Issue 15

A Day in The Life

Have you ever wondered what the GiGL team actually do day-to-day? In this issue of the GiGLer, we take you into the inner workings of GiGL, the everyday and the experimental, the daily tasks and the ever-present questions.

While Maria, one of GiGL’s Records Officers, may spend her morning completing data search reports for customers and partners, Data Officers Chloë and Julie, and Operations Manager, Matt, will most likely be …

Field Studies Council

Field Studies Council

An environmental education charity which began in 1943, the Field Studies Council works with people of all ages and abilities, providing opportunities for them to experience the environment at first hand; to discover, explore, be inspired by, and understand the natural environment. Everything that we do has close links to the work of GiGL and all local records centres.

Interview, Valerie Selby

Interview, Valerie Selby

GiGL’s Board of Directors are central to our work and our success. Their commitment and expertise helps guide GiGL and keeps us moving forward and developing. Here, Valerie Selby, Chair of the Board of Directors, steps up to the plate and volunteers to be our first Director interviewee.

Balance of Data

Balance of Data

Armed with only a passion for numbers and a particular interest in wildlife statistics, I arrived at GiGL for my week’s work experience not entirely sure what I would be expected to do.

After settling in, I was presented with the number of records for three London boroughs.

Citizen Science

Citizen Science

Citizen science is not new. The Guide to Citizen Science (2012), a joint publication between the Biological Records Centre (part of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) and the Natural History Museum, highlights a long tradition of people contributing their free time and expertise to the discovery and understanding of British wildlife.

Knotweed Undercover

Knotweed Undercover

By now, we should all be aware of the potential impacts that Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), an invasive non-native species, can have on local biodiversity, on built structures and on our local amenity. It is important to know how to identify it throughout the year. This task becomes more difficult in winter when it has lost its distinctive leaves and flowers.

Student Input

Student Input

In the summer of 2012, I began research for my dissertation for my degree. The study focused on the invasive non-native plant species, Crassula helmsii in aquatic environments around London. Through this investigation, I aimed to evaluate the adaptability of C. helmsii and some of its invasive behaviours in small aquatic habitats.

Wildlife Crime Unit

Wildlife Crime Unit

London is home to many species of wildlife, from the birds and squirrels that visit our gardens and parks, to more secretive animals like badgers, hedgehogs, water voles and Muntjac deer. Many species are protected by law to varying degrees. For example, all wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, …

Michelin Star Service

Much as a delicious meal at a restaurant doesn’t just appear on your plate the moment you place your order with the waiter, our data search reports don’t just appear at a click of a button. Even before your chef works his magic, selecting just the right ingredients to compliment each other, those ingredients have to be grown, raised and harvested. So, what goes on behind the scenes at GiGL? What goes into creating the perfect data search recipe?

GiGL Instructions

GiGL Instructions

If at first you don’t succeed, look in your ‘deleted items’ for the instructions.

Information overload. We’re all suffering from it. Our inboxes are full of direct emails and newsletters. The internet is awash with information that would change our lives, if only we had time to read it. We filter it all according to our workloads, our mental and emotional capacity, and the perceived importance of the content and source.