Gunnersbury Triangle
# Gunnersbury Triangle

Gunnersbury Triangle is a 2.57-hectare (6.4-acre) local nature reserve in Chiswick, in the London boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow, immediately to the east of Gunnersbury. It was created in 1983 when, for the first time in Britain, a public inquiry ruled that a planned development of the land could not go ahead because of its value for nature. It opened as a nature reserve in 1985.

The area consists mainly of secondary birch woodland, with some locally uncommon willow carr or wet woodland and a small area of acid grassland along the track of the former Acton curve railway. The reserve supports a varied population of plants, birds, amphibians, insects and other wildlife. It is managed by the London Wildlife Trust.

The reserve is maintained by London Wildlife Trust staff with the help of volunteers, and is open to the public. There is a varied programme of activities including wildlife walks, fungus forays, open days and talks. The reserve is used regularly by school and community groups, and for team-building work days by corporate groups. Its entrance, with a wooden five-bar gate flanked by hedges, is on the south of Bollo Lane, a few yards from Chiswick Park Underground station.

## History

The area is shown on 19th-century maps as orchards and gravel quarries. The triangular area now occupied by the reserve was delineated by three railway lines, two belonging to the District Railway (now the District line of London Underground), and one to the now-defunct London and South Western Railway (LSWR). There was once a bridge into the triangle from the west, and in the 1940s it was used as railway allotments (vegetable gardens), but when London Transport's Acton Works was built, the bridge was abandoned. The area, thus disused, was colonised naturally by grasses and trees in a "secondary succession".

In 1981, the site was proposed for commercial development, provoking an energetic campaign by the Chiswick Wildlife Group, formed in March 1982, which became the local branch of the London Wildlife Trust. The threat to the site was one of the first to be highlighted by the London Wildlife Trust on its formation in October 1981. The campaign led to a Public Inquiry in July 1983, which determined that the site should be devoted to nature conservation. This was the first time anywhere in the United Kingdom that a Public Inquiry had ruled in favour of nature in a city, and the Gunnersbury Triangle example became a test case.

According to the New Scientist, writing in 1985, "the celebrated Gunnersbury Triangle – an undisturbed piece of woodland surrounded by railways including the District Line ... was bought and preserved by Hounslow borough from British Rail with a GLC grant of £58 000. The GLC also gave expert ecological advice when Hounslow council contested a public inquiry to save the Triangle."

The London Wildlife Trust has managed the Gunnersbury Triangle on behalf of the London Borough of Hounslow since 1985. The London Borough of Hounslow formally designated the Gunnersbury Triangle as a local nature reserve in 1987. The London Borough of Ealing formally designated the part of the Gunnersbury Triangle that lies in Ealing as a local nature reserve in 1991.

In 1993, recalling the dramatic events, the president of the London Natural History Society, David Bevan said:

   On November 19th 1987,... The Gunnersbury Triangle was declared by Hounslow Council. The circumstances that led up to this important declaration are vividly described in David Goode's book. This was emphatically not a rural site. It was surrounded on all three sides by railway lines and had only been in existence for a mere forty years."

Bevan quoted Goode as saying "It had none of the features which, in traditional nature conservation terms, would make it a place worth preserving", going on to explain this remark as follows:

   Nevertheless, the woodland that had grown up on it provided the only genuinely wild place for miles around and it was greatly cherished by local people. British Rail, who owned the site, had applied for planning permission to put up warehousing over the whole of the triangle. This was refused by Hounslow Council and a public inquiry followed in 1983. The Inspector ruled that the development should not be allowed because of the considerable local ecological value.

In 2016, the Triangle's volunteers won an RE:LEAF Acorn Award for their "particular contribution to promoting or conserving trees".

## Reserve

Gunnersbury Triangle is a classic "railway triangle", the 2.57-hectare (6.4-acre) space in between three curving railway lines. To the west is the Richmond branch of the London Overground; to the south, the District line; and to the northeast, the disused track of the London and South Western Railway (there remains the Piccadilly line a little further north, crossing Bollo lane). Much of the area is now wooded. It is a local nature reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.

