FRIENDS OF BURGESS PARK protect | promote | enhance
Wild and Edible Surrey Canal Walk tree planting
A HUGE thank you to everyone who came along to the Wild and Edible Surrey Canal Walk tree planting on Sunday, 18 December 2011!
Tree
planters were fueled by vats of hot soup, mulled wine and spiced apple.
Friends of Burgess Park were joined by - amongst others - the Burgess
Park Food Group, Cllr Barrie Hargrove, Peter Frost of the Peckham
Society, Celia and David of the Wildlife Trust, Bonar Road allotment
representatives, members of the local Church in the Park and residents to form a
'tree planting army' of about 50 people (or maybe a smidgen less, but
after so many mulled wines, it was increasingly hard to keep count...) Art in the Park were there to help make tree decorations and dress trees.
The next tour of Burgess Park will take place on Saturday, 11 February 2012. Numbers are limited so you need to register in advance. Please contact Nadia Chowdari at Southwark Council to register and to check start time and location. 330 trees have started to be planted along St George's Way and by Camberwell Road. Depending on the weather, mound seeding should start in February/March. Also in March, the playground and parking area should be opening. It is also hoped that the park will fully open at the end of May.
Most of the planting will be take place in Feb/March except that at St. Georges Gardens which will have trees and hedges planted in Feb/March and then the remainder laid as amenity grass. Later in the year (Oct/Nov) the herbaceous plants and wildflowers will be planted at St. Georges and on the Albany Road mounds.
Two disused industrial tanks were discovered in the ground. Council chiefs said there was no danger to the public from the tanks and that any contaminated waste will be removed as quickly as possible. It is expected that the removal of the material will mean a delay to the park's opening but the council said it was confident that the new site would be ready by summer next year. Read more on the Council website.
BMX track proposal
Southwark Tennis Club has been granted £150k to fund a new BMX track for Burgess Park. Once completed, the new BMX track will boast of floodlit, national standard size arena that could host international events.
Park access Parts of the park will be out of use to allow the revitalisation project to be carried out. A large section of Burgess Park west of Wells Way and the designated area east of Wells Way are fenced off and closed to the public.
What is staying open and what is closing according to the Southwark Council website:
"The council wants to make sure work at the park is safe and secure, presents no danger whatsoever to the public, and that all the works are completed on time.
The areas which are still open:
Chumleigh Gardens including the cafe, 1st place Children's centre, Art in the Park and Southwark Tigers club house.
All official sports areas - i.e. football and tennis centres, rugby and cricket pitches off Cobourg Road and the outdoor gym on Albany Road.
The adventure playground/children's services area at the junction of Wells Way and Albany Road
Extensions of the main park like Surrey Canal Walk, and the green space by Old Kent Road and Glengall Ave
Gardening
training and advice will be provided to adults 18+ and is suitable
for people with mental health needs or physical disabilities. Pick up
some practical skills and learn about growing food. Help protect
biodiversity and discover your local park. No experience needed and
travel expenses will be paid. Drop in anytime: Monday, Friday: 9am-12pm; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 9am- 3pm; until April 2012 Volunteering more information
Eco Fit
Gardening
activities, conservation tasks and environment quests for older people,
adults with mental health issues, long term health conditions, physical
or learning disabilities and their carers. Everyone is welcome so come
along. No booking needed. Drop in anytime: Every Thursday from 10 am-1pm at Chumleigh Gardens until 29 March Eco FiT more information
For more information about both Eco Fit and the volunteering programme contact: Joelle at Groundwork London
tel: 07872 400 958 or email: joelle.etienne@groundwork.org.uk
Picture Burgess Park competition organised by the Friends of Burgess Park.
The
park is undergoing a major transformation - the aim of the
competition is to help record what Burgess Park means to locals and how
we are affected by the changes, collecting the best images showing
Burgess Park as it is now, as it develops and what it will become.
We
are inviting all local photographers - pro and amateur, old and young -
to send pictures and/or short films (max 2 minutes); we'll also be
organising a series of community events to mark key moments in the
competition.
We started with the theme of 'Our memories' and the other suggested themes are: nature, sport and play, art and the future.
E-mail your pictures to friendsofburgesspark@gmail.com
See them on www.pictureburgesspark.com.
The
e-mail subject line becomes the title of the blog post so it is best to
be descriptive (e.g. subject line: Memory: an autumn morning); and any
text you put in the body of the e-mail becomes the body of the blog
post - it's a good idea to put a bit of 'blurb' with each post to give
them context (e.g. This is a picture of the sun rising over Burgess
Park on a cold October morning - it made me think of the memory theme
as it took me back to cold winter of last year)
In the summer of 2012, at the completion of the revitalisation, we will select the best photos for a final exhibition and a book.
Video diary of Burgess Park food project event on 21st May 2011.
The Burgess Park Food Project
The Burgess Park Food Project has opened a new community garden in Burgess Park. On the site of Glengall / Derwent
Wharf at the top of the Surrey Canal Walk, a group has been
established to run the project.
The aim of the group and the garden is to promote healthy, local and
fresh food, and will be a growing project open to all, a place to learn
and share skills related to growing, food, permaculture, sustainability
and related subjects.
The
park is undergoing a major transformation - the aim of the
competition is to help record what Burgess Park means to locals and how
we are affected by the changes, collecting the best images showing
Burgess Park as it is now, as it develops and what it will become.