The Friends of Garthorne Road Nature Reserve will continue their monthly conservation workdays throughout the year. We will be doing different tasks ranging from invasive species removal to dead hedge creation.
Please ensure you have protective footwear with steel toe caps if possible
We are Covid safe and have prevention measures in place. Please follow these guide. Because it is a closed site to the public making it easier to maintain social distancing. We’ll be running volunteering a bit differently to keep everyone safe and will be maintaining the following precautions:
Please do not attend if you have symptoms of COVID-19
Please avoid using public transport if you can
Hand washing facilities and hand sanitiser will be available
Please bring your own gardening gloves if you have them? otherwise we will supply you with an clean washed pair of gloves.
We won’t be providing hot drinks or biscuits so please bring your own if you would like to
We will be maintaining a 2m distance at all times
We will be limiting volunteer numbers to 11 including the leader per workday
We will disinfect tools before and after each session
Please wash clothes that you wear to the sessions regularly
We have be doing some heavy tasks and will require steel toe footwear and they will also be some tasks available that don’t require these but if you have some please bring them.
Please bring lunch and drinking water and wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty and sturdy shoes (preferably steel toe cap boots).
Please note there are no toilets on the site but you are welcome to find a bush!
Tickets will be offered on a first come first serve basis. There will be a waitlist so if you book a ticket but something comes up and you can no longer attend please cancel your ticket on Eventbrite so that it will become available for someone else.
Many thanks and see you soon!
If you have any questions please get in contact us:
Garthorne Road Nature Reserve is pleased to announce and been recognised and awarded as a Green Flag Award Community Winner. This is a key criterion for the Green Flag Community Award as it looks to how well the site relates to and encompasses the local and wider community.
Welcoming Place
Healthy, Safe and Secure
Well maintain and Clean
Environmental management
Biodiversity, Landscape and Heritage
Community Involvement
After 18 months that have seen our parks and green spaces play a vital role for people through lockdowns as a place to relax, exercise and meet friends and family safely, the news that Garthorne Road Nature Reserve has achieved the Green Flag Award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the Lewisham Council Conservation team and the reserve’s volunteers in maintaining and open the reserve that make the green space a great space that everyone can enjoy.
The reserve joins Darces Wood in Sydenham as well wider diverse sites as the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, Woodhouse Park in Peterlee and Chiswick Old Cemetery in London.
The Friends are opening the reserve for the last time this season. Come and explore and discover the wildlife. We have a self guided tree trail or a children’s mini beast hunt.
Also author Chris Schuler will also be at the reserve to launch his new book about the Great North Wood which Garthorne Road Nature Reserve was once part of it and contains historic maps and environmental evidence, The Wood That Built London charts the fortunes of the North Wood from its earliest times: its ecology, ownership, management, and the gradual encroachment of the metropolis.
Copies will be available for sale at £15 normally £19.99. (cash only please)
Ours Annual Bake-off and Cake sale was once again a success with very interesting entries from an edible flower cake to an Hungarian cheesecake. We had about 120 visitors and raised about £132.25 towards purchasing interpretation boards for the reserve. Which we had two entries an Adult baker and a Junior baker winners.
Help us to raise money for interpretation boards around the reserve.
There are two trophies to be won – Best Baker and Best Junior Baker. It would be helpful if you could email us in advance at garthorne.reserve@gmail.com letting us know if you plan to enter and in which category you want your cakes judged
• Entries can be either large cakes which we can slice on the day, or cupcake/muffin style cakes in individual cases or wrappers
• All cakes should be brought to the reserve between 13:30 and 14:00 on Saturday 18 September. Judging will take place at 14:00 and it will be followed immediately by a presentation ceremony at which the winners will receive their trophies
• We will be selling cakes during the rest during the open day (14:00-17:00) to raise money towards interpretation boards for the reserve
We was privileged to getting assistance from Network Rail and Mitie employees to clear the historically amount of fly tipped rubbish from behind Beadnell Road houses consisting from garden waste to bedframe to even an old oven and bits of motorbikes. We manage to fill a 10 yard skip which can take about 100 rubbish bags. Also some very angry wasps other wildlife found was several Slow-worms and a new species never recorded on the site Common toad and Sparrowhawk. A big thank-you to the team for all their hard work and Amanda from Network Rail for organising the event.
