GiGL was launched as a fully-fledged open space and biodiversity records centre in April 2006.

The process started in 1996, when the Bridge House Trust provided funding to set up
London Wildlife Trust’s Biological Recording Project (BRP) as a precursor to a records
centre for the capital. Since then, many partners, neighbouring records centres and
national bodies, not to mention consultations, have influenced the records centre’s development. The BRP provided the foundation of a records centre for London and was rebranded as GiGL in April 2004, at the start of a 2-year development phase. During its development phase, GiGL’s partnership and data-holdings were expanded, and
sustainable funding was sought.

GiGL works in close partnership with many individuals and organisations both in London
and further afield who produce high quality information about London’s wildlife. Their
data are collated and managed centrally by the GiGL team with a view to making them available to GiGL’s partners and customers who need these data to inform planning decisions, conservation work, research and many other activities.

GiGL currently has 5 full-time and 1 part-time members of staff and is hosted by London Wildlife Trust.