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Record of the wildlife of Southern Epping Forest collected by the Wren Conservation Group :
One important aspect of the Wren Group's activities was the collection of records of the wildlife of the area covered by the Group: Southern Epping Forest.
These records were collected by a number of people in the early days, particularly including Colin Plant, Mike Dent, Paul Ferris and Richard Baker. As more of these people moved on from the Group, less people were available to collect the records.
However, in the late 1970s, a proposal was made to survey the plants of Wanstead Park for one year, and to follow this up after ten years to see what changes had occured. It soon became clear that just surveying the plants in one year was a big task with the limited number of people available to do it. An attempt was made, and this led to a report being written by Paul Ferris which was published in the London Naturalist in 1980 as The Flora of Southern Epping Forest. Part 1: Wanstead Park. (Lond. Nat. 59 : 8-21).
It may be seen from the title - "Part 1 : Wanstead Park" - that the intention was to produce at least a Part 2; which was "Wanstead Flats and Bush Wood" (Lond. Nat . 60: 6-19 in 1981). Subsequently Part 3 : Leyton Flats and Bush Wood North (Lond. Nat 61: 16-29.) and Part 4 : Gilbert's Slade. (Lond. Nat 62: 11-25) were published. This was slightly different from the original intent of "just" surveying the wildlife of the Park!
Records until then had been kept by the Group's Recorder at the time on a card record index. Later these were put onto a computer. At about this time, the Group's "headquarters", a downstairs room in the Temple at Wanstead Park, kindly offered for use by the Conservators of Epping Forest, was taken away from us. This meant that the Group's tools and other belongings had no central home.
The outcome was that the card index is now long gone - the computer with its somewhat primitive database has long since expired, and the Group's records really consist of those collected personally by Paul Ferris of Forest Gate. Indeed, since those days, very few peolple have collected records, or at least passed them on to Paul. Among those who have, Jennifer Charter of Aldersbrook and Pete Saunders of Leytonstone still do so. In the past, the late Richard Baker of Manor Park, Jim Brown of Leytonstone and Ted Godden of Aldersbrook have been the main contributors. Paul keeps the records on his home computer, and some of those records - and hence the remnants of the WREN Group's - are available on the Wanstead Wildlife website, which Paul maintains. This is available at www.wansteadwildlife.org.uk
