Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
Contact us
GiGLer Newsletter
Discover London Map
Submit Records
Get a Data Search Report
  • About GiGL
    • Working with Us
      • GiGL Partners
      • Clients
      • The Public
      • Contact Us
    • Governance
      • GiGL Board of Directors
      • GiGL Advisory Panel (GAP)
      • GAP Membership
    • Our Region
    • Your Records at GiGL
      • Life Cycle of GiGL Data
    • Planning Projects
      • Planning Documents
      • Biodiversity Evidence – Better Outcomes from Planning
      • Resources for Planners
      • London’s Biodiversity Action Plan
        • London Priority Species
        • London BAP Priority Habitats
    • Policies & Guidance
      • Open Data
    • Publications
    • Job Vacancies
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Our Data Holdings
    • Open Spaces
      • What our Open Space data can tell you
      • Open Space Categories
      • AoD in Access to POS
      • Public Open Space Categories
      • Privately Owned Public Space
    • Species Data
      • Designated species
      • Species Lists
      • Invasive Species
      • Atlases
    • Habitat Data
      • London Survey Method
      • BAP Habitat Suitability Data
      • Ancient Woodland Inventory Update Project
        • AWI Project Methodology
        • AWI Survey Programme
    • Designated Sites
      • Statutory Designations
      • Non-Statutory SINCs
      • Metropolitan Open Land and Greenbelt
      • Non-Statutory Geological Sites
        • London’s Geological Sites
      • Areas of Deficiency in Access to Nature
    • Urban Greening
    • Key London Figures
  • Planning for Nature
    • Biodiversity Net Gain
    • Borough Planning Stats
    • Data Searches and Planning
    • Planning Policy
    • Natural Environment Data in Planning
    • Data Sharing from Development
    • Biodiversity Hotspots for Planning
  • Services
    • Data Stewardship Services
    • Data & Insight Services
      • Habitat Suitability Modelling
      • Evidence Base for Policies
      • Transport for London
    • Advice & Consultancy Services
    • Visualisation Services
  • Submit Records
    • One-off Records
    • Recording Spreadsheet
    • Partner Data Input
    • Sites and Green Infrastructure Records
    • Water Vole Recovery Programme
  • Access Data
    • Discover London
    • Services for Partners
    • Data Search for Consultants
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Data for Research
      • Research Case Studies
      • Student Requests
  • Recording & Surveying
    • London Day of Nature 2024
    • How GiGL can help
    • Recording Analysed
    • Verification
    • London Day of Nature
      • London Day of Nature 2023
    • Links and Resources
      • Survey Data Standards and Guidance
      • Biodiversity Net Gain Resources

The view from here – London Borough of Redbridge

by Emily Reynolds | Jul 1, 2006

Emily Reynolds, London Borough of Redbridge.

For those over-stretched local authority ecologists who would love to play around with data and GIS maps but don’t have the time, GiGL provides an invaluable service. As nature conservation team leader for Redbridge, and someone who used to play with data as a records officer for the then Biological Recording Project, this includes me. Redbridge has had a service level agreement with the BRP and now GiGL, since 2001. As the project has developed over the years, the value and diversity of services has steadily increased.

The people side of biological data recording is crucial – it is the avid enthusiasts and casual nature watchers out on the ground that provide a lot of our data. In Redbridge, we have many recorders who regularly provide us with good quality data.This is entered into our Recorder database, often via GiGL, helping to inform planning decisions, feeding into management plans and helping to raise awareness about nature conservation in the borough.

There are plenty of enthusiastic non-specialists out there – people who can’t tell you which species of duck is represented by that tiny black spec miles above your head, but who are keen to tell you what they have seen in their garden or local park. If we tell them that this information will be fed into our database, and will ultimately end up at the biodiversity records centre for London, they continue to provide these useful ad-hoc snippets of wildlife information – encouraged by the value we place on their observations.

The spatial data that GiGL has recently been able to provide – species and habitat records that are tagged to locations and grid references – has been particularly useful. It provides an immediate picture of what the data shows. A curious result from Redbridge’s garden survey shows that no bats have been recorded south of the London to Ilford railway line. It also reveals distinct areas of the borough where people did not take part in the survey.This sort of information helps us focus our projects geographically and to identify which communities we would like to engage in future biodiversity projects.

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Good market approved
Good market approved
Good market approved
Good market approved
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Photo Credits

Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC, Registered Office: 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1BE, community interest company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales number 8345552 | © 2024 Greenspace Information for Greater London | Website managed by Fusion3media Online