## Habitats

The following compartments are identified in the reserve's management plan:

* Compartment 1: Secondary birch woodland

       This covers most of the reserve. Silver birch is dominant, with a few crack willow, goat willow, some wild cherry and sycamore in the canopy. Shrubs include hawthorn, elder, holly, yew and rowan, with garden escapes like buddleia, Oregon grape, cotoneaster, privet. There are some saplings of pedunculate oak, mostly around the edge, and holm oak. The field layer is mainly thick bramble, with ivy in denser shade. Ferns include male fern, broad buckler fern and the less common lady fern.
* Compartment 2: Secondary willow woodland

       Willow carr (locally uncommon wet woodland including the "mangrove swamp") with goat willow, grey willow, and some crack willow, with hybrids. The shrubs and field layer are similar to compartment 1; there is some honeysuckle and common horsetail, hemlock water-dropwort, gypsywort, yellow flag, pendulous sedge.
* Compartment 3: Eastern bank and hedgerow

       Rough grassland with false oat-grass, Yorkshire fog, yarrow, cat's ear, with bracken at the south end. There is an uneven hedge of hawthorn and buckthorn. The sunny south-west aspect encourages butterflies including holly blue, Essex skipper and small skipper.
* Compartment 4: North neutral meadow (anthill meadow)

       Very uneven meadow with mounds formed by the yellow meadow ant Lasius flavus, fox earths, and spoil dumped during former gravel works. Grasses especially false oat-grass, Yorkshire fog; also cock's-foot, common bent and sheep's fescue. Herbs include common vetch, meadow vetchling, white clover, yarrow, ribwort plantain.
* Compartment 5: North acid meadow (railway track acid grassland)

       On the former Acton curve railway, with a substratum of gritty sand and ballast (hard acidic rock). Small fine grasses especially sheep's fescue, with fine-leaved sheep's fescue, hard fescue, squirrel-tail fescue, early hair-grass. Herbs include sheep's sorrel, mouse-eared hawkweed, cat's ear and yarrow.
* Compartment 6: Southwest meadow (picnic meadow)

       Coarse grasses such as cocksfoot, Yorkshire fog, false oat-grass, annual meadow-grass. Broom has colonised on the site of an accidental fire.
* Compartment 7: Main pond

       Main pond, dug in 1986, with seasonally fluctuating water levels. Most vegetation has colonised naturally, with among others common reed, purple loosestrife, yellow iris, water-plantain, water figwort, soft rush, gypsywort, water starwort, curled pondweed, common duckweed, water forget-me-not, water mint, brooklime.
* Compartment 8: Small pond

       Seasonal pond with water plantain, celery-leaved crowfoot, bittersweet, water figwort, and introduced yellow iris.
* Compartment 9: Tall herb meadow (beside ramp path from entrance)

       Small meadow of tall ruderal herbs, changing with natural succession, held back by cutting, with plants such as cow parsley, hogweed, stinging nettle, false oat-grass, garden escape daffodils and irises.
* Compartment 10: Gardens

       Entrance yard gardens sown with wild flowers; hedge mustard, hoary mustard and other ruderal species invading; hedges with native trees and shrubs; hops scramble up the hedges.
* Compartment 11: Infrastructure

       Hut, sheds.

## Usage

The Gunnersbury Triangle is regularly visited by school parties, totalling some 1500 students per year, mainly in the summer when they can work outside. They study grassland, woodland and pond ecology.

According to the TES magazine, "From April, holly blue, peacock and brimstone butterflies abound. Following the illustrated guide, you wind among wild cherry and rowan, under archways of hazel branches to a pond where damsel-flies dance in early summer. A sparrow-hawk nests in a silver birch, a jay comes visiting, bees and wood-mice also live here." The TES continues: "There are open glades for picnics and, in autumn, blackberries to gather. The aim here is to manage the woodland as a natural piece of countryside in town, and if, from time to time, you glimpse a tube train, you hardly notice it, beyond the trees."

The reserve is open to the public. The London Wildlife Trust runs guided visits such as Fungus Forays and wildlife walks every year. On open days, staff and volunteers organise activities to enable children and adults to learn more about nature conservation in a relaxed environment.

From time to time, companies provide teams of volunteers to work for a day on tasks such as clearing scrub and repairing paths and fences.

The London Wildlife Trust's long-term management objective for the site is "to manage the nature reserve to conserve its natural biodiversity, and to conserve its matrix of woodland, wetland and grassland habitats through appropriate management", which includes coppicing, clearing scrub, mowing, and controlling invasion by non-native species, while "preserving the feeling of 'wilderness'".

