We marked World Recycling Day with a talk by Alice Stevens, Education Officer for Wandsworth Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) at Smugglers Way. Loads of questions from a very keen audience about what should and shouldn’t be in our recycling sacks (see the A to Z on their website). We also talked about recycling on the Common. We’re hoping the new Groundworks contract, awarded to Krinkels, will introduce more appropriate, better looking and better located bins on the Common as part of their new contract. But make no mistake, our recycling is handled properly and sent to reprocessing sites all over the UK and Europe. By contrast, general waste is shipped down the river for incineration, meaning a lot of recyclable material is lost.

Our regular Monday morning litter picks separate out recyclables - mainly cans and bottles. About half is recyclable but around half the total waste is single use coffee cups which, despite what they say, are neither compostable nor recyclable, except in special facilities. So Alice’s clear advice was always to use a keep-cup. You get a discount at Skylark if you do!!

Our volunteers were busy again, implementing an Enable project to create a new glade in the middle of the Scope, in an area where two large trees have been substantially reduced. The debris was cleared and the new clearing protected by a dead hedge and habitat piles. Look out for what flora and fauna are attracted to the new habitat. Several bat boxes have been erected which we’ll be keeping an eye on.

Another month, another bird walk, identifying 31 species including a pochard duck, a gaggle of mandarins and the first brood of Egyptian goslings. Get your binos out to spot the incoming spring migrants. It’s even more important at this time of the year to keep your dogs on a lead and out of the water with the nesting season in full swing.

We reprised the RVPB film shown during our tour of the RVPB in January. If you missed it, as we now have a copy, we hope to be able to put on more showings in the future.