The BioBlitz involved surveying the site for a period of twenty-four hours, starting on Friday evening, to monitor and discover as many species as possible. On Saturday afternoon, the site was opened to the public to work alongside the experts in surveying and helping to identify the flora and fauna.
The results are being recorded on the Green Space Information for Greater London website. The information will be used to help build up an overall picture of the wealth of wildlife living in London’s open spaces and to enhance wildlife habitats.
The event was supported by the Finchley Air Cadets, East Barnet Air Cadets, St. John’s Ambulance, Barnet Rotary Club, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, The London Wildlife Trust, The Hadley Trust and numerous visiting wildlife experts.
Theresa said, “It was great to meet the volunteers and experts behind this excellent project.”
“Our green open spaces and nature reserves are very important to the busy lives of Londoners and are one of the key reasons many people choose to live in Barnet. It is good news that here in Barnet, we have dedicated members of our local community doing their bit to help build up an overall wildlife map of London so we can ensure such areas and wildlife are protected for future generations to enjoy."
Dick Elms, Chairman of the Friends of Barnet Countryside Centre, reported that the BioBlitz had been a great success, saying “Our team of volunteers had been preparing for this event for many weeks. On the day, they were joined by many natural history experts and a huge variety of wildlife was observed and recorded. This ranged from bats and bugs to worms and water boatmen.”
“Annabel Foskett, the BioBlitz manager, reported that the Friday evening moths survey had shown that over 90 different species were present on the site and on Saturday afternoon two rare plants were identified. Many local families came to the Saturday afternoon session and were fascinated to see samples of what had been found."