it might be a bit of a mess for a few weeks but there is water in the Langley Pond again. Hurrah! As promised the works have started to desilt our ponds and restore them to something that is pleasant to look at and good for wildlife. Works on the middle ponds will follow and include some partial dams on the streams that feed them to try to collect silt before it gets to the main ponds. This might make it easier to desilt in future years.

The orchard group is still hard at work and has put in several wildflower areas in the last few weeks and we are hoping shortly to make a ‘dead hedge’ along the bridle path so as to stop the brambles encroaching and provide a refuge for wildlife. Thanks to Chris G for this pictorial explanation.

We are planning to hold this year’s AGM for Friends of Emersons Green Park at the Langley Arms on Monday Nov 22nd at 7pm. The management committee will be elected and we will be thinking about plans for the coming year. All are invited. The formal meeting will end at around 8pm and then those who would like to are invited to stay on for a meal together (on a pay for your own basis). Please let me know if you are coming and if you will be staying for the meal via the comment on this blog or otherwise, so we have some idea of numbers.

Finally I thought some of you might be interested in an ebook that I have just published about the environmental crisis. It is a serious-minded book, but to give you a flavour, the first chapter opens with a scene from the orchard and the conclusion includes these words

The book offers an opportunity to create a movement in the world that is composed of ordinary people, who are not necessarily environmental activists. In fact, activism of any sort may not be their thing. But they can see their way to taking part in a festival that celebrates the earth. They can see the possibility of developing a local community orchard or garden. Or even forming a community agriculture project. They can sense the importance of setting aside land for nature. And in doing these things they will change inside. Their imaginations will grow. Their community will be strengthened. And one day the earth will feel like home.

You can access the ebook here

It was a great time, wonderful weather and, at times, deeply moving. Thanks to all those who contributed to making the Three Greens Festival such a success. The parade was magnificent, full of colour and celebration. Apple pressing and wood weaving proved fascinating and the variety of music much appreciated. Brigstowe Village band in all their costumes.; Clube De Choro with a taste of South America and then in the evening Francisco and Emily brought us music, like few of us have heard before. Meanwhile Ed was taking trails round our nature heartlands and Shaun introduced us to the wildflowers. And there it was, Hobby horse and straw bales, stretch tent and hazel sculpture, Lyde and Emersons together, celebrating our relationship with the Earth.

We chose the date to coincide, as near as we could, with the Autumn Equinox, the time when day and night are the same length all round the Earth. And when it came round to the next Saturday, I realised how fortunate we had been, because it hammered down with rain. Should we do it again? What do you think?

Moving on from the festival, you will be interested to hear that major works are about to take place in the Park. In a few weeks time expect to see diggers and lorries engaged in desilting our ponds as well as others managing trees and generally improving the area around the ponds so as to encourage biodiversity. The ponds have been almost totally silted up this year, so this is all very welcome, even if it will cause some disruption in the short term. Our thanks to South Glos for keeping us in the picture.

Festival organisers met last night and decided, for a number of reasons, including some Covid complications, that we should combine the Emersons and Lyde parades, pool our resources this year and have just one parade that starts at the Langley Arms.

So come and join us at the Langley on Saturday morning. Wear your hats if you have made one. Bring some flowers or other things from nature if you can, but don’t worry, we plan to supply some flowers. Suggested gathering time 9.45am ready for a 10am start.

Please spread the word about this change.

This Saturday September 25th, we look forward to welcoming you to The Three Greens Festival. To greet you on the day will be this sculpture, made in hazel by Chrissie from the Orchard, which we hope to populate with flowers and other things from nature that you bring.

All the events, including the wildlife trails and the evening concert, have places available, so feel free to pitch up on the day. We have a beautiful set of photos from our photographic competition to show you. Apples are ready for pressing. The musicians are practising. And the main tent will soon be erected on site. This is roughly how the day looks in terms of events. You will notice that we have lost the Tai Chi ( due to a Covid problem), and we now have a community litter picking event through the afternoon. Thanks to Kate for organising this.

And here is a list of attractions and where you can find them.

You can find more information in our programme here

Some say that wildflowers are the key. The flowers nourish the insects. The insects feed the birds and so it goes on. Yet, sadly, we have lost 97% of our wildflower meadows in the UK.

Look closely at this ragwort and you will see that it is entertaining a host of bees and other insects.

Grow Wilder have a wildflower nursery and loads of information about wildflowers and we are delighted to report that Shaun Waycott, the wildflower nursery manager will be with us at The Three Greens Festival on September 25th and will be leading a wildflower walk at 1.30pm. You can sign on to this walk at the main tent on the day.

And to inspire you. Here is an example of a mini-wildflower meadow that Chrissie has done in her garden. The goldfinches clearly love it.

Wildflowers look to me a bit like those colourful hats that Dee is encouraging us to make for the parades at the festival. If you missed the workshop, she has made it into a film which is here. The Parades will set out at 10am on the 25th from the Langley Arms and from Lyde Green Community Centre. Come and join us. Wear a hat or carry some flowers!

An outine programme for the Three Greens Festival is available to download here. Don’t forget to book for the wildlife trails and the evening concert.

Also last call for photos and poems. I found Francesca’s photography walk inspiring. Why not have a go yourself? The competitions close on Saturday 18th. Send them to friendsegpark@gmail.com.

You are invited to join a wildlife trail at The Three Green’s Festival on Sept 25th in the company of naturalist Ed Drewitt. Expect to encounter nature all around us and visit some very special places. Walks last for around one hour.

