Greetings friends,
It is amazing to have a park as beautiful as this one. The new leaves of spring are fairly pulsing with life, while the moorhens are busy with their new chicks. This one is carrying a mouthful home to a chick, I think.

Sue reports ‘Not so many bluebells as last year hope that’s just the odd weather we’ve had, I have seen the heron  picking out small fish and dispatching them with a slam of his head, fascinating to watch,and today spotted a male orange tip butterfly flying up and down the hedge rows.’

Tony has also reported that he is compiling a list of our wild flowers.

I was captivated by this thrush high up in the Ash tree near Adderley gate.

The Ash trees in the park all seem well. It seems that Ash Die back has not yet struck this part of the country, except in nurseries. Its presence in the wild is concentrated in East Anglia. A new citizen science project has been announced last week to monitor the health of Ash trees across the UK.  Maybe we should register ours? More details here.

Please note that the planned work session on the orchard has been moved from this Saturday May 21st to next Saturday 28th, same time 10am, all invited.

Also you might be interested to attend the ‘Annual Town Meeting’ this week on Thursday 19th May 7.30pm at the Cullimore Room in the Village Hall. We have been invited as a local group. I know that some of us will be there.

Dear Friends of Emersons Green Park,

It seems like it can’t quite decide whether to be winter or summer – so that must mean it is spring! A careful look at the trees shows many about to come into leaf. The blackthorn is flowering abundantly and I have been having fun trying to learn some bird calls. Sue has reported a pair of buzzards overhead. Are they nesting near?

This month I thought it would be good to introduce you to the orchard. Hidden away in the southwest corner of the park, over the footbridge, you will discover a fairly higgledy piggledy patch of planting that is just beginning to mature. There are several traditional apple trees, a damson, a local variety of plum and lots of other interesting plants, which you might not immediately recognise.

Like this ‘Strawberry Tree’. A small tree near the centre of the patch surrounded by apples, it bears a strawberry ‘look alike’ fruit around December time. Ours has not yet fruited but it may soon.

Also you might be interested in this. it’s official name is Rubus tricolour or ground cover raspberry. We are using it to ‘take a patch’ of land from the grass and it is working well.

Another thing we have done to stop grasses taking everything over is to sow some ‘Yellow Rattle’. Two patches were seeded  last autumn with this rather special wildflower, which takes nutrients from grass roots. We are hoping it will come up shortly and I will post a photo.

Here is a pic of some of us you may recognise.

We keep the orchard going with occasional work sessions on a Saturday from 10 -12. We would love some more help so, if you would like to, please join us at the orchard this year on

April 23rd
May 21st
June 25th
July 23rd
Aug 20th
Sept 24th

See you there if you can make it.

Chris

Spending time in the park over the last few weeks has been a delight. At last, I saw the kingfisher, flying over the middle pond, then swooping over the raised bank going downstream. It is clearly the common Kingfisher with the blue back and bronze chest and I have recorded this on our iNaturalist pages. I also saw a fox last week, at about 8am in the morning near the stream. Amazing! I feared for the ducks!

A few of us met recently and decided to take forward our ‘Everything that Lives’ in the park project. it is now listed on iNaturalist as a project called ‘Emersons Green Park‘ and you will see our first observations there, including the fox and the kingfisher. I also uploaded some pictures of the frogs and frogspawn on the Langley pond that Sue reported. You are all invited to post your observations there. Or, If you prefer to go low tech then simply send your observations to me (chris.sunderland@blueyonder.co.uk ) , preferably with a photo, saying who you are, what you saw, when you saw it and where it was.
Cataloguing Everything that Lives in the park may be slightly overwhelming at first, so why not take something that interests you, maybe, the trees for instance. I don’t know if you have come across the Know your place site that serves the Bristol area. it provides old maps of the area that actually overlay with today’s maps, so you can see how an area has changed. If you do this for the park, you see that there are two areas of ancient woodland. One is Green Lane, as we would expect . The other is the line of trees and dense undergrowth near Adderly Gate. (shown here)

I had noticed how this area seemed to be particularly teeming with birds. Maybe this would be a good place to start our Everything that lives project? What sorts of birds, trees and shrubs can you identify in this area?

Enjoy the Spring.

Chris

Several people have told me that they have caught a glimpse of a Kingfisher in the park. Sue reported it to us on this site and since then, several others have seen it. What fantastic news! I wonder if anyone could get a picture of it? That may be a hard ask given how fast they move.

The winter, as we all know, has been extraordinarily warm and wet. The ground in the park has been saturated for weeks now. Throw a ball for the dog and it goes splosh, rather than bouncing. The wildlife has also been fooled by the warmth with flowers blooming really early. This cherry plum, near the toddler play park was out on the first of January and daffodils have been up for weeks now.

Over the winter period I have been thinking that it might be really interesting to launch a project to try to identify ‘Everything that Lives‘ in the park. Some of us joined in the inspiring Wildwood events last year with Ed Drewitt and others helping us to appreciate the wildlife that exists in our park. I wonder if we could build on that to establish a project that sets itself to identify all the trees, grasses, birds and bats, all that lives in the streams and ponds, in fact ‘everything that lives’ in the park?

