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.

The park is taking on its spring colours with delightful crocuses and daffodils and the few warm days we have had brought many people out into the park. The dogwood seems peculiarly good this year.

Environmental health have reported that unlicensed emissions into the stagnant ditch under the footbridge have been dealt with, but I am not sure this is the case. I have seen recent traces of effluent and will raise the matter with them again. The situation was made worse by a dead trolley this  morning!

Joy and Margaret have spoken to Lee Hayward about the shrubs in the more formal rectangle above the swings area, which are in poor condition. Lee is to plant some new shrubs in spaces and is requesting a review of its management.

One space that I am sure will have attracted your attention is the north pond and the very bare ground around it. There has been little or no regrowth since the clearance last summer. Part of the reason for this is that the desilting works shifted all the topsoil from this area onto the steep banks leading down from the main path. So all that was left was clay, which is holding water and producing algal growth. The good news is that this unsightly situation may be temporary. There are signs now of some grasses and other wetland plants beginning to shoot. So soon it might be green again. I have wondered if this area would benefit from some wildflower seeds being sown?

Finally the new season of work on the orchard begins this week, If any new folk would like to join us, we tend to do 2 hours on a Saturday morning once a month through the season, and this year we are kicking off with some willow planting in a particularly damp area of the orchard. If you would like to join us we should be there from 10am this Saturday 14th.

Some of you may also have seen our new puppy Holly making her first rounds of the park and really enjoying herself!

Freezing mornings and beautiful days. The park is surely at its winter best. On Sunday the swings were packed with families enjoying the cold outside.

The birds have raised the volume a notch and are about to set their nests, while the first bulbs are getting ready to burst forth in colour. Spring will soon be upon us.

With nest boxes in mind – I am pleased to report a new initiative related to the ‘Wildwood’ Development adjacent to Dibden Lane allotments. There is a plan for a range of nature engagement activities this year, starting with ‘Boxing Clever’ on Tuesday 17 February from 9am to 12noon, assembling nesting boxes and bird feeders, then positioning them with a tree ranger. Booking essential go here for more details.

I am also pleased to report that the pollution problem in the stagnant stream by the footbridge has been dealt with. There were some rogue drainage systems and they have been put right.

There have been some truly beautiful dawns over the winter. Here is a pic taken early January.

I look forward to seeing you all as we emerge from hibernation!

As the autumn colours appear in the park, we come to the end of an eventful growing season. Much has been accomplished in the park this year with considerable credit to those involved in the Friends group.

At our initial meeting with South Glos and councillors, we highlighted a string of concerns, many of which have now been dealt with. Here is the latest update.

I am delighted to report that Joy and the litter team’s campaign for a new regime on the bins has been successful and there is now a collection three times a week.

The second attempt at desilting works was completed with great efficiency and we now have our ponds back, complete with moorhens and mallards. We can expect the ground around the north pond (Langley end) to recover over the next few months.

Our concerns about the depth of the culvert near the footbridge have been met by placing stones at the mouth so that there is no slack water and there will be no further erosion here. I have asked South Glos to remove the orange fencing.

Simon pointed out that the bridlepath West of the orchard had overgrown and horses were going round on the main path. I had a go at this at one of our orchard sessions. I hope it is now satisfactory.

I have also heard on the grapevine that some investigations have been made about the waste that was finding its way into the water under the footbridge. This issue may now have been dealt with. I hope to receive confirmation of this.

It seems to me that it is a already proving a good thing to have a team of friends looking out for what is happening in the Park. Enjoy the autumn!

And finally, a researcher from UWE, Glyn Everett, is looking for some people to take part in a survey about parks and how they interact with flood water defences. If you would like to talk to him , he would be very pleased. Contact him by email to Glyn.Everett@uwe.ac.uk . I have done it. It is just a phone call of about 15 mins and is not intrusive in any way.

Chris Sunderland October 27th 2014

This morning (Sept 1st) a large digger made its way up the lane by the Langley to begin the next round of desilting works. No doubt we shall all watch its progress with interest. It should be moving to the South pond next week. Many people will welcome getting these ponds back.

We have also seen the placing of ‘dragons teeth’ posts as a means of demarcating the community orchard.

The orchard is just beginning to mature. Gooseberries and jostaberries have been good this year and, if you know where to look, you can even find some red grapes just now! They are called Triomphe D’Alsace.  Next year we might see some fruit from the apple and plum trees.

We are very pleased to report the removal (at last!) of the offending bollard, so that the council officer should no longer drive his van across the grass and cause the deep rutting

The top area between the ponds has been cut again and is now looking good, as has a similar area on the West side of the South pond.

The litter bins have been a major problem over the summer with Joy and Margaret despairing at times of the service the council have been able to offer. A new regime has been agreed for September, which will be satisfactory if enacted.

John Morris is planning a meeting with a landscape architect to consider the overall situation regarding planting round the ponds. Everyone will be aware that substantial regrowth has occurred this year, with the stumps forming coppiced wood at higher density than before they were cut. We look forward to hearing the plans for the future.

I am thinking we should call a meeting in the autumn to hear South Glos on these longer term plans. It might be to our benefit now if we were a formally constituted group with bank account etc that could receive funds. What do you think? We could vote that into place at our autumn meeting if there was interest to do so.

