Grove Park Carnival
Sunday 1st September 2024
This was our third visit to the Grove Park Carnival, an annual event in Chinbrook Meadows in south-east London, which includes lots of stalls, a dog show, a funfair and a parade. Lisa Ashby, Nigel Ashby and Alan Wood shared a gazebo with the environmental charity Thames21, next to the Friends of Chinbrook Meadows and ChART gazebo.
Friends, Quekett and Thames21 gazebos
On previous visits, we have sampled from the River Quaggy, but there is a new wetland on the other side of the railway line and Nigel Ashby collected samples from the ponds. A polluted ditch used to discharge into the Quaggy, but it has now been diverted through a series of four ponds that remove some of the pollutants from the water before it reaches the Quaggy.
To collect samples, Nigel used a plankton net attached to a Leeda R2062 Power Landing Handle that extends to 3.1 metres.
Nigel Ashby collecting from a pond with blanket weed
Nigel Ashby collecting from a pond with duckweed
Nigel Ashby examining the catch
Thames21 provided a plastic aquarium with a battery-powered aerator so there was plenty of room for Nigel’s samples.
Aquarium
To examine the specimens, Lisa and Nigel brought two small battery-powered microscopes, a stereo and a Telmu inverted. The same inverted microscope is available with IQCrew and Amscope brands. Alan brought his Olympus SZ4045 stereomicroscope with a battery-operated LED ring-light.
Small microscopes
To help identify the specimens, we used two laminated guides and a copy of Collins Field Guide to Freshwater Life (the 1986 edition by R. Fitter & R. Manuel, very popular with Quekett members).
Identification guides
We gave away lots of Quekett leaflets, which are also available as free PDFs.
Quekett leaflets
Aquarium contents (filamentous algae, duckweed and detritus)
We used pipettes and small spoons to transfer specimens from the aquarium into small Petri dishes so that we could use the microscopes to show them to visitors.
Water slater, freshwater shrimp and mayfly nymph
The specimens that we found included water slaters (Asellus aquaticus), freshwater shrimps (Gammarus pulex), mayfly nymphs, mosquito larvae, rat-tailed maggots (larvae of Eristalis hover-flies), greater water boatmen (backswimmers, Notonecta sp.), lesser water boatmen (Corixidae), ostracods, waterfleas, pond snails and brown hydra (Hydra oligactis). Dragonfly larvae and a water scorpion (Nepa cinerea) have also recently been found in the new ponds.
Lisa Ashby (right) with visitors
Adult visitors
Young visitors with aquarium
Young visitors with microscopes
Chinbrook Meadows Wetlands
Thames21 and several other organisations have been working for several years on a plan to reduce pollution entering the River Quaggy from a ditch. The ditch has now been diverted so that the water runs through a series of four shallow ponds in a newly-created wetland. Hundreds of plants have been introduced to create wildflower meadows around the ponds. There are paths and boardwalk dipping platforms to allow people to explore the new wetlands.
Wetland proposals
Excavations
The new wetland was officially opened at 3:00 p.m. when Jo Goad (Thames21) told us about the large number of organisations and people who have contributed to the project before Anne Slater (Friends of Chinbrook Meadows) cut the ribbon.
Jo Goad, with Carolina Pinto and Anne Slater
Anne Slater cutting the ribbon
Water samples show a substantial decrease in phosphate and ammonium from the first to the fourth ponds. The first ponds have a lot of blanket weed that thrives with high nutrient content, while the fourth pond is covered in duckweed.
The ponds have been colonised by plants and animals astonishingly quickly, so there were plenty of interesting things for the Quekett to show to visitors to the Carnival.
Volunteers planting in December 2023
New pond with blanket weed
New pond with duckweed
Grove Park Carnival
A large number of local families attended the Carnival. Attractions included a parade, a land train, stalls (selling handicrafts, toys, pet supplies, snacks, drinks, etcetera), a funfair for the children, and a dog show.
Parade
Land train
Wood carvings
Pizzas
Refreshments
Roundabout
Report and most photographs by Alan Wood