The Friends of Garthorne Road Nature Reserve are continuing their conservation workdays to maintain and preserve the nature reserve and increase the biodiversity.
About this event
As we draw into Autumn/Winter we start getting busy with important work which will involved tasks such as invasive species control, cutting the butterfly scallops to try and increase the number of butterflies species and coppicing some of the trees. Also will be doing some tree ID training for the volunteers.
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 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.
We’ll continue to maintain the following precautions:
Volunteer numbers will be limited.
Please do not attend if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been asked to isolate by the NHS Test and Trace.
If you do have Covid-19 symptoms or need to isolate and get tested, please inform us should you test positive after recently attending a volunteer session. We will then inform other attendees (anonymously) and advise/take the necessary safety precautions.
Hand sanitiser will be available.
We will maintain distance during tasks and refreshment breaks as much as possible, unless the specific task at hand requires closer contact, in which case, the use of masks is advised, but is ultimately at individual’s discretion.
Contact with shared items (including tools) should be minimised and where possible,
On a nice warm winter day three volunteers arrived and once signed in we then go to the railway loop path where we was going to construct a dead hedge from the brash from the Network Rail work which was done to prevent leaves on the line. The volunteers also cut back regrowth of Ash, Sycamore and the invasive Holm Oak also cleared a large oak that had blown over on to the ‘live’ rail and could of caused a problem to commuters?. We tied it with rope and cut it back to the fence-line and incorporated the cut wood in to the dead hedge.
The Friends are restarting their Conservation volunteering after the break and we be extending the session to 2 per month during the winter and will be doing a range of jobs such as constructing dead hedges to clearing invasive species to improve the sites biodiversity if you are interested please click one of the button below to book your place for the forthcoming dates.
Saturday 8th January 2022
and
Saturday 22nd January
Please book your place go to Garthorne Road Nature Reserve volunteering page. Please bring lunch and drinking water and wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty and sturdy shoes (preferably steel toe cap boots). Please bring own work gloves if you have your own?, as we have limited amount and will be washed after use.There is no toilets on site you can find a bush if requiredTickets 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.We’ll continue to maintain the following precautions: Volunteer numbers will be limited per session (may increase or decrease depending on site/activity).Please do not attend if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been asked to isolate by the NHS Test and Trace.If you do have Covid-19 symptoms or need to isolate and get tested, please inform me should you test positive after recently attending a volunteer session. I will then inform other attendees and advise/take the necessary safety precautions.
Public Transport:
Nearest Railway Station: Honor Oak Park (10 mins), Buses: Honor Oak Park P4,P12 (10 mins), Brockley Rise : 122,171,171 (10 mins), Stanstead Road 185,122 (15 mins)
Lewisham’s parks and green spaces have been awarded their highest-ever number of Green Flags, the award given to the very best green spaces in the UK.
The latest green spaces in Lewisham to be given prestigious Green Flag Community Awards are Garthorne Road and Dacres Wood, managed by Lewisham Council with the help of the Friends groups.
In partnership with local groups Lewisham Council has also successfully retained its three existing Community Green Flags for Grove Park and Devonshire Road nature reserves and Albion Millennium Green, as well as its sixteen Green Flags for other parks and green spaces in the borough.
The Green Flag Community Award recognises quality sites managed by voluntary and community groups. Any green space that is freely accessible to the public is eligible to enter for the annual Green Flag Awards, which are based on a set of robust criteria, including accessibility, community involvement, cleanliness and biodiversity.
Friends of Garthorne Road Nature Reserve with their award,
Lewisham Council, in partnership with Glendale, manages 47 parks and 15 nature reserves in the borough – each with its own unique character and environment. The last 18 months have seen public green spaces play a vital role for residents as a place to relax, exercise and meet friends and family safely. Last year, the Council adopted a new Parks and Open Spaces Strategy, which aims to make the borough’s green spaces even better by improving community involvement, boosting biodiversity and getting residents – including young people – more involved in decision-making.
Cllr Patrick Codd, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said:
“Gaining two more prestigious Community Green Flag awards is fantastic news for Lewisham. This achievement wouldn’t be possible without the huge contribution that Friends and volunteers of our nature reserves make. I would like to thank every single resident and community group involved in this effort for helping to give us all healthier and greener neighbourhoods.
“Our nature reserves are a key part of Lewisham Biodiversity Partnership’s new action plan, which the Council recently endorsed as part of our work to create a greener Lewisham for residents and wildlife. As an inner-city borough, we are very proud of the many nature reserves, parks and green spaces that have brought much needed happiness to our residents during the very challenging times of the pandemic.
