Slimewatch

How often does one look at the mud in the Creek and not think anything at all?  If we were to think about it, what questions would arise?  Where does it come from?  Does it serve any purpose?  Why does it change colour?  Why are the swans seeming to feed on it?  What are they eating? Click here to find out more about this new project: Slimewatch2.

Our collaboration with filmmaker Susi Arnott, who established Slimewatch, aims to address questions surrounding the brown ooze found in Deptford. This ooze is home to a fascinating microscopic community of organisms. Upon being observed under a powerful magnification of 400x, a whole new world is revealed. This world is populated by photosynthetic organisms known as algae. They exist in a liminal space between the animal and plant kingdoms, as they are capable of both photosynthesizing like plants and moving around like animals.

The Slimewatch project aims to discover more about these organisms, such as whether we can identify and count them, and how the colour of the mud relates to what we see under a microscope. We are currently testing our collection and recording methods with volunteers on Wednesdays. In Spring/Summer, when the colours become more apparent, we will be holding public events for people to come and explore further about algae in the Creek.

Phycology is the study of algae; we were visited by Dr Martyn Kelly, who is a phycologist and included his visit on his blog, microscopesandmonsters (wordpress.com).

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