Volunteer Spotlight on Chris Rose
“Managing Thames Road Wetland is a year-round operation, with some seasonal changes, rather than being a discreet, compartmentalised ‘project’, so the ‘favourite experience’ is really part of that – watching the successional and other changes, new species turning up and so on.”
Our volunteers are at the heart of what we do at Thames21. They dedicate their time to helping us improve the River Thames and its tributaries, putting in many hours of hard work to make river restoration, citizen science, and data projects thrive.
As part of our Volunteer Spotlight series, Thames21’s Communications Officer, Manuela Rio Tinto, spoke to Chris Rose, who’s a long-serving Volunteer Site Manager of Thames Road Wetland (TRW), a council-owned site at Crayford in the London Borough of Bexley. His achievements were recently recognised when he won a highly commended’ certificate for the 2024 Celia Hensman River Leader of the Year Award.
Please could you tell us about yourself and your background?
I was brought up in the London Borough of Bexley in south-east London and was interested in nature from at least the age of five. It wasn’t something that ran in the family, but I recall my parents letting me listen to Peter Scott wildlife programmes on the radio after my usual bedtimes. I soon decided I wanted to be a ‘naturalist’ as a job when I grew up, quickly realised there was some sort of threat to wildlife and joined a local conservation group at ten. Back in those more innocent days, I was fortunate that various older members (well, they seemed ‘old’ at the time) fostered my enthusiasm and gave me lifts to various meetings.
In 1978, I went to university in Bristol, taking an Honours degree in Zoology and a Masters in reptile thermoregulation, whilst continuing to teach myself species identification, particularly of plants. I came back to Bexley in 2009 but had done much wildlife recording work here whilst visiting family members, especially over the preceding five years, which also gave me an appreciation of the contemporary local conservation challenges. My long-term interest in horticulture has enabled me to spot and identify the not-infrequent garden escapes in what is a suburban area, as well as help with the propagation of rarer plants at the site.
How did you come across Thames21 and how long have you been volunteering with us?
I spent many years working on green politics in a highly flexible part-time capacity, which enabled me to do a lot of weekday volunteering. Back when a proper local newspaper existed, I saw a piece advertising a conservation work session at Foots Cray Meadows, where I joined then Cray Riverkeeper Ashe Hurst and a few others at my first Thames21 event. In early 2010, on the basis that I knew by far and away the most about wildlife of all our local helpers, he asked me if I’d be interested in taking on the role of Volunteer Site Manager of Thames Road Wetland. Bexley Council, as landowner, had asked Thames21 if it would take on the management, and it still supplies some of our funding. This is a 2ha wetland at floodplain level, next to the lower River Cray, that had been (re-)created in 2007 in ‘mitigation’ for road-widening. The canalised and rather less well-known River Wansunt cuts across it. The site falls within the Green Belt and is part of a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.
I felt I had sufficient knowledge to cope with the basics, and could research anything else, so said yes. The staff support meant I wouldn’t be wholly responsible for drumming up volunteers to do the work or have to deal with all the kit. This has remained the case, though I do lead the three non-staffed events we have here each month, as well as doing some solo sessions. The objectives and workplans, which are primarily geared to nature conservation concerns are down to me, while our current incumbent staffer Michael O’Neill deals with the hands-on public ‘engagement’ side of things, whilst I also do a fair amount of social media promotion/education about the wetland and its wildlife.
What do you enjoy the most about volunteering?
I have always been something of a ‘do-er’ and have been actively involved in many of the organisations I’ve ever been involved with, across a range of interests, and freely admit that in the case of TRW, I enjoy the responsibility of being ‘in charge’. A result of this is that I have spent way more time here than anyone else which, coupled, with my wildlife knowledge, has meant that I’ve usually been the first person to ‘capture’ new site records, including for regionally and locally uncommon/rare species such as a fleeting Bittern visit, a Red Kite flyover, Harvest Mice, Small Heath butterfly, Pyramidal Orchid, Brookweed, Hound’s-tongue and most recently the Dogwood Rivet Gall. I have also been able to bring in outside expertise from the London Natural History Society and a local moth-er to significantly bump up the invertebrate species list.
The site is surrounded by man-made embankments, which curtail natural hydrological processes and is not fully fenced which limits grazing possibilities, so much of our time at present is taken up trying to push back Reed which will otherwise reduce floristic diversity and speed up drying out of the site. Our previous manual-only cutting operation is now unable to keep up, so we’re extremely grateful to Thames21 for supplying us with a battery-electric brush-cutter which is making our job much easier, more effective and thus more rewarding.
Tell us about one of your favourite experiences as a Thames21 volunteer.
Managing TRW is a year-round operation, with some seasonal changes, rather than being a discreet, compartmentalised ‘project’, so the ‘favourite experience’ is really part of that – watching the successional and other changes, new species turning up and so on. Insofar as there’s a ‘stand-out’ feature that I had a hand in, it would be using the site for the re-introduction of the nationally scarce Marsh Sow-thistle (Sonchus palustris) to London, courtesy of Dr. Mark Spencer who had saved and grown on seed from the last plant in the capital, which once grew 600m away on Crayford Marshes – before someone destroyed it. Our first planting was in 2011, with the later addition of more specimens cultivated from seeds of those individuals. The originals are still alive, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that the number of self-sown plants really started to take off. We point out this spectacular species when we give a ‘guided tour’. Last year we measured a flower stem at 10ft tall.
In conclusion, all this would not, of course, have been possible without a huge amount of help, with the current core group of Ray, Pamela, Elio, Clare and me, assisted by others who have joined in for a day or three, giving 1,007 volunteer hours over the last 12 months alone. Many thanks are also due to the several different staff members who have supported us at the site during my 14 years at the helm so far.
Fantastic stuff! Thank you for all your dedication and countless hours of work, Chris! We appreciate you!
Are you part of the local community in London? Want to take part in improving your local river? If yes, click on link below to find out more from our events page.
https://www.thames21.org.uk/events/
All are welcome!