workday session on 5th November

November can be rather unpredictable weather-wise so we were delighted that the forecast was for a dry day with some sunshine.
Friends of Mayow Park(FOMP)  had arranged with Glendale Lewisham (who manage the park) that they would come and do some necessary maintenance work with FOMP volunteers working alongside.
Some Glendale staff worked on planned maintenance work elsewhere around the park making the place look and sound like a hive of activity.
We've been awarded funding for more picnic benches - some at the other side of the park and  some for the picnic area, which is why we were sprucing it up.

Overgrown hedge hides seating

We wanted to tidy up the picnic area, clear away some of the overgrown hedge behind the space, tidy up the picnic benches which we acquired some years ago, clean up the sitting benches beside the overgrown hedge and refurbish the triangular green metal picnic table so it will be available to use for many more years.

Glendale brought equipment to cut back the hedge, water to jet wash the picnic benches, sand paper and paint.
While FOMP volunteers and some Glendale staff worked in the picnic area, others removed an old, battered and untidy noticeboard which had long stopped being useful. It took much effort to dig up the concrete base of that one and we were too busy working capture the effort on camera. They also repaired the other noticeboard facing the children's playground and picnic area.

scraping and sanding old paint and rust

sanded and ready for painting

primed and undercoated

First coat of green paint

Did all this effort make a difference?

The seating is visible

Hedge cleared, picnic bench painted

Paint for the picnic benches

We did one more special thing: Mayow Park, along with quite a few other Lewisham parks, was awarded another Green Flag. Glendale, with Pippa's help,  took down the old flag and put up the new one.

Pippa helps remove old flag 2018/19

Pippa prepares to hoist the new flag 2019/20

And then it was time for a group photo, but some were too busy to join us.

Some of us gathered for a photo opportunity

Thanks go to the Glendale managers and all their maintenance crew for coming along to enable FOMP to work alongside them.

New sign for the orchard 28 March 2017

"Where is the Mayow Park community orchard? I didn't know there was one in the park."
This is a frequent question and comment.
When people are shown the trees near the tennis courts that make the orchard,  they confirm that they have seen the trees but have never realised that they are an orchard.
There was a sign at the orchard back in 2012 but it was vandalised and had to be removed.
We now have a wonderful new laminated sign.
This new sign was prepared by the Friends of Mayow Park working with The Orchard Project, Greenscene and Glendale.
Steve, Glendale's 'maintenance man' as I like to call him, made a wooden board for the new sign back at the workshop.
Today, 28th March, Steve and his team put the sign up. Thank you guys!
In the longer term we hope to get a more permanent sign.
Look at the orchard when you visit the park over the coming days as some of the trees are coming into blossom. The two plum trees are already in flower. Some of the apples and pears will be next but one apple tree is very late flowering- called Crawley Beauty.

Green Flag raised 19 September 2016

We learned back in July that Mayow Park was one of a number of Lewisham parks awarded another Green Flag. The judges  visited a few months earlier, inspected the park, spoke to park users as well as Glendale and Lewisham officers. They had to judge against the following criteria:

• A welcoming place
• Healthy, safe and secure
• Clean and well maintained
• Conservation and heritage
• Sustainable management
• Community involvement
• Marketing and promotion
• Management and future plans

Thinking about those criteria, the onus is not just on Glendale, the contractors,  to manage the park to a satisfactory level according to their contract with Lewisham Council's Greenscene department but also for them to engage with the community. It is also up to the park-using community to show how we care about the park and are willing to make efforts to make it the friendly place it is. The list of different groups that use the park is long so apologies for missing any group:

• families with young children
• people who visit the Cafe 
• Grow Mayow visitors
• young people who use the park to meet friends
• adults using the park for relaxation and socialisation
• tennis players
• fitness enthusiasts
• dog walkers
• people who choose to walk through the park rather than along roads
• children's football clubs
• cricket players
• wildlife enthusiasts (invertebrates, birds, bats, trees and plants come to mind)

Today, Monday 19th September 2016, was the day the new Green Flag was raised by Glendale officers and staff. Steve, (the maintenance man as he is affectionately known), prepared the new flag and hoisted it, assisted by Chris Thompson and Darren Budden with some of the Friends of Mayow Park  present.