## Value

The Mayor of London's 2002 Biodiversity Strategy comments "Over the last few decades, many exciting places have been established where city people are able to enjoy the natural world, often on sites which at the outset had seemingly little to offer. These include Camley Street Natural Park in King's Cross, Gillespie Park in Highbury, Gunnersbury Triangle in Chiswick, ..." and explains "The important message conveyed by these projects, regardless of their size, is that significant achievements for nature conservation are possible even in the most urban of settings, and often on modest budgets, provided there exists a cocktail of goodwill, optimism, commitment and professional back-up. Moreover such projects often yield social benefits, providing a community focus."

### Biodiversity

These photographs, all taken in the Gunnersbury Triangle nature reserve, illustrate a little of its biodiversity.

**Animals**

* Animals
* Vertebrates
* Fox, Vulpes vulpes
* Bank vole, Myodes glareolus, in capture-release population study
* Bank vole eating mugwort seeds (Artemisia vulgaris)
* Wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus
* Grey squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, with sycamore fruits
* Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) prints in soft earth
* Toad, Bufo bufo
* Toads in amplexus with strings of toadspawn
* Common frogs, Rana temporaria, wintering under a habitat mat
* Smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris
* Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus
* Grey wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
* Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla singing
* Grey heron, Ardea cinerea on boardwalk
* An adult and a young slowworm, Anguis fragilis
* Butterflies and moths
* Peacock butterfly, Aglais io
* Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta
* Painted lady, Vanessa cardui
* Small skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris, on Yorkshire fog in anthill meadow
* Essex skipper, Thymelicus lineola, on north bank
* Large skipper, Ochlodes venatus, in ramp meadow
* Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria, on its lookout
* Gatekeeper butterfly, Pyronia tithonus
* Holly blue, Celastrina argiolus, on ragwort
* Orange Tip, Anthocharis cardamines
* Urban green-veined white, Pieris napi, on Buddleia
* Small copper, Lycaena phlaeas
* Comma, Polygonia c-album, on ragwort, showing white 'comma' mark
* Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus
* Knotgrass moth caterpillar, Acronicta rumicis
* Gypsy moth caterpillar, Lymantria dispar dispar, on birch trunk
* Gypsy moth male
* Early grey moth, Xylocampa areola
* Buff-tip moth caterpillar, Phalera bucephala, 70 mm long
* Silver Y moth, Autographa gamma, hiding on a log
* Cinnabar moth, Tyria jacobaeae, in small meadow
* Cinnabar moth caterpillars on ragwort on north bank
* Small china-mark moth, Cataclysta lemnata, always found near water
* Common white wave moth, Cabera pusaria
* Box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis
* Herald moth, Scoliopteryx libatrix, warming up on a cold day by whirring its wings
* Jersey tiger moth, Euplagia quadripunctaria
* Ruby tiger caterpillar, Phragmatobia fuliginosa
* Pupae of parasitoidal wasps (Braconidae) on broad-bordered yellow underwing moth caterpillar (Noctua fimbriata)
* Dragonflies and damselflies
* Female black-tailed skimmer dragonfly, Orthetrum cancellatum
* Southern hawker dragonfly, Aeshna cyanea
* Large red damselflies, Pyrrhosoma nymphula, in wheel on yellow iris
* Bluetail damselfly, Ischnura elegans, on Yorkshire fog
* Male common darter, Sympetrum striolatum
* Immature female common darter
* Azure damselfly, Coenagrion puella
* Pair of azure damselflies, Coenagrion puella, in cop
* Willow emerald or spreadwing damselfly, Chalcolestes viridis, a recent arrival
* Pond life
* Dragonfly nymph, beetle larva (right), damselfly nymphs, water fleas in a pond dipping tray
* Leech
* Water scorpion
* Caddisfly egg mass on leaf away from the pond
* Great ramshorn snail crawling on muddy bottom
* Other arthropods
* Marble galls of gall wasp, Andricus kollari
* Stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, on deadhedge
* Click beetle, Athous haemorrhoidalis, on sallow
* Rose chafer beetles, Cetonia aurata, on hogweed, Heracleum sphondylium
* Devil's coach horse beetle (Staphylinidae)
* Carabid ground beetle, Pterostichus cf. madidus
* Aphids and live young on sycamore
* Field grasshopper, Chorthippus brunneus, in ramp meadow
* Meadow grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus, in anthill meadow
* Speckled bush cricket, Leptophyes punctatissima, in picnic meadow
* Ichneumon wasp, Gasteruption jaculator, nectaring on hogweed
* Parasitoid wasp (Ichneumonidae) and its host, a cinnabar moth larva, in which it has just laid an egg
* Macrophya sawflies (Symphyta) mating on hogweed
* Male hairy-footed flower bee, Anthophora plumipes
* Female ivy bee, Colletes hederae, by her nest burrow
* Common carder bee, Bombus pascuorum on loggery
* Tree bumblebee, Bombus hypnorum nest in fallen willow tree
* Male long hoverfly, Sphaerophoria scripta
* Hoverfly Eristalis horticola
* Hoverfly on catsear
* Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum
* Rutpela (Strangalia) maculata, a longhorn beetle and a wasp mimic
* Harlequin ladybird nymph, Harmonia axyridis
* Woodlice sheltering in a nestbox
* Spiders
* Anyphaena numida, a North African spider, only the second UK record for the species
* Linyphia triangularis sheetweb spider female and male
* False widow spider, Steatoda sp., from a nestbox

