Big Dig success on 22 April 2017

The Big Dig day arrived and our core volunteers wondered if other park users would join us in planting edibles in the herb bed.  The Big Dig is an annual event organised by Capital Growth with over 40 community spaces in London taking part:  http://www.capitalgrowth.org/bigdig/   

Poster for our event.

Our group met at the herb bed, part of Capital Growth community garden 797.  Within minutes a new volunteer arrived.

Before long more new volunteers joined us, including children aged between 3 and 5.We set up our table with sign-in sheet along with all the plants and seed packets.

Our table with pots and leaflets and sign-in sheet

Our main focus today was the herb bed, which had been weeded by Nature's Gym volunteers just over two weeks ago. Since then the bindweed contained in this plant bed has regrown so we had to be careful to pull out as much as we could.

We had a plant pot containing a lavender plant, another pot with sage cuttings, 20 mini hand-made paper pots with young broad bean plants, some potato tubers (Alouette variety) which had been chitted, a plant pot with evening primrose and Welsh poppy. The seed packets contained nigella, marigold, Mexican marigold, sunflower seeds and more.
The first task for Mike and Robert was to dig a trench for our 6 potato tubers and to plant 20 broad beans (variety Aquadulce Claudia).
We used some our own home-made compost in the trench and the bean holes. Robert dug the trench.

Potato variety Alouette 

Potatoes in trench on a bed of compost

Sandra raked soil over the potatoes.

Mike cleared an area for planting the broad beans and the photo below shows  the finished result:

                                                                                                 

Kareem planted the evening primrose and Welsh poppy (no photo though) before moving on to the fruit bed and weeding around the raspberry canes.

Our banner was unfurled on the ground and two of our younger helpers wanted to pose for a photo by standing on the corners.

Two young helpers posed for a photo on our banner

Christopher and his mum Emily (no photo, blame the photographer!) worked very hard digging up as much bindweed as they could. Christopher was very good at spotting the bindweed and its roots. They sowed a variety of different seeds including marigolds and Nigella. They made a number of journeys to the toilets by the cafe to fetch water in plastic bottles and water the area. Meanwhile another young helper arrived and he joined in the watering.

Two dads and two boys went to the mini wildflower meadow to sow packs of wild flower seeds and had fun watering them in. (Again no photos. Maybe one of the dads has some?)

After two hours with a mix of hard work and and social chat with other volunteers it was time to pack up. Look for the herb bed and all the things that were planted. We had a lovely morning and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  I hope some of our young helpers will remember to bring watering cans or plastic bottles to water the plants they sowed or planted.

Orchard pruning session 18th Feb 2017

Friends of Mayow Park volunteers gathered for our annual orchard winter pruning and maintenance day. Eight adults and two children came to lend a hand. Our trees are in a public park, where grass mowing it carried out regularly during the summer, where dogs and children run around. The space  is well used. The trees have tree guards around them to offer some protection until they are bigger and stronger.

The trees are dormant now so this is the best time for formative pruning of our apple trees (malus) and pear trees (pyrus) to give them an open shape and encourage flower and fruit growth.

We set to work. First up was a check on the Cox’s Orange Pippin apple to identify fruit buds and leaf buds. We agreed which branches needed removing or having their height reduced, which crossing or crowded branches needed pruning  in order to open out the centre of the tree to allow air and light in.

Should I cut here or here? Cox's orange pippin

Look at what you are doing!

The Jupiter apple is growing noticeably stronger than the others planted at the same time. Maybe it is in a better location for sunlight, maybe it is better placed for moisture to its roots. It had grown much taller than the other trees - too tall.  Its fruit would be difficult to pick. We agreed to remove one of the main vertical limbs and reduce the height of another before tackling lower branches to give a better shape to the tree.

 Trees planted last March (2016) did not need pruning, other than a damaged branch. The height of some of their tree guards was reduced to allow branches to spread.

Two of the volunteers with tools, ladder and a cup of tea

The site is on heavy clay so the soil tends to dry out and crack during dry summer months. Mulching is important for our trees, helping hold moisture in the soil during the summer as well as making it harder for weeds to take hold. The two children had a great time climbing mountains (the pile of wood chip ready for mulching) and digging with trowels; to some extent they helped their mums remove weeds round a  tree and to put a thick layer of mulch around its circumference.