11am Trail One

We cross the park to head down the ancient Drove Road to Dibden Farm, follow the watercourse to a little-known pond near the garage, and then cross to discover the lake near the Science Park, which hosts numerous waterfowl and wildflowers. Heron and Little Egrets are regularly seen here. Back via new paths in Lyde Green and Newlands Bridge.

Book places on this trail here.

1pm Trail Two

We cross over into Lyde Green via Newlands Bridge, turn left on a new path and pick up the old Housemoor Lane. We follow this to Lyde Green Common, a vital place for nature amidst the new development, where we learn from Ed about its potential. Back via the Dramway if time permits.

Book places on this trail here.

3 pm Trail Three

We cross the park to Emersons Green Common, a great example of a wildflower meadow, going on up Emersons Green Lane to find The Chain and Wheels Earth Sculpture, built alongside the Ring Road and now bursting with wildlife. Expect an extraordinary profusion of plants and wildflowers and, if you are lucky, a green woodpecker.

Book places on this trail here.

These trails will begin from reception at the main tent. They are designed for adults and accompanied young people over 10 years old. Suggest wear walking shoes. There may be mud.

The workshops with Jonny Fluffypunk were great fun. Getting into poetry seems to be something like getting into yourself, your feelings and your imagination. If you missed the workshop we would still love to receive your poems on the theme of green for the festival. (send them to friendsegpark@gmail.com by Sept 18th)

We are also ready and waiting to receive your nature photos. I know there are lots of keen photographers out there, so please consider submitting something to the festival. For those who would like some tips on nature photography the walk with photography trainer Francesca Mcoll has been rearranged for next Tuesday 7th September. You can book your place on this photographic walk here. (submit your entries to the competition please by email to friendsegpark@gmail.com by Sept 18th)

Dee Moxon also led a superb workshop on making hats for the parades and has put it up for us to watch. You can find it here. I hope you enjoy making them. Someone said there is going to be a prize for the best hats!

For our evening event on September 25th, The Three Greens Festival lifts its eyes to the wider world and to South America whose people and forests are so important to the Earth. We offer an evening full of varied Latin American guitar music.

“Música de la Tierrita” means music from the homeland and is the title of Francisco Correa’s worldwide acclaimed debut CD of solo guitar music from Boyacá, Colombia.

Francisco will be performing some of these pieces, alongside some flute and guitar duos, and some Latin American folk songs with flautist and singer Emily Andrews.

Francisco and Emily are internationally acclaimed musicians living in the local area and recently hosted the remarkable Ham Farm Festival at their home.
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The concert will take place in the Village Hall and starts at 8pm on festival day, September 25^th. Tickets are £15 full price, £10 for concessions and £5 for children under 14, and should be booked in advance from Eventbrite.

A poster for the whole festival is now available on our Three Greens Festival page. More details will follow.

It may be hard to believe but otters have been spotted in Emersons Green.

Check out this piece of film recorded in a garden near the park.

The film is two clips that have been spliced together, that is why there is some discontinuity. Expert naturalist Ed Drewitt confirms that these are definitely two otters and they will have made their way to us from the river Frome.

This is a really exciting finding. Otters were in danger of going extinct just a few decades ago, due to loss of habitat and rivers being polluted with noxious chemicals. But they are now making a comeback! This pair may be making occasional visits to us, rather than living in the park. There is so much we don’t know at this stage but there was another similar sighting last February.

Otters seem to be colonising some unusual spaces. some have even been spotted going about their business in Singapore city. See this Youtube film about them.

In other news – some local people may have been perturbed by the sight of workers with theodolites surveying the park. I have asked South Glos about this and the project is to create a ‘topographical survey’ of the park with a view to future work. There is a plan to improve the path network. We can also expect some desilting works in the ponds over the next few months. These will cause some immediate disruption and some trees will be cleared, but it will help in the longer term to unclog our waterways and increase their wildlife interest.

Finally – look out for The Three Greens Festival – coming to the Park on Sept 25th. Details to follow shortly.

Everyone says ‘So who is the third Green?’ There is Emersons and Lyde, but who is the third? The answer is in the focus of the festival. It is the Earth. The Three Greens Festival is designed to bring the whole community together to celebrate all that we are doing in our relationship with the Earth. The Festival is on September 25^th and it is time to get ready.

We are planning a fancy dress sustainable transport parade moving through our communities on foot, by scooter, bike and by all things electric. And to make that fun we want to dress up. We could dress up ourselves, or our bikes, or whatever. And to help, there is an opportunity to join carnival artist Dee Moxon to create fabulous head wear from recycled materials at one of her workshops.

We are also hoping to tap into our creative juices and try our hand at poetry on the theme of Green with the help of Jonny Fluffypunk, who is running workshops to help us write and enter the festival poetry competition. Jonny says ‘So proud to be part of this Festival!!..Suitable for both complete beginners and confirmed poets, we’ll explore the subject from different angles using a range of prompts and exercises. There’ll be colourful scribbling involved for the kids, too (and the adults, if they want).’

Nature will be a main focus of the day, of course, and to prepare, why not hone your photography skills by joining photographer Francesca McColl for a walk as she encourages you to explore your local area and take some amazing photos. The festival will host a photographic competition on the theme of Nature so this is a great opportunity to find those magical images.

To book tickets and find more details

for Emersons Green Library, go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/south-gloucestershire…

or for Lyde Green Community Centre, go to https://buytickets.at/lgca.