**Fungi**

* Basidiomycetes
* Gill mushrooms
* Agaricus sp. in deadhedge by main pond
* Blusher mushroom, Amanita rubescens
* Fly agaric, Amanita muscaria
* Webcaps, Cortinarius
* Honey fungus, Armillaria mellea
* Mild milkcap, Lactarius subdulcis
* Purple swamp brittlegill, Russula nitida
* Birch Brittlegill, Russula betularum (yellow form)
* Rhodocybe gemina, a new species for the reserve
* Lilac fibrecap, Inocybe geophylla var. lilacina
* Peeling oysterling or soft slipper, Crepidotus mollis, showing internal gelatinous layer when stretched
* Flat oysterling, Crepidotus cf applanatus
* Brittlestem, Psathyrella multipedata, on willow loggery
* Giant funnel, Leucopaxillus giganteus
* Clouded funnel, Clitocybe nebularis, large specimen
* Wood blewit, Lepista nuda
* Common cavalier, Melanoleuca polioleuca
* A dapperling, Lepiota cf. hystrix
* Moss bonnet, Mycena olida
* Rosy bonnet, Mycena rosea
* Burgundydrop bonnet, Mycena haematopus
* White milking bonnet, Mycena galopus var candida
* Twig parachute, Marasmiellus ramealis
* Waxcap fungus, Hygrocybe, cf H. cantharellus
* Sulphur Knight, Tricholoma sulphureum
* Coconut-scented milkcap, Lactarius glyciosmus
* Tawny funnel, Lepista inversa
* Charcoal burner, Russula cyanoxantha
* Ashen knight, Tricholoma virgatum
* Birch knight, Tricholoma fulvum
* White knight, Tricholoma 'album' in anthill meadow
* Oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus ostreatus var columbinus in winter
* Hypholoma fasciculare, sulphur tuft on Birch loggery
* Laccaria proxima, the scurfy deceiver
* Laccaria amethystina, amethyst deceiver
* Laccaria laccata - the deceiver
* Fairy inkcap, Coprinellus disseminatus, swarm on stump in forest school
* Puffballs, earthstars, jelly fungi
* Puffballs, Lycoperdon perlatum
* Collared earthstar, Geastrum triplex
* Tripe fungus, Auricularia mesenterica
* Pestle puffball Handkea (Calvatia) excipuliformis
* Brain jelly Tremella mesenterica
* Clubs, corals
* Pointed club, Clavaria acuta
* Golden spindles, Clavulinopsis fusiformis
* Ramaria cf stricta, a coral fungus
* Ramariopsis subtilis, a white coral fungus
* Boletes, polypores, brackets
* Dotted stem bolete, Neoboletus luridiformis (formerly Boletus erythropus), blue-staining when freshly cut
* Brown birch bolete, Leccinum scabrum
* Xerocomellus, a bolete, under birch
* Orange curtain crust, Stereum hirsutum
* Split porecrust Schizopora paradoxa with mazy gills
* Blushing bracket, Daedaleopsis confragosa, discolouring where scratched
* Turkeytail bracket fungus, Trametes (Coriolus) versicolor
* Lyophyllum ulmarium on ivy-clad elder
* Birch Polypore, Fomitopsis betulina, on birch log
* Blushing bracket, Daedaleopsis confragosa
* Hairy bracket, Trametes hirsuta, on birch log
* Laxitextum bicolor, a new species for the reserve
* Ganoderma adspersum, Southern bracket, on willow stump
* Silverleaf fungus Chondrostereum purpureum
* Ascomycetes
* Birch woodwart Hypoxylon multiforme
* Oak pin, Cudoniella acicularis
* Candlesnuff or stag's horn fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon
* Dead man's fingers, Xylaria polymorpha
* Orange peel fungus, Aleuria aurantia
* Scarlet elf cup fungus, Sarcoscypha austriaca
* Eyelash fungus, Scutellinia scutellata
* Layered cup, Peziza varia
* Charcoal cup, Peziza cf. echinospora
* Humaria hemisphaerica - glazed cup fungus
* Young Crucibulum laeve birdsnest fungus
* Tan ear, Otidea alutacea
* Tar-Spot fungus, Rhytisma acerinum on sycamore leaf
* Coral Spot fungus Nectria cinnabarina
* Yellow brain, Tremella 'foliacea'
* Slime moulds
* Scrambled egg slime mould, Fuligo septica
* False puffball, Enteridium lycoperdon, a large rubbery slime mould
* 'The Blob' slime mould Physarum polycephalum on stored oak post after rain
* Dog's vomit slime mould, Mucilago crustacea
* Wolf's milk slime mould, Lycogala terrestre