Steve checks the pole is steady

Steve balances on his step ladder to lower the old flag

New flag unfurled 

                                                   Steve carefully attaches new flag    

                                                                                                                                                                   

Chris makes sure the correct flag is being raised

                   

Job done and Steve packs away his step ladder

     Mayow Park  has many regular users who care about the park. Thank you everyone who puts in the effort to make it such a welcoming green space.              

PATH RESURFACING WORK JUNE 2016

Most of our regular park users will be delighted to see that work has started to resurface the worst sections of path in Mayow Park. The last major work on sections of path was completed in July 2011; it went from the Recreation Road entrance and the holm oak (the climbing tree)  along past the children's playground and then stopped. It included wooden boards for neat path edging and was very much appreciated. The path was now safer for toddlers and young children learning to ride their bikes.
That was only a fraction of the remedial path work identified but it was very costly. Officers from Lewisham Greenscene had worked hard to find sufficient funds while Glendale discussed with Friends of Mayow Park what was proposed and which stretch of path. Glendale officers organised the works and supervised contractors.  We knew it would be a long time before we would see works to other stretches of path. So this week brought good news when contractors and their vehicles arrived to start work on the path going east from the children's playground.  Other stretches of path will also be resurfaced - look out for the yellow marks at the worst locations.  But there is not enough funding to do the whole park.

Clear signage for park usres

contractor vehicles at the ready

Path edging timber clearly visible on the left of the path

Close-up of path timber edging

Clear view of  curving timber edging board showing path outline

Mayow Park gets spruced up

Over the last few weeks, in anticipation of spring weather, some  grounds maintenance and improvements have taken place in Mayow Park, with positive comments  from park users. The surface under the tennis table was so bad that people stopped playing.

ground under table tennis table

The ground was uneven and very muddy after rain. Glendale was informed and within a few days the surface under the table had been renewed.

fresh new surface under the table

The children's playground has had ongoing problems withe muddy ground under the 'mushrooms' and circus for sometime. This bit of the playground is very well used, the ground gets compacted and  clay subsoil makes the problem worse.

muddy mushrooms before works

muddy mushrooms from another angle

The photos above show how muddy the ground became. The Friends of Mayow Park had a walk around the park with a Glendale manager a few weeks ago and raised concerns from parents about the state of this part of the playground. Glendale discussed with the Friends group what would be the best long-term solution. A possible option was to dig a pit in the area of the mushrooms and circus and fill with bark chips. This has worked successfully under the wooden climbing frame and under the play equipment in the old paddling pool. Glendale agreed to do this work as soon as feasible.
Today, 27th April, the work we had been promised was undertaken and completed.
 A team of Glendale grounds maintenance staff came along with a lorry full of bark chips. They dug  the pit, removed the soil to be used elsewhere and filled the pit to a good depth with barks chips. They also renewed the chips under the play equipment in the former paddling pool area.

fresh, deep mulch among the mushrooms

bark chip mulch should improve drainage

Bark mulch top up under equipment in former paddling pool

Glendale informed the Friends group that the following works would be undertaken in the next few weeks:

●     Creation of a small bark pit around the mushrooms in the play area to prevent waterlogging  This was completed on 27th April 2016

●     Repairs to areas of chainlink fencing at the back of the trim trail and towards Thriftwood entrance

●     Replacement of 2 support posts to shelter on edge of cricket field

●     Topping up of play bark to main play area and cable slide.(done) 

Grass cutting has also been a problem due to saturated ground. There was some grass mowing a couple of weeks ago but it had to be abandoned. It  was more successful today but some areas have had to remain unmown as the ground is still too damp. Despite this the park is looking at its best at the moment.

Looking after the cricket square in Mayow Park

Cricket has made a come-back in Lewisham. Two of its parks, Mayow Park and Hilly Fields, have cricket squares.  Special care is necessary to maintain the squares to a high standard for the cricketers. One man who knows a lot about taking care of these sites is Luke Rayment and I had the good fortune to interview him about his work in mid-September 2015. 

Luke has worked for Glendale Lewisham Grounds Management since 2010 as their cricket groundsman and you may spot him working on site during the cricket season.