Finally, to reassure those who are concerned, plans are now in hand for the works  to the deep culvert near Emersons Green Lane and I hope they will be made available to us soon. Also the sludge should be removed from the footbridge area as part of the desilting work.

I hope you all had a good summer. Those of you who knew my dog Bracken might be sad to learn that she died last week. She was a great friend and loved the park.

Chris

Hallo everyone,

I am sure that, like me, you will be enjoying the park this summer. it feels a great privilege to have such an interesting and diverse space so close to our houses. With the wonderful summer weather, there has been substantial growth in all the areas that were close cropped over the winter. In fact in some places I am beginning to wonder whether there was any real point doing the ‘attentuation works’! The regrowth does continue to ask questions about the future management of the space. These are questions we shall pursue with the council over the coming months.

Here are some photos recently taken of the North Pond

and the South Pond

Thank you Sue and Victoria, for your ideas about developing  community responsibility around litter. I gather some Guides are offering to get stuck in. I have also heard from Joy that she has been lobbying to get the litter bins emptied on a Friday so as to  make sure the bins have enough capacity over the weekend. This happened for a few weeks, but last weekend they were not emptied on the Friday and the bin outside the library was set on fire. There was also some other minor vandalism with tree branches being ripped down, spray painting and the surface around one part of the swings being damaged. Disappointing.

Other news in brief:

• The desilting works to the ponds is set for mid August, so this is when to expect our next major upheaval.
• I gather that investigations are continuing about the stagnant stream under the footbridge but have received no news of plans. This area will be desilted in any case, which will help in the short term, but not solve the underlying problem.
• We are still awaiting plans for the culvert where the temporary orange fencing has been placed. The willow is regrowing well around the potentially deep water. It is a pity it was ever removed!
• We are still waiting for the removal of the bollard that causes council vans to foul the grass despite an undertaking that it would be done a fortnight ago.
• The orchard group meets next Saturday July 19th at 10am. We will be laying more membrane and woodchip in preparation for autumn planting

Best wishes for a good summer

Chris Sunderland
July 2014

Hi All,

Summer is truly here and you can almost feel the plants growing! It is delightful to see some regrowth in the bare areas of the park and we have at least some progress to report regarding the issues that have been raised.

Firstly, thank you to Lee Hayward and his team for taking down the nettles that had grown to 3 feet high on the upper surface above the exit from the first drainage pond. One idea is that this area might eventually be planted with fruit trees. It is above the flood catchment.

One very unfortunate happening over the last few weeks was inadvertent mowing of an area of the community orchard with loss of several young trees, including one apple that had been carefully nurtured from a graft two years ago. Profuse apologies have been followed up by a promise of ‘dragon’s teeth’ posts (like upturned logs) along the path on the western side of the footbridge to deter over zealous mowing gangs in the future.

Many people have expressed concern about the deep culvert now temporarily fenced off with orange plastic and the stagnant drainage ditch under the footbridge. Plans are being developed for this area and we have met with the engineers responsible for this work, who have promised to consult us prior to implementation.

The stagnant ditch is also being actively investigated, as to the cause of the pollution there, and will in any case be desilted as part of the wider desilting works set to happen in Mid August.

Lastly – I am assured that the unnecessary bollard on the path near the formal garden is to be removed within the next two weeks  ( message dated 11th  June ). As a result council vans should stop cutting over the grass and gouging great ditches in it. The grass should be reinstated as part of this work.

For your thoughts, comments and action:

• I have seen elsewhere some small, smart-looking signs that say ‘Cyclists, please give way to pedestrians’. I reckon they might be good for the park. Shall I look into getting some for us?
• The hot weather makes for a fun and busy park but produces an enormous littler problem. Any ideas for increasing our sense of community responsibility for this would be much appreciated.
• The Community Orchard Group meets this Saturday 21st June 10am – 12. Come and join us if you would like to.

Chris Sunderland June 2014

Wow it has been a stormy few days! Winds have been howling through the trees and I am not surprised to see one of our small birches having fallen across the North pond.

Since our meeting last month the council have erected a temporary fence around the culvert at the south end of the park near the footbridge. The fence is now splitting a little and no longer a deterrent to access. South Glos have been told about this. South Glos are working on plans for this area of the park and have promised to consult us as soon as they have a proposal. Concerns have been expressed by Friends that we might lose the old established trees along the original stream.

I have heard no further communication about any of the other issues we raised at our meeting,

Currently outstanding are:

• the removal of the bollard (council vans are continuing to drive over the grass as before)
• the stagnant and polluted water at the footbridge
• a litter sweep through the area including removal of tractor tyre
  

At our meeting we also pointed to the fact that removal of the undergrowth would make way for a dense crop of nettles especially on the high ground to the west and just downstream of the first pond. These nettles have indeed grown and are now three feet high. Some might think that they make a poor substitute for the diverse saplings and shrubbery which were there before. We are looking forward to discussing management of this area with South Glos.

Finally, to end on a positive note – the bluebells have been really good this year, and have been made visible by the clearance work.

The Orchard group meets this Saturday  May 17th at 10am. (the ground West of the footbridge) Come and join us if you would like to.