Slough Wildlife Captured by Green Technology

Discover the excellent selection of books and magazines available through Slough Libraries and learn more about wild gardens, conservation and wildlife photography. 
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Slough’s Hidden Wildlife

Butterflies, foxes and ducks are just a few members of Slough’s hidden wildlife captured on ground breaking motion cameras powered by green technology.

Three motion sensor cameras, powered by plant microbial fuel cells, were placed in parks in the borough in the summer.

In a European first, the borough is the first place where the cameras are being used outside of trials by green tech pioneers Plant-e of the Netherlands in a second ground breaking partnership project with the council.

In the first few weeks the cameras have already powered up and captured a variety of fauna as they fly or pass by.

The cameras have been installed to reveal and monitor exactly what wildlife is in the parks during the day and night and are powered by bioelectricity created by the chemical reaction between plant roots and bacteria in the soil. Ongoing landscape works, such as the Slough Digital Urban Forest, can be evaluated using this system ensuring there is inherent value for money, while at the same time increasing levels of biodiversity across the borough.

Rewild Yourself by Simon Barnes

We're not just losing the wild world. We're forgetting it. We're no longer noticing it. We've lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing.

But we can make hidden things visible, and this book features 23 spellbinding ways to bring the magic of nature much closer to home.

Cllr Rob Anderson, cabinet member for transport and environmental services, said: “The cameras have already proved to be extremely successful and we have captured evidence of our expanding biodiversity in a digital format.

“The council can now provide more evidence when bidding for external funding streams related to natural capital and biodiversity expansion.

“The environmental plan has taken on an exciting hue and now has embedded within it, the uniqueness that the Slough environment is becoming synonymous with.”

The Garden Jungle By Dave Goulson
'TheGardenJungle' is about the wildlife that lives right under our noses, in our gardens and parks, between the gaps in the pavement, and in the soil beneath our feet. Wherever you are right now, the chances are that there are worms, woodlice, centipedes, flies, silverfish, wasps, beetles, mice, shrews and much, much more, quietly living within just a few paces of you. Dave Goulson gives us an insight into the fascinating and sometimes weird lives of these creatures, taking us burrowing into the compost heap, digging under the lawn and diving into thegarden pond. He explains how our lives and ultimately the fate of humankind are inextricably intertwined with that of earwigs, bees, lacewings and hoverflies, unappreciated heroes of the natural world.

With such projects the intention is to start a monitoring network covering Slough Canal using a digital platform to introduce citizen science in to the borough. The development approach work is being carried out with the University of Lancaster.

Along side this, thousands of trees are to be planted this autumn in the second phase of planting as part of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.

    The Foragers Calendar 
       by John Wright
Look out of your window, walk down a country path or go to the beach in Great Britain, and you are sure to see many wild species that you can take home and eat. From dandelions in spring to sloe berries in autumn, via wild garlic, samphire, chanterelles and even grasshoppers, our countryside is full of edible delights in any season. John Wright is the country's foremost expert in foraging and brings decades of experience, including as forager at the River Cottage, to this seasonal guide. Month by month, he shows us what species can be found and where, how to identify them, and how to store, use and cook them. You'll learn the stories behind the Latin names, the best way to tap a Birch tree, and how to fry an ant, make rosehip syrup and cook a hop omelette. Fully illustrated throughout, with tips on kit, conservation advice and what to avoid, this is an indispensable guide for everyone interested in wild food.

Funding was secured from the Forestry Commission at the beginning of the year to plant 9,051 trees at 31 locations across 13 wards and planting began. The council match funded the amount and the money will be used to plant and cultivate the trees over the next four years.

Wild Your Garden By The Butterfly Brothers
If we all made space for wildlife in our garden, we'd transform levels of biodiversity and help combat wildlife habitat loss, plummeting pollinator numbers, and carbon emissions. But it's not just a question of letting the weeds take over - there's an art and balance to rewilding a garden well so that you can enjoy it too. The Butterfly Brothers (Jim and Joel Ashton) are experts at designing wildlife-friendly gardens, and in this book, they show you how to work with nature, support wildlife, and create a self-maintaining, no-dig balance of planting. Transform a paved-over yard into a lush oasis, create refuges to welcome endangered species, or change a high-maintenance lawn into a mini-meadow with the potential to absorb carbon and air pollution. The projects don't require specialist gardening knowledge or lots of land, so whatever size space you have, you can rewild your own little corner of the planet.

The trees include birch, oak, spruce, pine, rowan, beech, and hawthorn and are of different ages from whips of under a metre tall and feather standards, of almost two metres, to standard trees up to three metres tall.

Many trees were planted this spring with more about to be planted in a further 26 sites across the borough adding to those already in Godolphin Recreation Ground, Farnham Lane, Scafell Park, Harvey Park and Faraday Recreation Ground.

The scheme is being further expanded in the Wexham Lea ward at Mirador Road, The Cherries and Wexham Road as well as in Langley Kedermister ward due to councillor funding

Slough Libraries subscribes to digital magazine providers RB Digital and PressReader- you can borrow them for FREE with your Library card!

Cllrs Haqeeq Dar and Harjinder S.Gahir from Wexham Lea and Cllrs Preston Brooker, Michael Holledge and Harpreet K.Cheema in Langley Kedermister ward have allocated Condition Improvement Fund, or CIF, money for the additional trees in their wards.

The Forestry Commission aims to facilitate the planting of a million trees by 2022 in urban areas offering a range of benefits, including temperature moderation, flood risk mitigation and improved wellbeing – particularly when in close proximity to large populations.

Information reprinted from Slough Borough Council website

https://www.slough.gov.uk/news/newsdetail.aspx?id=22572