There will be no Lewisham People’s Day in 2019
“People’s Day will return in summer 2020 for its 35th year. In the future it will take place every two years due to government funding cuts.”
More information: https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/events/peoples-day
Lewisham People’s Day
These photos show just some of the many trees at Mountsfield Park and other Lewisham parks that are dead or dying mainly due to strimmer and mower damage by Lewisham Council and their parks and open spaces contractor. Severe soil compaction due to vehicular traffic and drought are also factors contributing to the demise of many of the trees in Lewisham’s parks and open spaces.
The Lewisham Council parks and open space managers instruct the landscape contractor to keep grass short right up to the base of each tree for a tidy appearance and because it is part of the current Lewisham contract specification. Unfortunately the Lewisham parks and open spaces contractor does not have sufficient capacity or resources to achieve a short grass sward next to trees without harming them. The strimmer and mower damage shown below will cause a tree to die quickly or slowly through introduction of disease via cuts and wounds.
Lewisham Council encourages external funding sought by volunteers for new and replacement tree planting eg from London tree and woodland awards, to make London greener, biodiverse, healthier, cleaner, more welcoming and more resilient. The future of existing and newly planted trees in Lewisham’s Parks and open spaces is uncertain if Lewisham Council continues to insist on short neatly cut grass up to the base of each parkland tree. At Hilly Fields park, Lewisham Council has recently experimented with mower and strimmer prohibition near to trees, which has effectively reduced further tree damage there. This approach should be applied by Lewisham’s green space officers and parks staff across the borough to protect trees, unless the Council is willing to invest in a more controlled, better resourced and skilled maintenance of our parks and open spaces.
References: 1. Arboriculture Research Note 1992. Issued by the Arboricultural Advisory & Information Service. Blight to trees caused by vegetation control machinery. D Patch, A Denyer. 2. Arboricultural Journal 2018 vol 40. Effects of strimmer damage to young ash trees. Sally A Shuck and Duncan Slater. 3. Tree Wounds – Invitations to Wood Decay Fungi 2018. Nicole Ward Gauthier, William E. Fountain, Traci Missun. University of Kentucky.
Many thanks to Lewisham’s Nature’s Gym @naturesgymlew volunteers who maintain the wildlife area near to the Carswell Road gate at Mountsfield Park. If you would like to get involved get involved please contact: naturesgym@lewisham.gov.uk
More information:
https://natureconservationlewisham.co.uk/
The following species were identified by Lewisham Nature’s Gym volunteers in the nature conservation area at Mountsfield Park:
The new Beckenham Place Park swimming lake will look something like this, but probably a lot busier on warm days!
Well done Lewisham Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, Land Use Consultants and everyone else that made it happen!
More information:
https://lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/regeneration/improvements-to-parks/beckenhamplacepark/the-lake-in-beckenham-place-park
The land for Mountsfield seems to have been bought around 1845 by Henry Stainton of Springfield House (1). Springfield was at what is now the junction of Rushey Green and Hawstead Road, next to the almshouses…View original post 1,443 more words
Friends of Mountsfield Park will be applying for Lewisham’s new Greening Fund. Please let us have your suggestions so that more people can enjoy Mountsfield Park all year round. Contact: mountsfieldpark@gmail.com
We are pleased to launch the London Borough of Lewisham’s Greening Fund
This is a new and exciting scheme with the objective of making Lewisham Greener and we are calling on all of our established community groups to apply. If you are a volunteer, or part of a community group, working to make the borough greener you can apply for funding through the greening fund.
For more details, please find enclosed the Greening Fund Toolkit and Application Form.
We look forward to receiving your applications and supporting our valued community groups in making improvements to Lewisham’s Open Spaces.
You can contact the Greening Fund Team for more information.
“Useful information and links from the Parks Community UK website about which legal structure should you choose for your group? What should happen at your AGM? What is the role of the chair? Find out here.
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