very little sapwood, which makes it incredibly resistant to rotting, so no maintenance will be required.

-Putting up the fence did not involve nails, screws or cement: the horizontal rails wedge into slots in the posts, which are held firm by digging deep holes and compacting soil around the posts.

The surface is made from coloured, chipped pure rubber tyres mixed with a special resin – it is gentle to walk on, ideal for wheelchairs and comes with a ten-year guarantee. There are 13 marker posts around the Reserve, and we have produced a Trail guide to encourage visitors to ‘stop, look and listen’ and benefit from being at peace in Nature.

The relining was combined with recontouring the profile so that, while keeping two-thirds for dipping, a third was made shallower to grow a greater variety of plants to attract a mixture of insects and amphibians. When the roots of the grasses develop they should act as a filter for incoming silty water to keep clear the dipping area which will have mainly floating leaves.

The construction work of paving the dipping access area and restocking with native plants was completed in Spring 2021, and we await with anticipation the development of a habitat that attracts dragonflies and butterflies, frogs and newts and the water specialists that will give successful pond dipping for our school visitors.

Volunteers decided that they could not let this wonderful facility deteriorate and, individually, have been turning up to carry out essential work. Their purpose was that the Reserve would be ready, immediately, for the resumption of FOBEC’s educational services and organised opportunities for the community to enjoy the delights of the 7.5 acre site. The One Acre Meadow has been scythed and raked, paths and fencing maintained, mowing carried out, ditches cleared, fallen tree boughs sawn up and moved to log piles, and machinery serviced. The dry weather experienced for long periods of this year has also required the watering of the plants in the Environment Centre garden, and topping up of the ‘dipping’ ponds. Oh, and the inevitable weeding and control of brambles.

It’s been an incredible year with many wonderful wildlife encounters and an amazing 1980 children aged 3 to 18 visiting our beautiful nature reserve. These visits were supported by 385 teachers and parents who helped to make the visits run smoothly. Teaching all these children has been a lot of fun and their reactions to the wildlife they see and interact with always give us a thrill.
Here’s some of the great feedback from schools:
“An excellent trip – lots of fun and very educational, even the adults learnt a lot! High quality facilities, activities and organisation and pitched very well for the age and understanding of the children. We can’t wait to come back next year!” – Reception, Woodland and Pond Explorers

“We love visiting the Environment Centre! The wide range of hands on activities and learning experiences fit in perfectly with our curriculum!” – Year 3, Rocks, fossils and soils

“As always Caroline is full of energy and enthusiasm which makes the workshop such a pleasure. She is very knowledgeable and able to engage the children in their learning. Looking forward to next year.” – Year 3 Pond dipping and food chains

“The Brownies really enjoyed the session. Sam was very knowledgeable and was able to keep everyone focused. Uncovering the ants’ nest was a total highlight!” – Brownies, Meadow sweep netting and pond dipping

“Our students and teachers had a phenomenal time – thank you! None of the students had ever pond dipped before, so it was a brand new experience for all. The students were astonished at the diversity of species they collected and enjoyed using a variety of resources to identify them. The samples included dragonfly nymphs, pond skaters, backswimmers and even newts. Students also collected data for their A-level Biodiversity PAGs, which was very valuable.” – Year 12, Water quality and diversity

Our sessions for youth groups have extended to include Beavers, Cubs, Rainbows, Brownies, Woodcraft Folk and now, Air Scouts. Youth groups enjoy a range of activities including autumn arts and craft, pond dipping and minibeasting, star gazing and night walks, and, new for this year, bat walks. Children love being outside in the dark, as long as they feel safe. We help the children to feel safe by spreading enthusiasm about what they will see and hear and by using torches covered with red film which also keeps the wildlife safe as they can’t see red light. On our night walks we have seen or heard bats, owls, woodcock, robins singing, muntjac deer and a glimpse of a fox’s tail as it disappeared into a bush!

This was the year of the snake! Don’t panic, only grass snakes. A non-venomous species that lives in grassland, can swim and hibernates in compost heaps and under logs. This has been a good year for the snakes and many children had close encounters. We saw them swimming across the ponds, slithering in grass and sleeping under logs.

