Crane Park Island Volunteers: Crane Valley Partnership Projects
Crane Park Island is managed by The London Wildlife Trust (LWT) on behalf of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The management work on site is done by a dedicated team of volunteers, the Crane Park Island volunteers, who meet every Wednesday and Thursday and once a month on a Sunday. Their activities include coppicing small trees and shrubs to remove shading, managing other plants on the riverbanks, removing invasive species as far as possible, and maintaining the paths and signage for visitors. The site is home to the nationally threatened water vole and the reserve and surrounding wider area is a hotspot for the nationally endangered stag beetle, along with riverside species such as dragonflies, damselflies and a range of amphibians. The group’s main aims are to enhance and protect the site for wildlife conservation.
The Crane Park Island volunteers were awarded two Crane Valley Community Fund grants in 2024 to help them continue to improve the island for visitors and wildlife.
The first grant was used to employ specialist contractors to carry out tree work that the volunteers could not complete with their own tools. One large horse chestnut tree had fallen across an internal water channel on the island, blocking access for volunteers to other parts of the channels where water vole monitoring takes place. The contractors used chainsaws to cut up the tree and ropes to remove it from the water, leaving the cut pieces on the bank. They also cut down non-native, overhanging small sycamores on the western bank of the island, to prevent over-shading of the river and encourage native plants to grow. The contractors also pollarded some of the crack willows which are a feature of the island. The remaining wood was left as standing deadwood or was cut up by the volunteers and used as log piles, creating habitats for amphibians, stag beetles, fungi, mosses, and other insects, in turn providing food for birds. This tree work supports the water vole and stag beetle populations of Crane Park Island.
The Crane Park Island volunteers also used part of this funding to replace a metal plate that had been vandalised. There are 14 metal plates placed throughout the island, each featuring a raised outline of an animal or plant found in the area. These plates are designed for brass rubbing, providing a fun and educational way for visitors, especially children, to engage with and learn about the island’s nature.
The second grant was used to complete repairs to the island’s main hard path to improve accessibility for visitors, including those using wheelchairs or mobility scooters. The more clearly delineated paths will also encourage people to stay on the paths, thereby protecting the surrounding flora. The group has had several appreciative comments from people who say they feel safer, knowing that this path will be a safe and easy route to follow. The repairs of the paths were started earlier in the year using a 2023 Crane Valley Community grant and with the new funding, the group have now completed most of the rest. The fund enabled the group to purchase more wooden planks to replace the sides of the path and more shingle to complete the resurfacing. Initially, they had planned to buy cheaper bulk bags of shingle but encountered an issue as they could not be transported to the island. As a result, the group had to change the order to 20kg bags which were more expensive, impacting the budget.
The Crane Park Island volunteers expressed their gratitude for the Crane Valley Community Fund, noting that these smaller grants are more manageable for them, whereas larger grants would be too difficult to budget and oversee. The group is responsible for the initial choice and pricing of the projects and their management, while The London Wildlife Trust officially submits the application and handles the funds.
If you are interested in volunteering with the Crane Park Island volunteers, you can sign up here: Practical Conservation at Crane Park Island. For more information about the site itself, visit this page: Crane Park Island | London Wildlife Trust