This is how I like to mulch

some of the water shoots in the wheelbarrow

Surveying the work from a height

 As always with outdoor activities, the weather can play an important part in the success of the day. We were lucky as it was relatively warm for this time of year (Around 9 or 10 degrees) with sunshine.

REMEMBERING HILARY

People who have lived in the locality for some years will remember Dr Hilary Graver, known to others as Mrs Hilary Jarrett. Long-time members of  Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP) have very fond memories of her.

Hilary became actively involved with the Friends of Mayow Park in 1996 when it was still known as Mayow Park Users’ Group and she remained very active until 2014. As Chair of FOMP for 5 years and Treasurer of the group for much longer she steered the group through a time when many parks were in decline, her aim always to ensure that Mayow would be a much-loved and well-used park. She pushed for the name change to Friends of Mayow Park in the late 1990s.

In the early days the Friends of Mayow Park held their quarterly meetings in the homes of members. Hilary knew many people in the community and it was not long before she arranged with the then Head of Forest Hill School toallow FOMP to  meet at his school and for him to participate in our meetings. This arrangement continued until Peter Walsh retired as the school Head.

TREES

She believed in the importance of trees to the environment. In Mayow Park, she cared about the magnificent ancient oak trees, which provide a home for many invertebrates, birds and mammals. She, along with husband John and neighbour Bruce, measured the girth of every oak tree and registered the results with the Woodland Trust.

TREE DRESSING

The custom of tree dressing, which takes place annually on the first weekend in December, was embraced by Hilary as a positive community activity in Mayow Park for a number of years, with one particular oak tree being chosen, its long horizontal branch no more than 8 feet above the ground.

Hilary (on right) at Tree Dressing December 2008  © Heather Mallinder

As well as celebrating the ancient trees of Mayow Park, Hilary was keen to get involved with tree planting. In January 2010 the Friends planted a larch, a deciduous conifer, in recognition of the celebration of Tu B’shevat, the Jewish New Year for trees. Hilary was there, spade at the ready, to make sure the tree was well-planted.

Planting a larch behind the bowls green January 2010 © Emma Tarling 

THE COMMUNITY ORCHARD

The first fruit trees were planted in January  2012. Sponsors were invited to come forward to select heritage varieties to buy. Hilary chose and planted Lane’s Prince Albert apple. It was a variety she knew from her childhood. For the next three years, from spring to autumn, she and John came once a week to deliver 20 litres of water to the roots of the tree, to ensure it would grow strong and healthy. Eleven fruit trees were planted in 2012. Since then the orchard has expanded to eighteen trees.

Lane’s Prince Albert apple tree © A Sheridan

WATER FOUNTAIN

Many people like the ornamental, old Victorian drinking water fountain which is a feature in the park. Long ago it went out of use, its lead pipes filled with concrete and the drinking cups removed. There were some who wanted it restored and Hilary took on the task to find out if this would be feasible. She contacted the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association to find out if it would be possible to apply for grants to restore it. She met representatives from that Charity and all concluded that it would it would not be possible. Undaunted, Hilary decided that the way forward would be the installation of a new, modern drinking water fountain, as near as possible to the Victorian one. Her communications with the Drinking Fountain Association went back to 2009.

Fountain with new plaque installed 2014 © A Sheridan

Hilary wanted the public to be aware that the fountain was a contribution from the Friends of Mayow Park with a grant from the Drinking Fountain Association so she ordered this plaque which was installed by Fred Baverstock and his colleague,  Steve.

Plaque located behind drinking fountain © A Sheridan

BOWLS CABINS

Another campaign she led comes to mind: the installation of the bowls cabins on the green so that the bowls club could vacate the pavilion which was in urgent need of refurbishment. Hilary was furious that FOMP had not been fully consulted about plans to install shipping containers between the bowls green and tennis courts. Thanks to her negotiations with Lewisham and her local campaigning, the cabins were finally located in their present position, though she always viewed their current location as the lesser of two evils.

GREEN FLAG

Mayow Park was awarded its first Green Flag in 2011in recognition that the park had reached a certain standard of maintenance and that the local community was actively involved in caring for the park.