One of our volunteers found an entire snakeskin, left behind when the snake shed its skin when growing. Another volunteer, and master carpenter, fashioned a fabulous wooden box to keep the skin in. Now we can wow children with this precious wildlife artefact.

There was also an abundance of newts this year. Whether they are in the pond or under the logs, these lovely amphibians always delight the children. Here, 8 newts are seeking refuge under a log. Those eggs in the top corner belong to the yellow Irish slug, which is in fact green!

We continue to have excellent robin encounters. The robins have taken to following school groups around the reserve in the hope that they will disturb the odd worm or two, which invariably they do when minibeasting. The robins are so used to children now they fly down and hop around the children’s feet. Needless to say, the children absolutely love this experience.

At the beginning of the year we refurbished one of our ponds. This led to the colonisation of the pond by a new species for the reserve, the lesser diving beetle. A fierce predator with a truly alien look, the spectacular larvae of this diving beetle filled the pond.

We are so happy to be able to share our wonderful nature reserve and its amazing wildlife with so many children. We hope they continue to engage with nature once they leave us and grow up with a sense of ownership of the environment and a desire to protect it.

It’s been an amazing year with many challenges. This year 1663 children aged 3 to 18 attended with 472 wonderful adults and teachers. A big thanks for all the parents, teachers and staff that came along to help out with the school visits. Your help is essential and much appreciated.
As well as our excellent Education manager, Caroline Gellor, we have a new field teacher, Sam McCabe, to help with the tremendous number of visits. Sam has proved to be a great asset and he has enjoyed his teaching so much this year that he has agreed to stay on. We are all delighted. Sam has great experience and is a woodland and forest garden specialist.
“What an amazing trip! Sam was very informative and hands on which allowed the children to be also. The whole class, adult supporters and teachers thoroughly enjoyed it and we will be booking again for next year.”
A few of our volunteers took over some of the teaching this year. They equipped themselves very well and got fantastic feedback as can be seen from these comments:
“It was a very informative and interactive trip. We learnt a lot about a range of mini-beasts and the natural world around us. It’s great to be instructed by volunteers who are very passionate in the work that they do too.”
“My children had a fantastic time and absolutely loved it. It was ideally suited to their age group, and the expert knowledge of our guide Sally Gillman was second to none. Thanks so much!”
Our nursery visitors became explorers for a morning experiencing a woodland nature walk, playing the wriggly worm game and discovering who lives under a log.

Our KS1 Woodland Explorers investigated the woodland habitat discovering who lives in the woodland and why trees are important to wildlife and to humans. Some of them did pond dipping too and were amazed at the variety of creatures living in the ponds.

Older children in KS2 explored animal life cycles and pollination. Some year 6 children investigated animal and plant adaptation and evolution while year 3s discovered the history of the earth through our rocks and soils course, getting hands on experience of all the major rocks and a whole host of fossils dating back 550 million years! Lots of year 2 and year 4 children did our habitats and adaptation course finding out what lives in the ponds and discovering their wonderful adaptations. Dragonfly nymphs and flatworms never cease to engage the children’s attention. Here’s what some teachers said after their visit.
“We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Barnet Environmental Centre. The day was very well planned, educational and great fun.”
“Caroline is highly engaging and her lessons were ‘pitched perfectly’ to hold and maintain our children’s attention. She has a wealth of knowledge which she shares with great enthusiasm. We will be booking again for next year.”

A-level groups this year looked at water quality and aquatic diversity using chemical test strips and the biotic index. They investigated diversity in the ponds using Simpson’s Index of Diversity. The students worked hard and were very interested in the subject matter. This is what their teacher had to say about the course:
“This was an inspiring day for our students. They came away saying they would never look at a pond the same way again. Others students were so inspired by what they learned about plastic pollution that they have started a campaign at school to spread awareness. They also managed to collect evidence to pass their AS practical requirements. Thank you Caroline, you had a big impact on them!”

This year we extended the reach of our youth visits to include Boys Brigade, Woodcraft Elfins, Brownies, Rainbows, Cubs and Beavers. They all took part in different activities ranging from Woodland walks and pond dipping to stick art, natural sounds and star gazing. If you know a group who is interested in visiting the reserve please email the Education Manager, Caroline, info@fobec.org.uk .
Over the year children have seen some fantastic wildlife. Here are some of the highlights.