**Plants**

* Plants
* 'Lower' plants
* Common smoothcap moss, Atrichum undulatum
* Field horsetail (fern ally), Equisetum arvense
* Male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas
* Flowering plants
* White dead-nettle, Lamium album
* Green alkanet, Pentaglottis sempervirens
* Male thick-kneed flower beetle, Oedemera nobilis, on catsear, Hypochaeris radicata flowerhead
* Spanish bluebells, Hyacinthoides hispanica
* Yellow iris or flag, Iris pseudacorus
* Spring show of forget-me-nots, Myosotis arvensis
* Celery-leaved buttercup, Ranunculus sceleratus, in the 'mangrove swamp'
* Alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum, growing by a seasonal pond
* Evening primroses (Oenothera) in bloom on the entrance ramp meadow
* Scarlet pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis, on bare ground disturbed by hedge-laying
* Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria
* Ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris, in a clearing made by a fallen birch tree
* Rosebay willowherb, Chamaenerion angustifolium, in the anthill meadow
* Teasel flowerhead, Dipsacus fullonum
* Dog rose, Rosa canina
* Redcurrant, Ribes rubrum, from the railwaymen's gardens that were once here
* Broom, Cytisus scoparius hybrid, naturalised
* Red campion, Silene dioica, on ramp meadow
* Elder, Sambucus nigra, in flower as an undershrub
* Dogwood, Cornus sanguinea, in flower in the front hedge
* Hemlock water-dropwort, Oenanthe crocata in wet woodland
* Mallow, Malva sylvestris, by ramp meadow
* Bindweed, Calystegia sepium, by ramp meadow
* Narrow-Leaved hawksbeard, Crepis tectorum, beside old railway track
* Bittersweet, Solanum dulcamara, on mound
* Weld or dyer's rocket, Reseda luteola, on disturbed bank
* Horseradish, Armoracia rusticana on ramp meadow
* Borage, Borago officinalis, on cleared ground behind anthill meadow
* Common vetch, Vicia sativa, in de-brambled anthill meadow
* Garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata, on ramp meadow
* Cut-leaved cranesbill, Geranium dissectum, on old railway track
* Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum under trees
* Smooth sow-thistle, Sonchus oleraceus, by North bank
* Ribbed Melilot, Melilotus officinalis, by car park
* Greater Celandine, Chelidonium majus, by car park
* Oxeye Daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare, on ramp
* Poppy, Papaver rhoeas, on ramp meadow
* Tufted Vetch, Vicia cracca, in anthill meadow
* Meadow Vetchling, Lathyrus pratensis, in anthill meadow
* Lesser celandine, Ficaria verna, near car park
* Broad-leaved dock, Rumex obtusifolius, on ramp
* Buddleia, Buddleja sp., naturalised on mound
* Pendulous sedge, Carex pendula, in flower
* Comfrey, Symphytum officinale, on ramp
* Holly, Ilex aquifolium, with male flowers

### Activities

These photographs illustrate some of the educational and conservation activity on the reserve.