October 2011 first Green Flag for Mayow Park  © A Sheridan 

STATE OF THE PATHS

The dangerous state of the paths was a serious cause for concern and Hilary campaigned hard for improvements. From time to time paths were temporarily repaired, but this was never enough. The first genuine improvement was the complete resurfacing of the path parallel to the children’s playground. Sadly, Hilary did not live to celebrate the resurfacing of most of the paths, a task completed in Summer 2016.  

New path towards children's playground July 2011 © A Sheridan

PAST MEMBER  REMEMBERS

Emma, a former member of FOMP, moved away from Sydenham a few years ago. She remembers Hilary’s role in Mayow Park. 

"I first became involved with FOMP at the end of 2008 as I was concerned with the state of the children's play area. At that time, the Mayor of London launched a competition to encourage communities to vote for funding to improve a selection of local parks. 

I remember standing outside the Co-op with Hilary on cold winter days speaking to people about the future of Mayow Park and what was desperately needed to encourage more use. This competition created an awareness of our park within our neighbourhood and a steady flow of funding by other schemes and charities followed, giving us the opportunity to make those necessary improvements for the benefit of everybody in the community." 

    

IN THE NEWS

An article in the Newsshopper January 2009 about  this competition quotes Hilary:

"The park has been badly neglected and has been going downhill since the 70s. All it needs is some tender loving care but it needs the money to do this. Most people want the paths improved, the restoration of the pavilion, and a park keeper so everything can be supervised." 

Unfortunately Mayow Park did not win that competition though one in a neighbouring borough did.

THOUGHTS FROM CLLR SUSAN WISE, A PERRY VALE WARD COUNCILLOR

"Although I had known Hilary for many years, it was a pleasure to work with her when she was Chair of the Friends of Mayow Park and I was Cabinet Member for Lewisham’s Customer Services. Hilary’s commitment to improving the park and ensuring the services it received from Lewisham Council’s parks maintenance were second to none. Her tenacity with issues is expressed in the installation of the new drinking water fountain which was much needed as Mayow Park’s Victorian one had been taken out of use due to its original lead pipes." 

CONCLUSION

It is easy to list the many activities Hilary championed in Mayow Park but it does not in any way convey the amount of documents that had to be read, letter writing, telephone calls (before emails became common place) and meetings that Hilary would have attended to ensure that whilst on her “watch” Mayow Park was the best it could be. 

Hilary remained very active until 2014. Even after that she could be seen taking a daily stroll round the park.

She died on 29^th July 2016 but her dedication to the park will remain a lasting tribute.

Gardening with Glendale 13 Oct 2016

As always when working out of doors, we hope for dry weather. The forecast though was a bit uncertain and there had been rain earlier in the morning. How lucky we were that by 10a.m the rain had passed  and we were soon working hard.
This session saw Glendale managers and Friends of Mayow Park working to tidy up the fruit bed  and the mini wildflower area in the Triangle.
The first task was to remove the stepping logs in the fruit bed. Many logs had been covered by couch grass and those that were still visible were rotting and slippery. In a very short time they had all been moved to create an invertebrate habitat in a corner by the hedgerow. A robin came to join us with the promise of a feast and a frog or two hopped away as we disturbed their hiding place.  Chris wheeled barrow-loads of woodchip to fill the small craters where the logs had been.

new log pile for invertebrates

camouflaged frog

holes to fill in 

The sitting logs near the holly tree and hedgerow needed some remedial work. Some logs had rotted. This was not a problem and in no time the Glendale team had it sorted.

Let's start with this log

warm work - time to remove jackets

The wild flower meadow was taken on by Sandra who cut down all plant matter from the site. Just as well she is not too squeamish as there were slugs and a frog hidden in  the vegetation.

Wild flower meadow cut

canes that were dug up

raspberry patch

Sue and Dave worked on the raspberry patch, pruning most of the canes and digging up some to allow more light in.

Here are some more photos showing the sitting logs, the team and the large pile of garden waste that was generated. All the garden waste will be taken to a depot for shredding and turning into compost.

Mike was skillfully pruning the wild rose bushes at the apex of the Triangle, at the herb bed closest to the cafe, and very visible to people entering the park. The roses are now full of delicious-looking rose hips for the wild animals  so care was needed not to lop them all off. Mike also pruned the hedgerow along one side of the fruit bed and it looks much better now. 

some of the team

the team again

story circle

job done

large pile of gardening waste

another pile of gardening waste

It was great to have the Glendale team  to help us as the fruit bed had become rather overgrown. While the team were in the park they also chopped some brambles in the bushes as these were beginning to spread onto the path and they also tidied up the tree pits around the row silver birch trees in front of the bowls cabins. The Friends of Mayow Park will organise another volunteer workday next month.