Luke maintains the cricket squares in both parks in readiness for weekly matches. His role includes cutting the grass to a specified height, rolling the wickets with a roller machine and marking out the lines in white paint.  He also carries out repairs to the wicket which involves spreading loam and levelling out the site each week. 

Prior to working for Glendale, Luke worked for 11 years to maintain the greens at a golf course. During that time he studied part-time at Hadlow College near Tunbridge Wells for his NVQ2 with training in sports turf management. He enjoyed his work but wanted to move on for his personal professional development.  

When he first started with Glendale he worked alongside two very experienced groundsmen and learned a lot from them. He has attended a number of other courses including Level 1 and Level 2 Foundation training through the English Cricket Board (ECB) where he improved his skills to maintain a cricket square. 

He finds this work very satisfying particularly when he can see the impact he makes on the cricket square. He appreciates the positive feedback he receives from Glendale Lewisham managers, one of whom is a cricket fan.  Park users also show their interest with comments about cricket in Mayow Park and compliments about Luke’s work.

Occasionally he is disappointed by thoughtless behaviour from the public, particularly when people walk across the cricket square, play football and other activities which cause damage. They are not aware of the effort and care that goes into maintaining the site. Fortunately in Mayow Park this is rare.

Luke’s work in our park is special and his satisfaction with what he does is wonderful. Now I know why he always looks cheerful. Thank you, Luke. 

meadow grass cut 19th August 2015

I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago. On 19th August I was hurrying through the park on my way to catch a train but stopped briefly to take two photos of a tractor cutting the long grass in the meadow. It gives Mayow Park a rural feel I think.  I believe the grass in the meadow won't be cut again until spring 2016.

early September and back to school

The park has been very busy throughout the summer holidays, particularly on sunny days. Many families with children of all ages, regular dog walkers, joggers, cricketers and others were out enjoying our local green space. On all but the wettest days there were  people in the park. Glendale cleansing team came daily to empty bins and pick up as much litter as they could see. The cricket square continued to be maintained by Luke from Glendale and some of the cricketers.  The number of children using the park during the week will now reduce rapidly as they go back to school.

The school summer holidays ended with a number of days with seriously heavy rain and the grass just kept on growing. So it was great to see one of the park maintenance people from Glendale today (2nd September 2015) busily strimming the grass verges to keep them tidy and well maintained. I spoke to the man in the photo and he takes pride in his work. It can be a lonely job going round the park strimming the grass edges so if you see him, smile and say 'thank you for helping to keep the park looking good'.

FIDO visits Mayow Park 30th July 2015

I found FIDO and his handler Steve this morning at 9.30 in Mayow Park. They were in the grass area around the dawn redwood tree searching for animal faeces.
FIDO is a specialist dog fouling removal machine (Faeces Intake Disposal Operation), an all-terrain cart able to collect 240 litres of animal mess using its powerful vacuum tube to suck up the mess and into a stainless steel container. And if FIDO cannot get into any corners, Steve comes along with his special poo pick-up stick.

I joined FIDO and Steve for a few minutes to see what we could find in just this small area of the park. Today it seems the main contributions were from the local foxes and these were swiftly picked up. I know families like to picnic in this shady space so it is useful that FIDO comes to visit.
Unfortunately FIDO cannot visit as often as Steve would like because they have to go to other parks in the borough.

Meet FIDO the faeces collection machine

specialist faeces pick-up stick

Thank you to FIDO and Steve for your efforts to keep the park clean.

THREE new lidded bins for Mayow Park 20th July 2015

What a busy Monday morning for the Glendale maintenance team. While two members of the team put up signs in the Triangle, two more arrived with three bins on their van.

One of the dog walkers saw the bins still wrapped up on the van, smiled and said it had made his day!

Most of the open bins were replaced last year with lidded bins. This made a huge difference to the general cleanliness of the park as foxes, crows and squirrels found it harder to get to the litter while they scavenged for food waste and scattered rubbish everywhere. However we still had a few well-used open bins which generated strewn rubbish so we put in a special request for replacements.
With  budgets for parks reduced significantly, we thought the Friends might have to do some fund-raising but Glendale came to our aid. There was a small amount left from the purchase and installation of the outdoor gym and trim trail and the need for bins was a high priority so Glendale agreed to use those funds to help us in our efforts to look after the park. Thank you to Dave and Lee for installing the new bins. They are much appreciated.

team Glendale digging out the foundations of an old open bin

Our regular, responsible dog walkers were particularly pleased about the new bins.
Not only do they throw away  bagged dog waste from their own dogs, they also pick up dog waste that some less responsible dog owners ignore! AND they collect rubbish carelessly left by some others such as cans, cartons, crisp packets and plenty of cigarette stubs. What a credit they are to the park.

