Discoverers Events

16th May 2022

Last weeks Birdwatching Event started bright and early at 7.30am as it was all about the The Dawn Chorus. Families were treated to a beautiful symphony from birds such as Blackcaps, Garden Warbler's and Blackbirds. During Spring the Park comes alive with not only birdsong but its also the best time to discover the lovely trees and plants that start to blossom. Below is a picture of a tree that is called a Handkerchief tree which was admired by all. You can find this in the Prince Charles Spinney which proved to be a great spot for listening out for The Dawn Chorus at the event. We were very lucky as we had a couple of talented young photographers who attended last weeks event who have sent us some amazing pictures. Below are some lovely shots that were captured by Tristan on the day. Well done and thank you for sending these in Tristan! They are brilliant.   The picture below was also taken by Tristan and this is a 50p coin next to a cracked eggshell which is presumed to belong to a Robin! Good spot! We also wanted to share a picture that was sent in by Oliver who also attended the Dawn Chorus last week. Although this was not taken at the event it was too good of a picture we just had to share! Thank you Oliver! What a great shot of a beautiful kingfisher! The morning was enjoyed by all and we hope to see old and new faces at the next birdwatching event!

20th April 2022

Who and what might live in Richmond Park? On Thursday 14th April, The Friends of Richmond Park Discoverers and Holly Lodge Education Centre joined forces again and put on a free event for children to show them what homes the animals in Richmond Park build at this time of year. Among other items, we had an extensive array of birds’ nests at our disposal and we could compare the materials and skills required by a robin or a song thrush. Huge models of a yellow meadow ant, its symbiotic partner the aphid (symbiotic means they both get something out of the relationship!) as well as a stag beetle impressed all of us and everyone had the chance to build a nest of their own and fill it with chocolate Easter eggs. A very timely addition to all the beautiful creations we witnessed being made!       There were many questions asked and answered and the biggest ‘Wows’ were heard when children were given the opportunity to weigh a robin or a great tit’s nest in the palm of their hand: “Wow! You can’t even feel it!” “It weighs nothing!” they said. Once they had made their little nest the children then went off on a search for all the different items we had talked about such as lichens, moss, feathers and holes in old oak trees. Everyone also had a Nature Bingo Sheet they had picked up on arrival tom tick off as they went along.   It was a glorious sunny morning and although many people seemed to be away, those who could make it had a lovely time!   See you all at our next event: 1st May Birdwatching Nature Walk, to be followed by a 7.30am Dawn Chorus the following Sunday!

16th April 2022

Birdwatching with the Discoverers - you never know what you might see!!It was a lovely sunny morning when a few of the Discoverers joined Peter and myself for our new monthly Birdwatching Nature Walk.  We set off from the Pen Ponds kiosk and walked towards Crown Field in search of singing skylarks.We saw the usual jackdaws, parakeets and magpies ever present near the kiosk and heard green woodpeckers and great spotted woodpeckers.  Blue and great tits were flying about quickly from tree to tree.  As we arrived near White Lodge, we spotted a red kite flying right above us.  Down into White Lodge Plantation, we heard the distinctive song of a mistle thrush.  We made our way to the edge of the wood adjoining onto Crown Field, still no sign of skylarks but a buzzard was spotted circling high above in the blue sky.  But our biggest treat was yet to come: a little owl!  Sitting just above us in an oak tree it was staring down at us.  Moving to one side to get a better look, we realised that there was another little owl sitting right next to the first one!  A rare treat.   As we walked back towards the ponds, we saw all our usual waterbirds and we could appreciate all the work that has just been done on the island in the middle of Upper Pen Pond, already recolonized by cormorants, herons and Greylag geese.  The only missing birds on that morning were the skylarks which were nether seen nor heard, but that’s the way it goes sometimes, you never know what we might see!  

