Wildlife Circus

    This post is regarding Biodiversity loss and local extinctions in the borough. It was read at  the deputation at the full council meeting 24.4.19 and includes a litany of lost species. Every day I pass this building on Cambridge Road, which reminds me of the house martins that used to nest under the eaves of the previous building  - The Peel Pub. In early years the nests used to be poked out, but at least the birds kept coming. Then they stopped coming. Now they can never return as they have been designed out of the system. The urban gradient in parts of  Kingston has increased beyond the tolerance of many urban species, including house sparrows  - a UK Priority Species, included on the list of Section 41 under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 - due to its massive decline. This Act confers on the council - a legal duty to protect - and makes this species 'material' in any planning application. Kingston's own Good Practice Guide...

Creating in-channel ponds   Deflectors     The Hogsmill isn't the only river to have undergone significant channel restoration in the  southwest London Thames  catchment. However the Crane improvements commenced in the late 1990's with the Environment Agency installing deflectors (using the boulders pictured). The enhancement work never stops and TCV volunteers have recently been installing bunds to create slack water, in order to protect small fish. Instead of the hazel faggots staked into the river bed (as employed along the Hogsmill) they were able to source sufficient driftwood from upstream. This is very surprising, as such a large area has been accomplished, which is visually  delightful. Hedge laying along the Crane Rehung tree limb with hole    Everywhere along the Crane corridor is evidence of the hard work of local volunteers from the illustrated hedge laying near  Lincoln's Fields, to the re-hung bat/bird nes...