Gardening day in the park………21st February…..
A very productive day – warm thanks to all the volunteers…..
Much work was done…..
They rescued a rhododendron, dogwood, rose, Chinese barbury and a mature tree from encroaching ivy, nearby shrubs (and other plants I don’t know the name of) – you could almost feel them breathing a sigh of relief from their former strangulation.
They prepared a portion of the Wildflower Crescent for more wildflower plugs and seeds to be added in March, taking out grass but preserving flowers already in situ……..
Refreshed the star border with better delineation between the grass (such as it is) and the border; planted some new plants*, moved around some other plants and generally gave the entrance from Buckingham Road a bigger and more pleasing impact.
After some discussion, designed and built the first half of a new willow structure, ‘the Willow Circle in the Wild Corner’ using Willow whips and Hazel canes*, occasionally press-ganging those wielding wheelbarrows of compost into digging the semi-circular trench.
Moved a full tonne of free, newly delivered compost**, wheelbarrow by MANY wheelbarrows, to various parts of the park, including the 12 new plants from the SLH grant, the freed up rhododendron, roses by the tennis courts, the Star Bed Border and Willow Circle.
Cleared a load of leaves and other debris from the tennis court.
Put together a second ‘Rotary Garden Soil Sieve 18L Heavy Duty Steel Rotating Compost Sifter Riddle’ AKA Posh Sieve.
Completed a cork audit of Easter Egg Corks (count is now about 5K)
Put up signs around the park advertising the Easter Egg Hunt
Took photos for (an eventual) web post and Facebook link……..
The next Garden day will be Saturday 21st March 2026), 10-12noon, please meet at the Gardener’s Shed. Volunteers needed, all cordially invited…..
USA -state birds……..A new study shows that tens of millions of Americans could lose the chance to see their state bird due to climate change. Americans’ likelihood of encountering their state birds in their neighborhoods is likely to change in 47 states.
The Bird Gap: Using U.S. State Birds as Indicators of Climate Impacts and Nature Access Across Racial Groups https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111667
Parakeets…….. there now seems to be a big flock of ring-necked parakeets ( psittacula krameri) in the park. There is a story, very probably apocryphal, of Jimi Hendrix releasing a pair in London as a gesture of peace. More likely, the complex forces of trade and empire brought numbers of them here, and there were subsequently many escapes from captivity, mostly small-scale and accidental. They flourished, established a population in many cities, and are now identified as a “problem” or threat to native birds. Blame the victim.
https://www.flocktogether.world/latest/an-immigrant-story
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/ring-necked-parakeets-in-london-and-uk.html
Frogs and toads……… never seen in the park, sadly. The Freshwater Habitats Trust runs a Common Toad and Common Frog survey and a newt survey from 1st April -31st March 2026 https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/advice-resources/survey-methods-hub/amphibian-surveys/
Moss…..there is a great deal of moss in the park………unobtrusive, silent, mysterious – a very common bryophyte. A very innovative research project, Thinking with moss, invites the reader to explore new models for how we think, design and develop digital collections and archives that speak to the invisible or under attended histories of the natural sciences. Using moss as a guide and thinking device, it examines modern botanical science as emergent from the dynamics of colonial enterprise and of the labor of many unacknowledged figures and their violently suppressed knowledge and practices, working across the span of empire’s reach……… https://www.thinkingwithmoss.net/
Marcescence ……. There are many dead leaves on trees in the park, and in surrounding roads. Dead leaves staying on trees usually happens because an early, sharp freeze stops the tree from forming “abscission cells” that break the leaf stem.
Not all temperate deciduous trees are leafless in winter: The curious case of marcescence …….. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4410
Feeding the birds…….many take very great pleasure in feeding the wonderful birds to be found in Heaton Moor. There is a multi-billion dollar global industry dedicated to feeding wild birds in residential gardens. This extraordinary boost to food resources is almost certainly reshaping entire bird communities, yet the large-scale, long-term impacts on community ecology remain unknown…… The composition of British bird communities is associated with long-term garden bird feeding……. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10111-5
Feeding birds is prohibited in the park, as it was felt by residents that it was encouraging rats – the rodent, not the human, kind. Rat activity in the UK has significantly increased over the last year, thought to be due to a record hot summer and wet weather. However, in New York City, with its legendary rats, the very severe winter seems to have depleted the population.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/28/new-york-city-rat-population-decline
The ever resourceful Romans did not find rats to be a problem……
Commercial events in public parks…….. an interesting example from Newcastle. Newcastle City Council gave control of thirty three parks to a charity called Urban Green Newcastle in 2019. Perhaps the idea was the same as for the privatization of water: there would be investment, and savings over a 125 year lease. The council agreed to provide subsidies until the scheme was well established. However in 2025, the Council took back control. Covid did not help, but inter alia, a major dispute had arisen over the right to stage big music festivals in Exhibition Park, which had been seen as a key revenue stream.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3e4v74z8zqo
Access to parks….. The 2025 Green Space Index focuses on the accessibility of playing fields across Great Britain. It highlights declining opportunities for outdoor sport and recreation, with far-reaching implications for health and wellbeing. 45% of people do not live within a ten-minute walk of a playing field.
https://fieldsintrust.org/insights/green-space-index
Wimbledon Park……. The controversy over the proposed expansion of Wimbledon Tennis Club by expanding into Wimbledon park rumbles on. The campaign group, Save Wimbledon Park, are in a “David and Goliath” struggle……
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2l2kl5rl4o
https://www.savewimbledonpark.org