16th April 2022

Last Event - Discovering Beverley Brook   On the beautiful morning of Sunday 20th March, Discoverers met up at Roehampton Gate to learn all about the Beverley Brook. Brian and Stephen showed us and explained what they do as part of the Riverfly Monitoring Team. We heard about the Downstream Defender, the aptly name ‘hero of the Brook’ which stops debris and other pollutants from entering the brook form nearby populated areas.   They also showed us what they look for when they test the quality of the brook’s water: a healthy river is a river that is capable of harbouring wildlife and therefore eight groups of invertebrates are checked every month for their presence and numbers. We saw mayfly larvae (mayflies lay their eggs in water and the pre adult stages (larvae) live in the water), freshwater shrimps and we even saw a huge fish! Brian and Stephen then showed us the recent work that has been done on the brook as part of a Restoration Programme which aimed to make the brook a wildlife-friendly place again. We had a go at calculating the velocity of the flow (how quickly the river travels down) with our rubber duck and a timer and to finish off, we held a duck race! It was a beautiful morning in Richmond Park, we learnt a lot and we had lots of fun too! Thanks to all our volunteers without whom none of this could happen and especially to the brilliant retired teacher Juliet Mills who stepped in as Leader for Monique, who had to stay at home with covid, and to Brian McDonald and Stephen Russell, intrepid volunteers and river monitors extraordinaire! Watch a video that we made by clicking  here that talks about about the River-flying process.

28th February 2022

Find out more about how our latest event went where we Discovered the trees of Richmond Park

2nd February 2022

The Discoverers Team Discover Birds at Pen Ponds where they spotted many different types of birds including a Macaw a Mandarin Duck and an Egyptian Geese!

19th May 2019

A group of families met some of the Park's oldest residents in High Wood on Sunday 19th May 2009.

7th April 2019

On Sunday 7th April we learned how a dead stream - once the home of beavers - has been brought back to life. Its restoration is an environmental success story. We were led by Toby Hull from the South East Rivers Trust.

1st December 2018

This year seven families, gathered at the Holly Lodge Centre on a perfect Autumn day

28th September 2018

This year the weather was very bat friendly, and a group of around thirty of us watched and waited around Adams Pond, bat detectors at the ready

26th November 2017

This is one we will certainly be repeating! After Janet introduced her fascinating fungi collection families explored the Holly Lodge Centre Nature Trail

23rd September 2017

Eight families gathered on a mild Autumn evening to watch some of Richmond Park’s bats emerge after sunset

25th June 2017

There were few butterflies and insects to be seen in the Isabella so our families followed a trail of clues around the Plantation instead

21st May 2017

We were very lucky with the weather and spent the morning in a part of the Park none of us knew well, following a walk based on Susanna Ramsey’s Family Trail no. 6

2nd April 2017

After an introductory presention about Richmond Park’s famous deer population, Susanna Ramsey led our Discoverers families into the Park ‘on safari’

4th February 2017

The good news was that the sky was clear long enough this time for thirty or so hopeful sky-watchers to look at the First Quarter Moon

12th November 2016

November’s Full Moon was a Super Moon – closer to Earth than at any time since January 1948

23rd October 2016

Fungi are Nature’s recyclers and Autumn is the season when they are at their best – eight Discoverers families enjoyed a most interesting event based at the Holly Lodge Centre

8th October 2016

Our bat watch had to be postponed a week this year, thanks to bad weather. The session was led as usual by Philip Briggs of the London Bat Group and Bat Conservation Trust.

8th May 2016

Our base was the Holly Lodge Centre’s Nature Trail. After a brief introduction, the group set off with Hugh Bradshaw.

20th March 2016

Ten families celebrated the first day of Spring, learning about the rich wild life of Richmond Park with Susanna Ramsey and the Nature Collection

3rd October 2015

We had excellent weather for this popular annual event, calm and warm. This meant that there were plenty of bats around in the evening twilight

10th May 2015

The annual celebration of the Visitor Information Centre saluted volunteers but had some sad news too

26th April 2015

The annual celebration of the Visitor Information Centre saluted volunteers but had some sad news too