http://www.flickr.com/photos/25946092@N04/5223773794/in/pool-brockley/#/photos/25946092@N04/5223773794/in/pool-88723785@N00/
In the deep Midwinter
(Thanks to Laurakh’s photostream)
We are coming to the end of a very busy year. We started our events on a very cold January morning with our second Big Bird Watch. Thanks to Lara at Glendale and Keith our bird champion for arranging this.
Later that day, we had an impressive art exhibition at APT studios displaying the artwork for the new playground gates and lots more besides.
We had a table at the Ladywell Assembly in early February, alongside the Bowls Club, promoting many of the park’s events and trying to find a few more volunteers!
There was great excitement at the beginning of February when the playground contractors started on site and lots more when the playground finally opened at the end of May. Our opening event included story telling by ‘Spoken Word’ and a craft workshop. The park was extra busy as it coincided with the Brockley Max. This was another great occasion with Deco Dance Wickerman coming to mind as a highlight, giving the stone circle a new gravitas.
May saw the tulips bloom in the bowls club, and we were back there again this October planting crocus, hyacinths and tulips. Again, courtesy of the Big Bulb Plant.
The park’s busy social calendar continued with the ever popular Brockley Society’s Summer Fair, Transition Brockley were at hand with details of the new orchard project. The Friends don’t have a stall, because we are too busy enjoying the fair. Frozen ground meant that we had to cancel the orchard planting in early December, but all the apple recipes are prepared and awaiting the new year.
We were honoured by the Bubble Theatre’s presence this Summer with their fantastic production of the Sirens of Titan.
We are lucky to have been included in Lewisham’s People and River Project, and had two fascinating talk and walks with Chris McGraw and Nick Bertrand, covering birdsong and the park’s trees.
Along with the Capital Growth grant for the new orchard, we were awarded a sustainability grant for the playground and will be planning story telling, planting (and maybe weeding) and craft events in the coming year. We also have a grant for new trees, which will tie into a long term Tree and Management Plan that we intend to develop in partnership with the Lewisham Tree section.
Our first event next year will be Orchard Planing on 15th January, followed by the Big Bird Watch on 29th January, so lets hope the weather will be a little kinder.