Get involved!

I’m currently preparing to chair the AGM of Wild South London, the community group I set up with a small group of enthusiastic nature lovers in 20231. As part of this, I’ve written an annual report which has forced me to reflect on all the work we’ve done in the past year. Running a community group or charity is hard work, but it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. Since the last AGM we’ve run 19 events, hosting almost 900 people at walks, workshops and festival days.

Back in 2023, I was very reluctant to become the group’s chairperson, and I continue to learn on the job, but I’m grateful to my fellow trustees for gently pushing me into the role. My confidence has grown with my nature knowledge and I’m now even (very occasionally) paid for my time to lead creative nature walks and events outside of Wild South London’s catchment area!

For a long time after Wild South London’s first ever event I was haunted by a mistake I made, misidentifying a tree to a small group of attendees (I don’t think any of them noticed but I realised my mistake after the fact and was so embarrassed). I’ve since learnt it can take years for certain information to stick and that nuance and variation can make things hard to identify, especially when you’re a beginner. I’m also aware that I will never know everything about the natural world – the fact that there is always something new to learn or discover is one of the things I love most about nature.

These lessons mean I’m no longer haunted by the mistakes I make (or at least not for as long as I used to be!) and I now know that the best events are usually the ones that aren’t rigid or over-planned, they’re the ones that allow for input from others and sometimes offer up more questions than answers. Walk attendees can often bring more to an event than walk leaders. We all learn from each other, we’re all capable of making mistakes and we’re all constantly evolving, just as Wild South London is.

I moved away from South London – where I grew up – in 2022, the year before we officially set up Wild South London Community. I’m grateful that the whole time I’ve lived in Kent I’ve also had a great excuse to go back to some of my favourite green spaces in London, and to visit new ones I never made it to while I was living in the capital. But more and more I’ve also found myself wanting to do my bit where I live. Time does not allow me to set up another community group right now, but through doing swift surveys for a local charity I’ve managed to help with a project that’s not only provided about 130 new swift next boxes across two areas of Maidstone, but has engaged the community. We ran a creative workshop to make a giant willow swift that has since been used at several events to teach people more about these amazing birds and I set up a WhatsApp group for my neighbours where we can post swift updates, ask questions and share knowledge. This week a group of us went on a swift walk, prior to my annual swift survey, where we caused a bit of a stir in the neighbourhood by standing about and staring at the sky.

I’ve been reminded this week how important community is and how rewarding it is to work together as a group of neighbours to look out for our non-human neighbours and every time I attend a charity-run event or a protest, I’m reminded in the value of community action and collaboration.

If you want to set up something new, that’s fantastic! Feel free to get in touch with me if you need any advice on setting up a community group and what’s involved. But chances are, there are already people doing brilliant things for nature where you live and I bet they’d really appreciate your help. I know not everyone has a routine that’s as flexible as mine, and I really don’t recommend you suddenly try to set up and chair a charity if you don’t have the time, but all of us can do something, whether it’s sending an email to a local MP about the state of our waterways or the need for swift bricks, litter-picking on your dog walk, volunteering for a local charity once a month or just starting a conversation with your neighbour about feeding birds. A good place to start is by attending an event run by a local community group and getting to know the people who run it, so do some research, see what’s out there, see what’s not... and get involved!

The Wildlife Trusts - Community Hub

Kew - Grow Wild Guide

London National Park City - Ranger Projects

The Conservation Volunteers - Get Involved

Please share any other useful groups, links or resources in the comments!

What I’d actually intended to write about this week was ragwort and caterpillars (particularly cinnabar moth caterpillars… maybe next week! In the meantime, keep an eye out for both and let me know what you’ve come across in the comments or via DMs.

Two for joy: Magpies and walking with others

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September 16, 2024

My mum was staying with me in Kent last week and every time she saw a magpie* (which was a lot), she got all excited and said “Hello Mr Magpie, where’s Mrs Magpie and all the little baby magpies?”, something we said a lot when I was little.

Turn towards the Sun

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February 21, 2025

On the most recent Wild South London Wild Walk we stumbled across a lovely patch of rather shy looking crocuses and us trustees fumbled over a lovely fact: crocuses only open when it’s sunny! If it’s gloomy outside, their petals will stay firmly shut. There’s a name for that… but none of us trustees could remember it at that moment. Thankfully, one of o…