Each picture in this section is clickable – a much larger version is available if you click on it.
23 September 2018

After a very wet morning, the weather brightened up and children were able to sow seeds donated by Kew Garden’s “Grow Wild” initiative. Their page about us is here if you want to have a look.
However, conditions were just right for autumn wild flower seed sowing in a prepared corner of the meadow.

Families also enjoyed a guided tour of the nature reserve. Unfortunately the meadow was too damp for the ‘sweeping’ activity, so trays of pond water were set up indoors with magnifiers and microscopes for close encounters with the pond creatures.
Indoor activities with an environmental theme included making grasshoppers using old fashioned wooden ‘dolly ‘ pegs, cotton pipe cleaners and natural materials and making hedgehogs using clay and twigs. The delicious refreshments encouraged visitors to relax in the afternoon sunshine and reflect on our wonderful environment.

13 October 2018 : The Make a Difference Day

This is an annual event on an autumn weekend for volunteers to tackle a specific project for the nature reserve. This year’s project was The Bird Hide. The plan was to convert the old donkey shed at the back of One Acre Meadow. This shed and the surrounding area has been neglected of late. The donkeys, Rupert and Smarty, have not been resident in the meadow for almost 20 years so there was plenty to be done! The project involved determination of what renovation or reconstruction was needed for the building and the execution of those tasks – re-felting the roof, replacing some of the woodwork, creating observation windows, levelling the surface within the building, creating a safe access route. Clearance of the vegetation was needed, removing nettles, brambles and other vegetation from the surrounding area to allow safe access to the hide and an area of clear observation behind it.

Our volunteers worked enthusiastically and made great progress. We had a wonderful day of sunny weather, enjoyed soup and ploughman’s lunch and delicious cake at teatime and at the end of the day’s session, great strides had been made in the Bird Hide Project.
Many thanks to all who donated their Saturday to come along and Make a Difference to our nature reserve.
If you would be interested in helping out at these annual events, please check our website next autumn. If you have a little more time and can help on a Monday afternoon or a monthly Sunday morning, please see the Volunteering section of the website.

26 October 2018: “Imaginary Creatures”
So many inventive creations by the 61 children and their parents on this half-term event!

An afternoon of colouring, modelling, sticking and cutting out. Plus face painting and exploring the nature reserve to find the “eyes” of many creatures hiding in the trees, shrubs and undergrowth.

Thanks to the many volunteers who made this such a very successful event.

This year the focus was on the access to and improvement of One Acre Meadow.

On the Saturday and Sunday, a total of 44 local enthusiasts and Friends of Barnet Environment Centre volunteers, including three children, cut back large clumps of oak saplings and brambles that had strayed onto the meadow, and dug out blackthorn roots to ensure that all traces had been effectively removed. What a difference that has made.

We needed to cut a new pathway through to the meadow from the Environment Centre on the other side of our magnificent Monterey Pine. This is because the new hospice building would have been too close to the old path. However, the new pathway provides a contrasting and inspiring way of approaching the open expanse of the meadow from the enclosed woodland. Our volunteers created a dead hedge along one side too which is a useful way to deal with arisings from the tree work and also provide habitat for mini-beasts and small mammals.

The new pathway has also necessitated our moving the existing compost bins. This was very heavy work and one particular volunteer worked doggedly all day and most of Sunday to empty just the one bin. The leaf mould was transferred to a nearby hedge where it will be used as a mulch. The creation of a new compost area required bramble removal – long prickly stems to be cut into manageable pieces and barrowed away and then the roots to be dug out.

Work elsewhere was also undertaken – our younger volunteers worked hard to clear the autumn leaves – “The best thing I have ever done!” – and muddy work was carried out in Skater Pond to remove vegetation and clay with the clay then being redistributed.

We welcomed 9 new volunteers over the weekend who, along with our regular volunteers, gave a total of 220 hours of their time which, together with the corporate volunteers, has enabled us to Make a SIGNIFICANT Difference to the nature reserve.

Our deep thanks to everybody.