Julie MacDonald, GiGL Data Officer
Welcome to the winter edition of the GiGLer, where we review our ‘Olympic summer’ and give a general recap of the year.
For many of our partners, 2012 has been an exceptionally busy year with both the Diamond Jubilee and Olympics being enjoyed in the capital. To celebrate the work of our partners in ‘London 2012’ we have an article from London Wildlife Trust who have been involved in environmental education and habitat management in the lead up to the Games.
The year has brought us lots of great new projects. Throughout the summer we were delighted to work with the RSPB and partners on the Cockney Sparrow Count, an important repeat public survey, and we have started a project of open space data collection and validation through the recruitment of a new volunteer. This year has also seen LISI take shape under Karen’s expert guidance. Karen gives us a review of the project’s progress so far.
One aspect of GiGL’s work which is perhaps less advertised is our increasing work with students and researchers. Chloë and Cranfield academic, Humberto, tell us why this is so important.
GiGL’s datasets have continued to grow, incorporating new data such as that on eels collected by the Zoological Society of London. We have also continued development of various datasets including that for Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). The SINC dataset, whose creation began around 30 years ago, is of the greatest importance to nature conservation in London. It is with immense pleasure that we present an overview of the dataset’s evolution narrated by ex-London Ecology Unit staff. This provides an important historic context for the dataset of which newer members to the capital’s conservation scene, including myself, may be unaware.
2012 has officially been GiGL’s most ‘social’ year ever. Not only has our website become far more dynamic throughout the year, but we have also taken the leap into the world of Twitter. Maria outlines how successful our presence has been, and how much we are enjoying being part of it.
With the end of the year approaching, it is a good time to look forward. As of January, GiGL will be changing – but we hope you don’t notice too much difference. In a GiGL newsflash Mandy explains how we at GiGL are spreading our wings and becoming independent.
From all of the GiGL team we wish you a very happy Christmas and joyous 2013.
Julie