- Organizations: London Wildlife Trust, Croydon Natural History Society
- Activities: Free events on urban wildlife
- Purpose: Help residents learn wildlife knowledge
- Location: Croydon area, near London
- Status: Ongoing public engagement opportunities available
On New Year’s Day, David Attenborough’s Wild London, which featured peregrines, foxes, hedgehogs, and parakeets, revealed a side of the capital that most of us are very infrequently able to see.
In this more intimate wildlife documentary than many that the media behemoth has presented over the years, we witnessed 99-year-old Sir David either lying across someone’s lawn in the dusk to get a better look at the local hedgehog or handling a peregrine chick in one of the Gothic towers of the Houses of Parliament.
And about the slugs’, to be honest, startling mating customs.
“Throughout my life, I’ve had the good fortune to travel the world, witnessing many natural spectacles,”
Attenborough said at the start of the programme.
“But this is the place to which I’ve always returned. A sprawling megacity may seem no home for a nature lover like me, but there is a wild side to London.”
Throughout Attenborough’s life, a lot has changed in London, but his favorite Richmond Park seems to have remained mostly unaltered. However, there’s a feeling that London is already a verdant metropolis with gardens and parks.
“London is actually nearly 50% green space,”
stated David Mooney, chief executive of the London Wildlife Trust, which co-produced the show with the BBC. The fauna is flourishing in this enormous metropolis.
Additionally, one of Croydon’s long-standing natural history societies will host some talks in January that may contribute to a better understanding of the city’s wildlife, and the London Wildlife Trust, which oversees some of the city’s open spaces, is now providing opportunities for people who were inspired by Attenborough’s Wild London to get closer to nature.
“Your chance to uncover the wild side of London from your inbox”
is how the London Wildlife Trust describes their email-based urban wildlife course.
A talk by Peter Smith, who says,
“In the 12years I’ve been trapping (and releasing) moths I’ve identified over 400 different species in my Surrey garden.
Join me to explore this hidden pollinator night shift which comprises an amazingly colourful and diverse group of insects, many of them with fascinating stories and histories”.
In the meanwhile, the Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society is hosting three Zoom sessions that will examine different facets of the urban and natural environments.
When Morris started his research about 60 years ago, shockingly little was known about the ecology of one of our most recognizable animals—the hedgehog.
Finding the answers to the most common questions individuals ask will be the main topic of his discussion. The current state of the hedgehog’s decline and what we can do to save this adorable animal will be discussed.
Mick Taylor of the Wandle Industrial Museum will examine the river’s historical features, including its sources, uses of its water, and changes in its route.
What free events are Croydon Natural History Society running in January?
Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society( CNHSS) is hosting two free drone addresses in January 2026, with booking needed via dispatch.
“The Secret World of Moths” by Peter Smith, covering 400 theater moth species as civic pollinators, their colors, and stories.” Hedgehogs” by Pat Morris, agitating ecology, population declines, and megacity conservation. Dispatch cnhss.info@gmail.com with subject” drone HEDGEHOGS Caller” by 3 pm January 28 for access.
Links transferred on or before event days, subject to vacuity; no entrance figure, though donations appreciated. These complement London Wildlife Trust’s dispatch course on civic species like foxes and parakeets.
