The session at Hanger Hill Tiny Forest was the final event in GoodGym Ealing's London Climate Action Week agenda, organised in partnership with Earthwatch Europe. Over the course of the week, we surveyed three of the Tiny Forests planted within the last two years across the borough, helping Earthwatch monitor biodiversity and track the development of these young urban forests.

On a very hot Tuesday evening, we decided not to go ahead with the planned group run ahead of our task. Having assessed the risks posed by the extreme heat, we opted instead for a lighter approach to the session. Steph Ducat and Kash walked together to the task, while Amy arrived by bike. Everyone came well prepared with plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Compared with our wildlife surveys in Southall and Cuckoo Park, Hanger Hill appeared to host slightly fewer butterflies and insects. There could be several explanations for this. The forest had fewer flowering plants than the other sites, making it less attractive to pollinators. We were also surveying in the evening rather than around midday, when insect activity is often higher. Or perhaps, in the midst of the extreme heat, the insects had sensibly decided to stay out of the sun and keep cool.

While insect numbers seemed lower, the trees themselves were thriving. In fact, Hanger Hill Tiny Forest appeared to have the tallest and densest tree growth of any Tiny Forest we have surveyed this year. There were also noticeably fewer weeds and grasses competing with the young trees than at the other sites, suggesting the forest is developing particularly well.

Unfortunately, most of the tiles normally used to protect the ground dwellers had been removed from their original positions and stacked together at the edge of the forest. This limited Steph's search, but he still managed to find ants, larvae and a spider beneath the few remaining tiles. Amy, who described herself as a beginner in wildlife identification, took on the butterfly survey and did a great job identifying species with the help of Earthwatch's guide. Meanwhile, Kash completed the pollinator survey, recording mostly flies and other small insects rather than the bees and bumblebees we had seen elsewhere.

With the survey finished and the sun only beginning to dip lower in the sky, the team headed home on foot and by bike. Some of us even made it back in time to watch the football!

Next Tuesday, with temperatures hopefully returning to something more reasonable, we'll be resuming our runs and heading to a different corner of the borough. We'll be visiting the William Hobbayne Centre in Hanwell to help tidy and weed the back garden ahead of an event the charity is hosting the following weekend. We'd love to see you there!