RICHMOND BIODIVERSITY GROUP The Biodiversity Group started as sub group of Richmond's LA21 Group formed after the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and commonly referred to as the Earth Summit. As a result of the Richmond LA21 Group merging with Richmond Environment Network in November 2007, the biodiversity group is now part of REN. The Biodiversity Groups' Members represent a range of local interests concerned with wildlife and biodiversity, including the following: BTCV Richmond Environment Agency LBRuT Parks and Open Spaces Department London Natural History Society London Wetland Centre, Barnes London Wildlife Trust Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Parks (Richmond and Bushy) Historic Royal Palaces (Hampton Court Palace & Kew Palace) Thames Landscape Strategy (and its London's Arcadia project) Many of the local environmental groups found in our Groups Database

Our aims

• To identify and protect important and significant wildlife habitats and species in the borough
• To enable all sectors of the local community in Richmond to have safe and easy access to nature
• To encourage all sectors of the local community to cherish and care for their local environment
• To collect information about nature conservation and ensure that it is made more widely available
• To encourage those responsible for larger areas of land to manage it to enhance biodiversity

What does this mean in practice?

Here are some examples of projects that the group has worked on:

• We have produced a leaflet giving details of the wide range of wildlife sites to visit in Richmond and explaining how people can get more involved with the wildlife on their doorsteps.
• We have organised borough-wide 'garden surveys' to find out what wildlife lives in Richmond gardens and to encourage local residents to take an interest in what lives in their gardens. With recent declines in habitats, even the most common species are retreating to gardens as wildlife refuges.
• In 2005, we published the Richmond Biodiversity Action Plan containing individual plans for five habitats and six species. If you would like a hard copy of the BAP pack, please contact Tasha Hunter on 020 8831 6125.

Richmond Biodiversity Group has its own website which is being brought into these pages on this website. Until this happens the old website can be viewed at www.kew.org/richmondbio 25.03.08

Newsletters from the groups:

Information on bees (an extremely important part of food production), can be found on this link http://www.twickenham-bees.org.uk/