Everyone could join in, young and old, and we might use one of the simple web tools like inaturalist that allows you simply to  take a photo and upload it to the site with its location and offers help in making the identification. It can also catalogue sound (eg of birds) and digital film and has an app for using a mobile phone. You might like to check this out  and see our project already listed with the Cherry Plum observation as an example here

For those who do not like this sort of technical approach I am sure we can find other ways of doing it as well.

i have also wondered whether we might be able to host some events with Ed Drewitt and others to help us move things along.

If you are interested in this project and how we might do it, you are invited to a meeting at our house, 50 Guest Avenue, on Tuesday 16th February at 8pm so we can chat through its potential. To help with numbers please let me know you are coming by emailing me at chris.sunderland@blueyonder.co.uk

Finally, here is one creature that has been braving the weather in the top of a tree, a thrush enjoying the morning sunshine.

Many of our members will be aware of the development of Lyde Green across the ring road, but you may not have heard that a large piece of common land in that area has recently come under threat of ‘deregistration’. This process could eventually result on this ancient plot of land being built on. From what we have  learnt from the development of land in our area, one of the best decisions the planners ever made was to set aside an area for the park and preserve its established trees and hedgerows. I sense that our park is something truly precious to us a a community and I am confident that many of us feel the same. For that reason I offer a link here to a petition started by Beverley at the parish office, opposing this change to the status of the common land in Lyde Green. You may also like to write to commonlandcasework@pins.gsi.gov.uk detailing your comments on this proposal.

Those who have enjoyed the Wildwood series of events this year will be interested to hear about Forget Hollywood, it’s Wildwood! at Resound on Friday 30 October, 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm.  This is the final event in the Wildwood natural neighbours programme of events. The main attraction for the night will be a screening of the highly acclaimed, funny and inspiring film, Project Wild Thing. According to the Guardian: a film to ‘change your life’. This link will take you to a trailer of the film.  Naturalist and wildlife detective, Ed Drewitt will host an informal discussion after the film for an opportunity to ask questions and talk about issues raised in the film. The evening will also include a short presentation documenting Wildwood natural neighbours. Look out for yourselves starring in this one!  Finally, after their superstar appearance at The Twilight Zone event, Avon Hawk and Owl Trust will be making a special appearance. Forget Hollywood, it’s Wildwood!  is a free event. However, any donation you make toward the evening will go to Avon Hawk and Owl Trust.

Pictures this week include the park in autumn, the new herb garden in the orchard and a view of my wheelbarrow full of harvest, some of which are red grapes from the orchard, which will turn into wine to be shared!

Dear Friends of the Park,
With schools back and the rains come, it looks like Autumn will soon be here. The conkers are falling and the sloes are looking really good, so whether its fights with nuts on string or concocting some fruity gin, its all happening at the Park.

I thought you might like to hear about
A Fruitful Gathering which is the next and last in the Wildwood series of nature trails this year. Those who enjoyed an extraordinary evening in the park a month or so ago with owls and moths and bats are likely to enjoy next Sunday’s event. It begins at 12.30 at Resound Community Centre and will take a walk up Dibden Lane with Ed Drewett, who will show us the wild harvest in our hedgerows, then go into the allotment site and hear from some enthusiasts there about what they do and why. Finish by 1.30pm. See you there.

Also to say that our last orchard gathering of the year will take place on Saturday 26th of September from 10-12 as usual, when we shall complete preparation of our new herb bed.

Summer holidays and we have wind and rain, but the park is looking great. The good news is that the moorhen chicks appear to have made it through to maturity. Here are a couple of them dabbling away.

There is an event on August 18th that you might be interested in. It is called Twilight Zone and will be held on Tuesday 18 August 8.30 pm to 10.30 pm. Starting at Resound Community Church, Blackhorse Road, Mangotsfield, Bristol, South Glocestershire BS16 9BP.

Close up portrait of a barn owl (Tyto alba)

Enjoy a display of the silent flight of owls from Avon Hawk and Owl Trust and take the opportunity to find out more about these magical animals from an owl expert. Help set a moth trap with an insect specialist to lure tiny nocturnal creatures from the dark. Then take a guided walk with naturalist Ed Drewitt to seek out the wonderful and elusive nightlife in woodland around Emersons Green Village Park.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.To find out more or to book a place, please contact Penney penney.ellis@photo-sensitive.co.uk  or 07896 315778

Orchard Jottings
On the other side of the park, in the orchard,  this Charles Ross apple tree is beginning to show its potential. A few apples this year and the promise of many to come in future years.

Also to show you a newcomer to the orchard. This is a thornless blackberry. Ripening slightly before the hedgerow variety and very kind on the picker! Just a few this year, more when it is established.

Our next orchard work session will be on August 22nd at 10am as usual and we will be laying the foundation of a new herb bed, to provide all your culinary herbs.

Have a good summer!