One delighted dog owner hides behind bin, watched by bemused dog.

Glendale put up signs in the Triangle 20th July 2015

The start of the school holidays was a good opportunity to do some positive maintenance in Mayow Park. Glendale  manage the public parks in Lewisham  
http://www.glendale-services.co.uk/about/Case-Studies/glendale-lewisham-partnership
Glendale sent their maintenance team to  the park first thing on Monday morning.

Two of the team set to work to put up interpretation boards with signs in the Triangle, so that park visitors will better understand the spaces that Friends of Mayow Park and other park users look after. We have the compost area, the mini wildflower meadow, the herb garden and the fruit garden.

We have three black compost bins for our garden waste

Visitors  like to pick raspberries and smell the herbs. Children like to step on the stepping logs in the fruit garden. Many people meander along the woodchip path beside the Dawn Redwood tree or along the path through the herb garden.

Fruit garden sign with stepping logs behind

The herb garden includes cardoon, which resemble artichokes. The bees love the flowers of this tall plant. Sometimes is gets top-heavy with flowers and falls over!

sign in front of drooping cardoon plant

Glendale van parked nearby

Steve and Leon wasted no time in getting the job done. Thank you guys!

Thank you to Steve and Leon

working with Glendale 30th April 2015

It was a sunny and warm day on Thursday 30th April 2015. Glendale grounds staff and managers joined Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP) to do some serious work in the Triangle and their efforts are greatly appreciated. Glendale previously helped FOMP in February 2014 and I think we were all relieved that today was a warm and sunny day.

At the start of the session our targets were:

• to remove as much bindweed as we could in the herb bed
• clear the woody green waste beside the compost bins
• bed in new wooden sitting logs for children beside the mini wild flower area
• bed in new logs for the windy path
• lay more wood chip on the windy path going past the dawn redwood tree

In the bushes behind our black compost bins was a large pile of green waste, mainly twiggy plants that have been removed from the Triangle beds over the past two years and were too woody to go into our bins. Thanks to Glendale, this unsightly pile (and potential fire hazard) has been removed, taken away to be shredded and turned into compost.

woody plant waste removed

tidying up the compost area

last of the plant waste going on the van

Weeding the herb bed is an on-going task as the soil has plenty of bindweed. Volunteers from Friends of Mayow Park concentrated on weeding out as much bindweed as we could. There is plenty more! If anyone passes by with a trowel and sees bindweed strangling the herbs and strawberries, you are welcome to have a go at digging it up and throwing the weeds in the rubbish bins rather than the compost where it is unlikely rot down completely.

Volunteers weeding among the herbs

A volunteer lost among the herbs!

Some hard physical work by Glendale saw the removal of the rotting log seating and replacement with new logs. This is a space where small groups of little children can gather  or families can sit to have picnics and relax. Luckily, Glendale staff brought bow saws and strong digging implements to complete this task.

new log seating installed and looking great

Another major task was to bed in logs along the windy path and to lay more woodchip. This path and log edging were originally installed by Nature's Gym volunteers. Over the past three years or so some logs have disappeared and the path was looking untidy. It is MUCH better now.

The fruit bushes in the Triangle were not forgotten and received a layer of mulch to help them retain moisture during the summer months.

Darren mulches fruit bushes. At the back  people work on the woodchip path

We stopped for a well-deserved break of tea and biscuits and then back to work to finish as much as possible. Much was achieved by ten people working together as part of a team. The photo below shows only eight people as some are camera-shy.

Our park keeper Ainsley joined in and  it was great for him to work with other grounds staff as a park keeper's job can be lonely at times. The Glendale managers also enjoyed doing some heavy physical work working alongside grounds staff.

From the Friends of Mayow Park volunteers, we say thank you to those from Glendale who came to work with us and made an effort to improve the Triangle. It was a session where so much was achieved.  The space looks much better as a result.