**Conservation**

* Conservation activity photographs
* Volunteers clearing the picnic meadow
* Shovelling woodchips into sacks
* ...and loading the sacks into the LWT Land-Rover
* Using a circular saw to prepare an information panel
* Checking nestboxes for spiders before cleaning and repairs
* Repaired nestboxes for blue and great tits, unrepaired box at centre
* Putting up a nestbox
* Fixing a wooden railing to protect native ferns
* Scything the Anthill Meadow
* Volunteers cutting reeds and desilting the pond
* Weaving a hurdle deadhedge
* Muddy volunteer after a morning's work in wet woodland
* Wheelbarrow and tools after a morning's work in wet woodland
* De-brambling the butterfly bank
* Cutting a fallen birch after heavy rain
* Planting a hazel hedge
* Sieving earth for demonstration meadow
* Sawing a board to length for a boardwalk
* Carrying a birch log for path edging
* Hammering in a post ... up
* Hammering in a post ... down
* Keeping path edges clear of ivy
* Unloading logs from the London Wildlife Trust Land-Rover for minibeast logpile
* Digging out wet woodland
* Staff and volunteers smoothing surface of mud sofa, a temporary barrier of local material
* Ivy leaf decoration for mud sofa
* LWT ecologist Tony Wileman on a transect survey of the plants in the anthill meadow
* Replacing a post in anthill meadow fence
* Volunteers cutting brash from a willow tree, felled across a path and bench by Storm Ciara
* Woven hazel deadhedge behind pond, blocking informal paths that formed during the COVID-19 lockdowns
* Flash flooding of path by mud bench after thunderstorm in July 2021; this path has never flooded before.
* Coppicing sycamore – cutting into bird's mouth
* Digging out holm oak stumps
* Scooping mud from the pond
* Storm Eunice fells dead birch across fence, February 2022
* Repaired rail on mound above birch felled by Storm Eunice
* Storm Eunice blocks boardwalk with ivy and willow
* Large cherry tree, hazels fallen and lodged on other trees after Storm Franklin
* Large cherry tree, hazels cut after falling and lodging in other trees after Storm Franklin
* Winching strop around base of lodged Birch trunk, ready to pull
* Winching a lodged Birch tree trunk down to ground
* Lodged Birch trunk winched down to earth; gouged furrow shows how far it has been pulled

**Education and public outreach**

* Education and public outreach activity photographs
* The welcome blackboard
* School visit in springtime
* Education officer asks a question
* Card cutout ladybirds for children's nature trail on an Open Day
* Demonstration beehive with numbered queen bee on an Open Day
* Collaborating on a bird canvas on an Open Day
* Ladybird masks on an Open Day
* Making birdboxes to take home on an Open Day
* Painting butterflies on an Open Day
* Photographing a freshly-emerged peacock butterfly in spring
* Inspecting the moth trap
* Identifying a pug moth
* London Wildlife Trust staff with everything you need for pond dipping
* Pond dipping
* Making a 'stained glass window' flower
* Looking at a dragonfly nymph on Frog Day
* Cutting the cake to celebrate 30 years since site was saved
* Smooth newt, one of a series of painted wooden animals on a children's nature trail
* A young entomologist at work on Bugs Day
* Mycologist Alick Henrici leading a Fungus Foray
* Photographing a fly agaric on a Fungus Foray
* Painted wooden birds' eggs for an Easter nature trail
* Wooden leaves for a summer nature trail
* A corporate group digging out wet woodland (willow carr)
* Corporate involvement: a group from Mace digging an extension to the main pond
* Instructing a Headstart group of young people who intend to make a career in nature conservation
* Teaching Landscape Design course students
* Entomologists on the hunt
* Entomologists beating oak leaves for arthropods
* Entomologists examining their catch
* Nature Trail Stag beetle
* Nature Trail Red Wood Ant
* Nature Trail Common Blue Damselfly
* Nature Trail Flesh Fly
* Clive Leeke teaching a hedge laying course
* Hedge, 4 years after laying (in and after the training course), a living barrier and habitat
* Rupa Huq MP with volunteers and London Wildlife Trust volunteer officer Netty Ribeaux
* Laminating nature information signs
* Tamping a new information signpost into place
* Alick Henrici collecting fungi on a fungus foray
