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To look at the Isle of Wight Green Gym web page (contains details of sessions etc) please use the following link :- www.iwgreengym.org.uk.

The link to Twitter is https://twitter.com/iwgreengym

If you would like to leave us any comments then please use this link iwgreengym@gmail.com

Wednesday 25 June 2014

Wed 25th June 2014 - Play Lane Millennium Green, Haylands.

Carrie's Photographs.




Mark's Photographs.






One of the really nice bits about having a GG session at the Millennium Green is getting there! Due to local parking restrictions on the roads close to the site, we have to park in Binstead Estate then walk through the woods, following the stream as we go. Once we had all assembled, Mark and several of the Green trustees showed us around the jobs that required our attention. The main jobs were to clear accumulated mud from under the boardwalk, tackle overgrown areas of woodland, trim back this year's growth along the footpaths and give the whole area a "once over". We might have been a bit down on attendance this week but all the main jobs were completed, thereby helping to keep this wonderful area in prime condition. Mark and a couple of GGmers took some samples from the stream to establish exactly what is living in the water - this included fresh water shrimp and a leech (see below). With the sun shining overhead and numerous butterflies flittering around, it was a very enjoyable session.

Kick Sampling in the stream.

The idea is to GENTLY disturb the stream bed with your foot (NOT huge kicks!) then net whatever you flush out. This gives a good idea of what is living along that stretch of stream and also the water quality. This is a continuation of the sampling carried out when we visited the site back on May 14th 2014. The following text was written then..

We decided to survey the Binstead Stream this week in order to gauge how rich it was as a habitat and to help with deciding the best way to manage it.  Some members of our group who are actually pupils of St Georges School, gamely undertook the survey task.  It involved as you will see from the photos, them 'Kick Sampling' the stream by standing in the flowing water, agitating the stream bed with their feet while catching any invertebrates disturbed by that action in their net held downstream.  We found that the stream was actually home to lots of invertebrates but not a huge range of biodiversity (range of species).  Freshwater Shrimps were the species most frequently seen, along with Bloodworms.  As an indicator of pollution the checking of invertebrates in ponds and streams can tell us a lot.  The Bloodworms are very tolerant and can be found in moderately polluted water, however the Shrimps are much less so and would indicate possibly only 'some' pollution .  If nymph stages of insects are there however it indicates clean water and one nymph was seen, (Mark - not seen by myself so species not clarified) we will most likely recheck on our next visit.


Freshwater shrimp.


Water Cricket Nymph.


Many thanks to Carrie and Mark for submitting the photographs this week.


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