Volunteers at Sevenoaks station have helped create a mini nature reserve, leaving plants in the taxi rank bank to grow, monitoring all the species – flora and fauna – that emerge. So far volunteer Laura Duncan has noted no fewer than 37 plant species, with a bug count underway too.

It turns out that one of the Southeastern station staff is a bug enthusiast so will be helping the group log these with his equally keen children too. The volunteers are engaged in citizen science using iRecord to give precise locations for flora and fauna found. Laura has been writing a blog about all that she has found and we have been designing signs to let the public know about our work, with QR codes linking people to Laura’s inspiring writing. We hope the public will understand why it all looks a bit overgrown while this work is carried out. Who knew so much nature could offer us when given a chance?

If anyone else would like to help us, do take a photograph of anything you notice (flora and fauna!) at the station and upload it to iRecord giving the time and place you saw it. And if anyone would like to help with station volunteering, get in touch with Laura on lauramargaritaduncan@gmail.com or Sarah Newman, local rail officer for the Darent Valley Community Rail Partnership (sarah.newman@sevenoaks.gov.uk) , both coordinating all projects.