Many of you will know Joy and Margaret. They have been picking up litter in the park and making friends with people in the process for a long time now. Many of you, who joined the Friends of the Park group, will have been invited to do so by Joy as you met her on her rounds. It is with some sadness then that I report that Joy and Margaret feel that it is time to step down from their commitment and retire from their litter picking role.  They have soldiered on, I understand, for more than eight years , which is an extraordinary stint and I know we will miss them greatly. We may wonder what difference will be made to the Park as the litter, especially after those hot days, is not cleared, but I guess at this moment the Friends would just want me to wish Joy and Margaret our very best wishes and to say a big thank you from us all.

The park has become a truly beautiful place again this summer and seems to have recovered from the depradations of last year in fine style. The ponds, now desilted, are brimming with wildlife. I took this picture of what I take to be a two pairs of demoiselle flies mating on some vegetation lying on the north pond. I have also heard reports of moorhen chicks and am hoping they manage to lie low enough from the various predators around.

in the orchard there will soon be some raspberries to take if you would like some and there remain a few gooseberries.

Also, I hope you won’t mind me mentioning an event that I am leading in the library on July 9th entitled ‘Working for a Sustainable City’ and introducing people to a new way of sourcing our food from local producers that Bobbie and I have been working on. i hope you might be able to join us. More details here.

Best wishes for the sunshine. 30 degrees possible later this week!

I wonder how many of us are aware of the beautiful lane that runs up the West side of the park

Green Lane in May with bluebells

from the Langley Arms to Emersons Green Lane. It is often very muddy and requiring wellies but just now the ground is firm and the sights are gorgeous. When I am there I feel like I am truly in the countryside.

Also in the orchard just now there is an unusual type of young tree in flower called an Autumn Olive. There are two of them and they are growing really well. I am assured that the fruits are edible by Martin Crawford – forest gardening expert. See his book on the subject.

autumn olive in flower

On a more troubling note, there are two issues that continue to adversely affect us.

Firstly the stagnant stream under the footbridge remains poor and continually accumulates litter. I wonder what you think might be done here. Ralph suggested connecting the two water courses near the footbridge so as to drain the offensive stream. (The new cut is lower than the original one). I also wondered if we could create a reed bed in the mud so as to neutralise any noxious tendencies. What do you think? I would be glad to hear your views.

Also there is the trolley problem. It seems that most weeks, one or more Sainsburys trolleys gets dumped in the park. I know that we have a number to ring and they will pick up etc, but should we really have to do this? Is it not time that they used a device to keep their trolleys where they should be. Do you think we should approach Sainsbury’s about this?

Let me know what you think by posting a comment and I will report back to you all on what happens.

Chris

With spring now in full flow and the park looking exceptionally beautiful, I thought Friends
might be interested in hearing about the orchard.

The orchard, Spring 2015might be interested in hearing a little about the orchard and what it is trying to do.

Emersons Green Community Orchard is situated in the South West corner of the park, over the footbridge and now ringed by ‘dragon’s teeth’ posts. It was started about four years ago when a few of us got together and, with the council’s approval, began the long process of developing an orchard. Our idea was to do the orchard on ‘Forest Garden’ principles. That means that it should not just be a set of fruit trees, but become a whole ecosystem in itself, supporting fruit at ground level, at shrub level and at tree level.  The intention is that the area should have a semi-wild feel, not a manicured garden, so as to give space to wildlife and to allow us to sense the habitat’s unique properties.

You will find in the garden at this point, six different varieties of apple tree, two plum and a damson.It will take at least five more years for this top fruit to reach maturity.

The Bramley Seedling tree, note goblet shaped framework, expertly pruned by Graham Whitedamson. These form the top layer. These trees will take at least another five years to get

Underneath and between them you may recognise, raspberry, jostaberry (cross between blackcurrant and gooseberry), blackcurrant, redcurrant, white currant, gooseberry, kiwi, red grape, and, as of last Saturday, two thornless domestic blackberries.
On the ground layer we have Rubus Tricolour – a ground cover raspberry, Some conventional strawberries,(just coming), some woodland strawberries and some rhubarb (not yet fully established)

To support the kiwi and grape and provide nitrogen to the soil, you will find green alder.
And to add interest we also have two autumn olive bushes, a strawberry tree, a selection of herbs like St  John’s Wort.

The idea is that park users can help themselves to fruit providing

• it is ripe
• no one takes more than a third of what is one any one bush
  That way we all get to share. I will try to alert people to what is ripe as it comes into season.

The hope is that as the garden matures we may do apple pressing and other celebrations during the year.

I hope you like the idea of the garden. A team of us keeps it going with a short session on

First session April 2015 plus me on the other end of the camera

Saturdays (10am to 12 noon) during the season.

The dates for 2015 are:
May 16^th
June 20^th
July 18^th
Aug 22^nd
Sept 26^th

We would love you to join us. The more the merrier! – and the more we can get done.

We can also accept donations to a fund for plants and materials (which will be accounted for as a ring fenced fund by the charity Project Agora through a local steering group). Let me know if that is of interest.