“The news that two more nature reserves in Lewisham have achieved the Green Flag Community Award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the teams that make the borough’s green spaces sanctuaries that everyone can enjoy.”
Nick Lee, Treasurer of the Friends of Garthorne Road said:
“We are excited that Garthorne Road Nature Reserve has received the Green Flag Award. As volunteers who work to protect and develop it, and open it to others, we are pleased and proud to have received the recognition that the Award brings. We thank Lewisham Borough, the volunteers and committee members for the support that they give us in managing the Reserve.”
Paul Todd, Green Flag Award Scheme Manager, said:
“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making Garthorne Road Nature Reserve and Dacres Wood worthy of a Green Flag Award. To meet the requirements demanded by the scheme is testament to the hard work of the staff and volunteers who do so much to ensure that these two nature reserves have high standards of horticulture, safety and environmental management and are places that support people to live healthy lives.”
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.
The Friends of Garthorne Road Nature Reserve are please to announce that we are reintroducing our monthly conservation workdays which will be on a second Saturday of the month from August to October. There will be some changes to the way we operate them to keep everyone safe and will be maintaining the following precautions. Please book your place using the Eventbrite booking below:
Please do not attend if you have symptoms of COVID-19
Hand sanitiser will be available
We have limited amount of gloves please bring your own if you have them
We won’t be providing hot drinks or biscuits so please bring your own if you would like
We will be maintaining a 2m distance at all times
We will be limiting volunteer numbers to 6 per session
Tools will be disinfected after each session
Please wash clothes that you wear to the sessions regularly
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
Please meet at the main gate at 11:00am as the gate will be locked to prevent unauthorised access.
Tasks to be formed
Installing path edging
Removal of regrowth of invasive species such as holm oak
Extend and top up dead hedging
Butterfly transect
Tickets will be offered on a first come first serve basis. We ask that you don’t book on to two consecutive sessions so that everyone gets a chance to volunteer. There will be a waiting list 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.
Please Note: All Friends Volunteer Taskdays has been cancelled due to the CO-VID 19 Virus please see Eventspage for further details.
Saturday 8th February
Clearing invasive species to allow native species to flourish and creating dead hedging to create habitats for hedgehogs and invertebrates.
Saturday 7th March
Installing path edging to stop visitors trampling the flowers and making the steps safer.
What you need to know
All workdays run 11am-3:30pm. Please let us know which sessions you would like to come to so that we can provide sufficient tools and for the number of volunteers we are expecting and please note the gate will be locked to stop unauthorised access, please contact me by text or phone on 07707023359 so we can let you in. If you are letting us know at the last minute please text Ernie (Chair and task days organiser) on the above number.
We have gloves in limited supply, please bring gardening gloves if you have them and wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather and safety. Please bring food and drinks if required.
This program workdays is subject to change or cancellation at short notice due to weather conditions such as rain or high winds and other matters out of the control of the friends group. Tasks maybe swapped between workdays as necessary.
If you require more information please contact the
Don’t worry it is a development to encourage more invertebrates on to the site. It was constructed by the Friends of Garthorne Road Nature Reserve with help from the Lewisham council conservation section Nature’s Gym, it was built from wood pallets donated by the London Wildlife Trust Great North Wood Project
We start by putting four bricks at each corners and using an upturned pallet resting on the bricks to leave a gap so the reptiles, amphibians and hedgehogs can hibernate under and them them put a layer of hoggin on top them we put another pallet the right way up on top and filled the gaps using branches and twigs and using old tree guards filled with bamboo canes, you can also use old flowerpots and fill them with sticks to create niches for ladybirds and earwigs. We repeat this process until it is about 5 pallets high them you can either top it using old roofing tiles or branches to stop the water getting into the middle and creating a warm habitat you can build you own Bug Palace by downloading a fact sheet from the Royal Society for Protection for Birds (RSPB)Bug Hotel fact sheet
Many insect hotels are used as nest sites by insects including solitary bees and solitary wasps. These insects drag prey to the nest where an egg is deposited. Other insects hotels are specifically designed to allow the insects to hibernate, notable examples include ladybirds (ladybugs) and butterflies.
Insect hotels are popular amongst gardeners and fruit and vegetable growers due to their role encouraging insect pollination. Some elaborately designed insect hotels may also be attractions in their own right and, increasingly, can be found in pub gardens and various tourist locations.
Different hotels for different insects
Ladybird hotel :
Good materials to construct insect hotels with can include using dry stone walls or old tiles. Drilled holes in the hotel materials also encourage insects to leave larvae to gestate. Therefore, different materials, such as stones and woods are recommended for a wide range and diversity of insect life. Logs and bark, and bound reeds and bamboo are also often used. The various components or sizes of holes to use as entry of an insect hotel attract different species. Ready-made insect hotels are also found at garden centers, and particularly ecological and educational conservational centers and organisations.
