Garden in the park day……..warm thanks to all the volunteers and helpers……..
We had a superb Garden in the Park session yesterday Saturday 20th June 2026 – managed to catch up on many parts of the park before the anticipated heat wave sets in.
Masses got done thanks to the efforts of Anne B, Ann C, Bruno, Dena, Ed, Glen, Hannah C, Hannah W, Janette, Joya, Julia, Mark M, Mark S, Nici, Mike, Shereen and Timothy. And a special welcome to new members Dena, Hannah W, and Shereen.
Accomplishments included:
- Weeding the new grasses bed at the Peel Moat entrance.
- Weeding and trimming the all or parts of the Cloverleaf beds, Long Bed, Centre Isle, Star Bed and Border
- Adding fertilizer to the Star Bed lawn
- Watering the Wild Corner Willow Crescent and several shrubs donated by Sustainable Living in the Heatons.
- Trimming back overhanging brambles and other growth in the Wild Corner.
- Digging out bindweed from the compost area
- Mulching flower beds with compost
- Rescuing a Weigela and other plants in the Tennis quadrant corner from ivy
- Deadheading geums and other flowers to promote a second flowering.
Great to see everyone and to see the park looking better all the time.
Garden days for the rest of 2026:
(Always 3rd Saturday of the Month)
Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
Saturday, 15 Aug 2026
Saturday, 19 Sep 2026
Saturday, 17 Oct 2026
Saturday, 21 Nov 2026
22/6/2026
Cuckoos in the park……. Sadly it seems no cuckoos have been heard calling in the park this summer. Nor have there been sightings of the meadow pipit, the ground lark or the cuckoo’s nurse. There seems to have been a decline in the bird nationally….. https://www.bto.org/get-involved/volunteer/projects/cuckoo-tracking/about
….. Not only is it a fascinating bird ornithologically, but the folklore attached to it is often engrossing and spell binding. For example, the Irish Folklore Commission has this story of why the cuckoo lays eggs in other birds’ nests …..
There is a story told of the time the Holy Family were flying from King Herods soldiers. The Blessed Virgin took shelter under a poplar tree. The cuckoo had her nest in the poplar tree and was on the nest most of the time. It is said that the poplar trembled with fear from that to this day the poplar is trembling and the cowardly cuckoo flew from the tree and alarmed the whole place singing cuckoo’. The story tells that from that day to this the cuckoo never has a nest of her own.
Dogs in the park… the number and variety of the dogs in the park are one of its greatest pleasures. Dogs live in the present and have no pretensions; the philosophy of cynicism originates from the Ancient Greek work kynikos, which means “dog like”. Adherents to the school of cynicism live by natural instincts, and reject wealth, power and social conventions. A famous cynic, Diogenes, is often portrayed with a dog. In mythology they often function as psychopomps and divine companions.
Dog owners tend to talk to each other, with a much reduced risk of social isolation; dogs get people moving, which has physical benefits and owning a dog is good for your heart. ……..
Dog Ownership and Cardiovascular Health: Results From the Kardiovize 2030 Project……… https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2019.07.007
An interesting study has been published on the topic of dogs in art.
Formally, dogs are there in art because they organize the visual space of an image and the ways we are asked to respond to it. They point to things, they tell us where to look, they make connections both between things in the image and gesture to us as observers of the image. They don’t all do it in the same way. Some-times it is perspective that they help create; sometimes looking out at a great expanse; sometimes intimate close looking and pointing……
Digitisation at Kew……..Kew Gardens has completed a four-year project to digitise all 7.4 million fungi and herbarium specimens in its collection, including samples collected by Darwin. The entire archive is now free-to-access online; Kew’s executive director of science, Alexandre Antonelli, said the £15m project will help to ‘democratise knowledge’.
https://www.kew.org/science/digitising-kews-collections
The news comes as Kew publishes its sixth report on the world’s plants and fungi. Subtitled ‘The Digital Biodiversity Revolution’, it argues that technology can be nature’s ally, with digital tools and AI exposing critical research gaps and highlighting where action is most urgently needed.
https://www.kew.org/science/state-of-the-worlds-plants-and-fungi
Rights of nature ……… A bill to recognise nature’s intrinsic rights, backed by former Green Party leader Baroness Natalie Bennett, has had its first reading in the House of Lords. The Nature’s Rights Bill marks the first time that legislation dealing with nature’s rights has been formally considered at Westminster, reflecting a growing campaign to give nature legal standing. The Bill would recognise Nature as a legal entity with enforceable rights, establishing a clear foundation for protection and regeneration. Other elements include a legal duty on individuals, businesses and public bodies to operate within safe ecological limits, and Bioregional Councils to address local challenges.
https://www.natures-rights.org/uk-bill
Gardening and the park.…. a new UK wide partnership to supercharge community gardening and benefit more people has been set up by RHS, Hubbub and Social Farms & Gardens…https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/news/new-uk-wide-partnership-to-supercharge-community-gardening-and-benefit-more-people
Government Estate Nature Plan (GENP)……
This is is a coordinated UK strategy launched to manage over 577,000 hectares of public land in England (about 4% of the country’s total land area) for nature recovery and climate resilience.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-estate-nature-plan-genp
Scouse Flowerhouse – seven years powering the wildflower revolution .news from Liverpool……
Scouse Flowerhouse is an organisation dedicated to bringing wildflowers and creative ecology projects to areas across Liverpool connecting people to the land around them. The network of wildflower sites is such a success that it functions as essential urban infrastructure and is now affiliated to the Eden Project.
Squirrels and the park…..UK Squirrel Accord, strategy 2026-2031 …….UK Squirrel Accord is a UK-wide partnership of 48 leading conservation and forestry organisations, Government agencies and companies, with links to voluntary red squirrel conservation groups .https://squirrelaccord.uk
In many Norse myths, the humble squirrel carries messages from the base of the sacred tree Yggdrasil, through all nine worlds, to its top.
Urban planning….Should animals have a say in urban planning? Milan’s quirky animal parliament gives pigeons, foxes and bugs a voice…..They are gathering for the first Parliament of Living Species, hoping to convince policymakers to consider them when making decisions about what to build and where in Italy’s second biggest city.
Each of the fifty animals – voiced by masked human representatives and selected for their vulnerability to urban development – calls Milan home, residing in its buildings, parks and waterfront areas.