The joy of recording

Guest blog by Maria Longley - the Community Manager at Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL) and one of the organisers of the first London Recorders’ Day.

London Recorders’ Day is a 1-day event to celebrate wildlife recording in London happening on the 10th of November 2018. It is collaboratively organised by GiGL, FSC, and NHM. Book you tickets here: https://www.field-studies-council.org/individuals-and-families/courses/2018/ho/london-recorders-day.aspx

We are really happy to see the idea of a gathering for people who care about wildlife in the capital shape up and turn into what promises to be a very interesting day.

Our keynote address this year will be from David Lindo who many of us know as the Urban Birder. As a keen birder and someone with many years of experience of wildlife recording we thought he was the perfect person to kick start the day of celebrating recording in London.

There is a long history of biological recording the UK and in London so it is great to be able to host this day in the Natural History Museum to remind us of the role and importance of biological collections. In the afternoon we can explore the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity as well as the collections of the Hintze Hall. We are glad to have the London Natural History Society, around since 1853, in the spotlight for three talks to hear what projects their members are up to now including one about bringing in volunteers from around the globe to help digitise London bird cards. And a talk from Morus Londonium will chart the 2000 year history of mulberry trees in London. 

London has witnessed the arrival of many new species making it one of the most exciting places to record true bugs, as we’ll hear from the national Terrestrial Heteroptera Recording Scheme who have published a Provisional atlas of shieldbugs and allies this year. Closer to home we’ll hear an update on the London Butterfly atlas. London Wildlife Trust’s project Water for Wildlife got Londoners looking for dragonflies and damselflies, and FSC’s BioLinks project is busy teaching people skills to identify invertebrates. 

The groundswell of interest for a local site will make a difference to what we know about it so we’ll get a chance to hear all about the recent activity in the Barbican Wildlife Garden and on the Hampstead Heath Survey. A Focus On Nature will provide an important perspective on what this youth nature network are up to in London.

It is important to be able to come together to share our knowledge, skills and training. We’ll get an opportunity to hear about some of the QGIS tools available to support biological recording as well as the support available to recorders from organisations like the Natural History Museum and GiGL. 

We hope this will be the start of something special as people come together to celebrate all the wildlife we love in London.