Solitary bees and wasps
Solitary bees, some wasps and bumblebees do not live within a hive with a queen. There are males and females. A fertilized female makes a nest in wood or stone and bored into the wood in order to construct a nursery.
The most common bee hotel is created from a sawn wooden log or portion of a cut tree trunk in which holes are drilled of different sizes (e.g. 2, 4, 6 and 8 mm), about a few centimeters apart. They attract many bees. The holes have to be tilted slightly so that no rainwater can get in. Stone blocks are also used for this purpose. The holes are drilled quite lengthily into the material but not so far as to create a tunnel to the other side of the wood. Furthermore, the entrances to these access burrows must be smooth enough so that the delicate bodies of the insects are not damaged. Often, with wooden hotels, the exterior is sanded. The best location for a hotel is a warm and sheltered place, such as a southern-facing (in the northern hemisphere) wall or hedge. The first insects are already active towards the end of winter and would be actively seeking for such a place to settle. Other species like to furnish their nests with clay, stone and sand, or in between bricks.
Even a simple bundle of bamboo or reeds, tied or put in an old tin can and hung in a warm place, is very suitable for solitary bees. The bamboo must be cut in a specific way to allow entry for the insects. Often people may add stems of elderberry, rose or blackberry shoots whose marrow can serve as a food source as well.
Butterflies
Butterflies that hibernate like to find sheltered places such as crevices in houses and sheds, or enclosed spaces, such as within bundles of leaves. There are special butterfly enclosures available with vertical slits that take into account the sensitive wings of the animals when they enter them.
Parasitic insects
By using an insect hotel, parasitic insects are also attracted to make use of the facilities. Cuckoo bees and wasps will lay their eggs within the nests of others in order to provide them with readily available food upon hatching without the parent insect having to provide for them.
Hotels also attract predatory insects which help control unwanted bugs. For example, Earwigs are good to have present in and near fruit trees as they eat the plant lice that may settle on the tree and disturb fruit growth. A terracotta flower pot hung upside-down, filled with bundles of straw or wood wool is an ideal house for earwigs. Ladybirds are easy to cater for by placing many twigs within an open wooden box on its side to provide many small cavities. Ladybirds prefer to hibernate in larger groups so this will encourage many to settle in one specific place. Isopods have their usefulness as scavengers in the garden. These animals like large gaps between stacked bricks and roof tiles to shelter from rain and to hide from predators.
The friends will be continuing to do more glade improvement taking out invasive species such as Holm oak and Ash to allow light into the woodland floor allowing the native species to thrive.
All workdays run 11am-3:30pm with a break around 1pm, bring a drink and food if required
Please let us know which sessions you would like to come to so that we can provide sufficient tools and for the number of volunteers we are expecting and please let as know when you are at the gate so we can let you in as it will be kept locked to stop unauthorised access. If you are letting us know at the last minute please text Ernie (Chair and task days organiser) on 07707023359.
We have limited gloves supply, please bring gardening gloves if you have them and wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather and safety.
This program workdays is subject to change or cancellation at short notice due to weather conditions and other matters out of the control of the friends group.
No Barbecues or dogs please.
Sorry: No on-site toilets
Workday will be cancelled if raining or windy
Entrance in Beadnell Road
If you require more information please contact the Friends of Garthorne Road Nature Reserve
Due to the last task day been cancelled on 14th October because of the weather. The friends will continue to install step-building and also handrails and path edging to improve public access, some heavy lifting involved.
The friends do a range of tasks from September to March from litter-picking to meadow improvement. if interested please contact the friends for further information.
No Barbecues or dogs please.
Sorry: No on-site toilets
Workday will be canceled if raining or windy
Entrance in Beadnell Road
Please bring gloves if you have them and wear suitable clothing and footwear
Bring a drink and food if required
if require any more information please contact us;
Due to the last task day been cancelled on 23rd September due to the severe weather. The friends will continue to install step-building and also handrails and path edging to improve public access, some heavy lifting involved.
The friends do a range of tasks from September to March over from litter-picking to meadow improvement. if interested please contact the friends for further information.
No Barbecues or dogs please.
Sorry: No on-site toilets
Workday will be canceled if raining or windy
Entrance in Beadnell Road
Please bring gloves if you have them and wear suitable clothing and footwear
Bring a drink and food if required
if require any more information please contact us;
Saturday 3rd November
Garthorne Road Nature Reserve 