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One of London's most exciting creative spaces, Cody Dock provides a gateway to the Lea River Park and is home to a gallery, gardens, cafe & bar that make this the perfect pit stop for exploring The Line Sculpture trail and Lower Lea River. We'd love to hear from any UCL students who'd like to volunteer with us.
We are looking for a few people interested in exploring a fascinating word of moths of Cody Dock. We would like to better understand which species are found in the area to get a clearer picture of the health of different habitats. This is intended to be a long-term monitoring project which will provide a valuable measure of biodiversity change in a rapidly changing landscape where habitats are being lost through property development.
Duties
Early arrival (7am) at Cody Dock to examine the light trap(s) for moths & other invertebrates
Identification of moth species
Photographing each moth & uploading data to iNaturalist/iRecord (tbc)
Maintaining a spreadsheet of all moth records & environmental variables
Who will the volunteers be working with?
Volunteers will work with Gino- Biodiversity Officer at Cody Dock. He holds a BSc in Biodiversity and Conservation from Birkbeck College and an MSc in Ecology and Evolution from Queen Mary University of London where he also worked as a research assistant. Previous employers have included the Field Studies Council, University College London, Forestry Commission and Bethnal Green Nature Reserve. Gino has also volunteered on a number of different conservation projects with organisations such as the Natural History Museum, Zoological Society of London and London Wildlife Trust. He is an active biological recorder and is involved with the London Natural History Society and a number of other recording societies.
Training
What we will provide:
Training in creating and maintaining a biological recording database
Training in moth species identification
Experience using other forms of moth attractant i.e. pheromone lures, wine ropes etc.
Access to our Biodiversity Officer and Education Officer
All equipment and any required PPE
Training in data management (and possibly statistical analysis & interpretation)
We’re looking for a small group of people (up to 5) who can commit to coming to Cody Dock in the early morning - at least once a week at 7am - to examine the light trap(s) and record the contents. It is anticipated that each session could last one to two hours. There will also be opportunities to be involved with night-time trapping and use of pheromone lures during the day. We can be flexible with which days the regular volunteering would run on, but initial training may be on specific dates with times yet to be confirmed. This project is anticipated to run for 5 years so that we can collect as much data as possible, but you do not need to commit to the entire duration of the project. This project can start with training as soon as possible after 26 June.
This organisation is one of our community partner organisations.
Like all volunteer recruiters we work with, they have signed up to our service standards, agreeing to abide by our policy on partnership working to keep you safe and supported whilst you volunteer.
You’ll never be out of pocket for volunteering through us – with in-London travel expenses to and from your volunteering guaranteed.
In addition, the team here at Students’ Union UCL Volunteering Service is here to support you throughout your volunteering journey – you can get in touch with us at any time.