Common Toad
Common Toad
Female Sparrowhawk
Slow-worm
Slow-worm
Guarding the gate
The poser
One of a couple of dumped water tanks
Beadnell Road entrance
Bagging up old discarded books
More bagging up
Digging deep
Still on guard
Digging even deeper
The team
Workday and wildlife photos with kind permission from Amanda Holland
The Friends of Garthorne Road Nature Reserve is having their next conservation taskday on the following dates. Volunteer  numbers is limited to 10 on first come basis. Â
Please don’t book on to two consecutive session so that everyone gets a chance to volunteer. There will be a waiting list if the session get fully booked if you booked a ticket but something comes up and you can no longer attend please cancel your ticket on Eventbrite so that it will become available for someone else.  We will be doing a range of jobs from controlling invasive species, path edging & dead hedge creation. I hope to do some further volunteer ID training sessions at workdays.
We are Covid safe and have prevention measures in place. Please follow these guide. Because it is a closed site to the public making it easier to maintain social distancing. We’ll be running volunteering a bit differently to keep everyone safe and will be maintaining the following precautions:
Please do not attend if you have symptoms of COVID-19Â
Please avoid using public transport if you can
Hand washing facilities and hand sanitiser will be available
Please bring your own gardening gloves if you have them? otherwise we will supply you with an clean washed pair of gloves.
We won’t be providing hot drinks or biscuits so please bring lunch and drinking water
We will be maintaining a 2m distance at all times
We will be limiting volunteer numbers to 11 including the leader per workday
We will disinfect tools before and after each session   Â
Please wash clothes that you wear to the sessions regularly
We have be doing some heavy tasks and will require steel toe footwear and they will also be some tasks available that don’t require these but if you have some please bring them. and wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty and sturdy shoes (preferably steel toe cap boots)
Please note there are no toilets on the site but you are welcome to find a bush!
If you are going to be late please either text or phone me on 07707023359
We hold ours workdays on the second Saturday of each month throughout the year and the tasks varies month by month from small tree felling to doing surveying for butterflies during the Spring and summer. We have Co-vid prevention in place to protect the volunteers
The friends open the reserve to the public from April to October on the 3rd Saturday of each month April-September and are looking for volunteers to help us?. Â
Garthorne Road Nature Reserve it totally run and maintained by volunteers in partnership with Lewisham Council,  are you interested in getting involved in the Friends of Garthorne Road Nature Reserve (FoGNNR) volunteering as a  committee member or assist in managing the reserve on the  monthly workdays which are either on a Saturday or Sunday you can stay for as little or the whole day as you wish? garthorneroadnaturereserve.com/about/ Â
We are opening the reserve again for families to enjoy the site wildlife. Please wear a mask at the entrance when queuing and keep 2m apart from other parties. No per booking required.
We are opening the reserve for families to enjoy the site wildlife. Please wear a mask at the entrance when queuing and keep 2m apart from other parties.
No booking required. But we still need to follow the CO-VID 19 restrictions. Please either walk or cycle if possible you can secure your bike inside the reserve limited space avaible and avoid using public transport.
The site is open on the 3rd Saturday of the month between April – October between 12noon – 4pm. A member of the Friends Group will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.
Other Open Days dates. (Booking is not required)
Saturday 21st August Saturday 18th September Saturday 16th October
Terms & Conditions
Masks will not be required when walking around the reserve, but please wear them while waiting to come in to the site. Hand gel is available at the gate for visitors to use.
Please wear suitable clothing & footwear for the weather.
Please follow the sites directorial signage and instruction from the volunteers.
Sorry no BBQ’s allowed on the site.
Sorry No Dogs or motorised scooters are not allowed on the reserve.
The open days may be cancelled at very short notice due to weather conditions or availability of volunteers.
Start times may be subject to changes times at a short notice .
The volunteers reserve the right If anyone that is abusive towards them and will be asked to leave the reserve and will be ban from entering in the future.