Workday at the Triangle on 21st July 2016

Would it be too hot and humid to work in the Triangle garden? That was the question being asked the day before,after one of a series of very hot (over 30 degrees C) and humid days.

Would we have enough volunteers to make a significant impact on the overgrown plant beds?
The rainy weather in May and June, coupled with warmth, had seen a small amount of bindweed turn into a strangling mass of long thin strings winding round our herbs. The herbs had also grown and were falling across the woodchip path throughout the plant bed, hiding the path.

Herb bed looks more like a nature reserve

Hard to know where to begin!

As for the adjacent fruit bed, that too was overgrown. The raspberries were doing very well much to the joy of passers-by who grazed the fruit but the grass had grown so that it was impossible to see the stepping logs and the patch with primroses and blueberries was only visible if you knew it was there. Pulling away the long grass exposed this patch.

Grass removed to expose the blueberries and primroses

The woodland style wood chip bed that meanders behind the hedgerow and in front of the dawn redwood tree to the water fountain was bare and needed a deep layer of fresh wood chips, while the path edge logs were rolling away and needed to be bedded in.  The tree stump 'den' opposite the raspberry bed was shouting for a bit of a trim too.

Tree stump den opposite the raspberry bushes

It turned out to be a reasonable day, hot but not scorching,  with clouds and a light breeze. By 11am the Nature's Gym volunteers, and leaders Jess and Judith, had arrived. Before long the volunteers had done their warm-up exercises, tools were given out and work started. In total, and including Mayow Park volunteers, there were 13 people. 

Working hard at our tasks

Tasks were chosen and everyone got on with the hard work of making the beds look  cared for. We all worked so hard that the time flew but luckily someone realised that we had gone beyond the normal tea time/ lunch break.  Without further ado, hot water flasks came out of the van; tea-bags, coffee, milk and biscuits too. And everyone took a well-deserved breather.

Lunch break on the grass, in the shade of a tree, in front of the cafe

After lunch we all carried on with our tasks. And, as before, we lost track of time. The path by the dawn redwood tree looked better for a good layer of fresh wood chips laid along its length.

Wood chip path by the dawn redwood tree

It was almost time to stop. Two of the volunteers would not give up until they had finished laying wood chip mulch along the path through the herb bed.

The Nature's Gym volunteers were determined to complete the job

We cleared up all the green waste and piled it up ready for the Glendale grounds maintenance team to collect to take to a garden waste recycling centre.

When all was finished, Judith and Jess were finally able to pose for the camera knowing that a huge amount of clearing and tidying had been achieved and that the work of their volunteers was really valued by the Friends of Mayow Park.

It was time to look at the garden and note the cardoon plants, with their purple flowers just emerging atop the tall stem structures. Other park users were also admiring these grand architectural plants and noting the bumble bees flitting between the flowers. 

Cardoon flowers looking beautiful

There is still more work to do as the bindweed has also colonised parts we did not manage to clear. So a call to park users for another workday is on the horizon. 

Thank you to all the Nature's Gym folk who turned up and worked so hard to help.

BIG DIG in Mayow Park 16 April 2016

In total we had twelve adult volunteers and two toddlers taking part in our 2-hour session to tidy the Pavilion Triangle beds. The previous session had been over the Christmas holidays so now we wanted to focus on planting strawberries, first early potatoes as well as weeding, mulching the paths and thinning out some of the herbs  the herb bed.
Here is a photo taken by Lumen showing one of our youngest volunteers working alongside two adults.

Our new A board can be seen in the background by the Park notice board.
And the photo below taken by Carol shows the A board displaying our event poster poster prepared by Jon.

The following photos are taken by Carol and show some of the volunteers at work. Three people joined us who had never volunteered with us before. The park was very busy this morning and a number of people spoke to volunteers about our work.

 
                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                   

What is missing at the moment is a photo showing the huge amount achieved. A brilliant session and many thanks to all those who joined us. It was fun.