Friends of Burgess Park

To mow or not to mow

Photo of different lengths of grass

Gregory Smith, Head Gardener of Burgess Park has written about being a gardener and an environmentalist. He is concerned with what grows naturally, as well as which human-planted or sown, native or non-native plants can be added in order to create more diversity, food sources and habitat for wildlife. With a multi-layered approach to grass cutting, all kinds of wild plants can appear and lawns can become useful habitats. These will link all the intentional planting in the park to create a more complete ecology. Find out more about what the gardeners have been doing and experimenting with by reading his blog on making meadows.

Friends of Burgess Park heritage website logo

Follow this link to read more about the Grand Surrey Canal on the Friends of Burgess Park heritage website: Bridge to Nowhere. Recently, Southwark News featured comments from our heritage website in their article about the canal before it was filled in in the 1970s and the traces of it that are still left.

Old sepia image of the library and overwritten with event details

Celebration 26 March 2023
Passmore Edwards bicentenary

Celebrate the Grade II listed building and its benefactor Passmore Edwards

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Passmore Edwards’ birth on 24th March 1823 and Friends of Burgess Park are joining with others around the UK to celebrate the Passmore Edwards 200 Festival. We’ll be holding a programme of events based at the old library, baths and washhouse on Wells Way on Sunday 26th March. There’s an exhibition about the man and his legacy, children’s activities, a commemorative tree-planting, a reading by local author Jacqueline Crooks from her new book, refreshments and more.

Bike Tour 2–4pm We’ve also organised a short Bike Tour around three of Passmore Edwards’ south London buildings, guided by a renowned local architect. You can book now for the bike tour 2pm to 4pm on Eventbrite – places are limited to 25, so book early!

Commemorative Tree Planting 4.00–4.30pm Across the country Rowan trees are being planted to celebrate the Passmore Edwards bicentenary. Join us from 4pm for the tree planting and reading by local author Jacqueline Crooks from her new book Fire Rush, and refreshments.

Exhibition 1–5.30pm – Find out more about Passmore Edwards with an exhibition on loan from the Passmore Edwards legacy. Plus more about the old library bath and washhouse building, its history and future role, benefitting local people.

Read more about Passmore Edwards and the library on the Bridge to Nowhere Friends of Burgess Park heritage website.

More about the Passmore Edwards celebration in Burgess Park on the Southwark News website.

The Woodland project

February 2023 

Friends of Burgess Park held a 12 day long festival to launch the Burgess Park Woodland, a project aiming to improve our woodland through better management and community engagement.

On Saturday 26 September the festival launched with the Albany woodlands pop-up walk and family woodland arts at Chumleigh Gardens playground.

Book on Eventbrite to join in woodland maintenance and family workshops as the woodland project continues in 2023.

Tackling litter

Michael Faraday primary school art work for anti-litter banners
Thank you Year 3 pupils (summer 2022) and for helping litterpic. See the banners in Albany Road near Giraffe House and Wells Way near the old library.

Anti-litter poster
Anti-litter poster

FOBP weekly litterpic every Monday morning 8am to 9am 

FOBP provide litterpicks, gloves and bags. 
Meet at Chumleigh Gardens – in the gardens behind the behind the cafe.

Woodlands wildlife

FOBP members receiving the award
Friends of Burgess Park received a Highly commended London Urban Forest Award

Highly Commended Our woodlands campaign to protect Southampton Way woodlands against development pressure was highly commended with a London Urban Forest Award at the London Tree and Woodland Awards 2022. Thanks to all local groups and park users who have supported us.

The Awards ( #TreeOscars) are organised by the Forestry Commission and supported by the Mayor of London. They aim to raise the profile of London’s trees and woodlands and their need for active management. The awards showcase the work taking place all over the city to protect and increase London’s urban forest (urban forestry guidance). 

Southwark Civic Awards for FOBP:
Mayor’s Discretionary Award 2022  

Southwark Mayor Hargrove awards Friends of Burgess Park a civic award
Mayor Hargrove with Friends of Burgess Park

Thank you Southwark Mayor Cllr Barrie Hargrove for the 2022 Discretionary Award for Friends of Burgess Park’s “ongoing and successful commitment … thinking of the park’s welfare first and foremost” presented at Southwark Cathedral.

Massive thanks to all our volunteers, past, present, and more importantly, future ones. Join us!

Find out more about events in Burgess Park.

New Aylesbury buildings drawingEvents to discuss the Aylesbury Regeneration

Plans are being developed for the regeneration of Phase 2B of the Aylesbury Estate on Albany Road next to Burgess Park, the area that includes the Wendover 241-471, Winslow, Padbury and Ravenstone blocks.


Public open day
Saturday 16 October 2021, 12 noon – 3pm
Surrey Square Primary School, Surrey Square, London SE17 2JY

Drop in any time to meet the team, view updated designs in a family-friendly environment and give your feedback on plans for Phase 2B of the estate regeneration. Members of the design team, Notting Hill Genesis and Soundings will be on hand to listen to  feedback and answer questions. This event is free and open to all.

Drop in exhibition and stakeholder evening workshop
Monday 18 October 2021
Drop in exhibition 4-6pm; workshop 6-8pm
Upper Hall, Pembroke House, 80 Tatum Street, London SE17 1QR

Drop in to view the plans between 4-6pm. An early evening workshop will discuss public space, access and circulation.
Email aylesbury@nhg.org.uk or call 07920 466133 if you would like to take part.

Online public workshop
Tuesday 26 October 2021, 6-7.30pm
An online evening to discuss the revised plans.
Email aylesbury@nhg.org.uk or call 07920 466133 to take part.

Congratulations to Kye Whyte at Peckham BMX

Kye Whyte won a siver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Many congratulations to him, his family and Peckham BMX Club.

The Peckham Club started at the Bird-in-Bush park track and then moved to the Burgess Park track.

Find out about riding at the Burgess Park track.

Information about the Peckham Challengers BMX Club.

Help protect the woodland in Burgess Park

woodland pathBurgess Park’s woodlands are vital for local wildlife and they are a precious resource in an urban area. Current plans for tall buildings on the edge of the woodlands will reduce the sunlight and change the habitat.

To understand what impact tall buildings would have, we need an independent wildlife report to present to Southwark’s Planning Committee. The goal is to raise £1500 by the end of May 2021 to commission an ecology report from the London Wildlife Trust. Find out more and make a Crowdfunder contribution here. 

Read the blog about the importance of light for the Burgess Park woodlands.

Photo of Great TitAnnual bird count from your home

Unable to run our usual annual bird count in the park due to current restrictions, we explain how you can still get involved from home with the RSPB survey, as well as identify bird songs, and take a soundscape walk around the park. Find out more.

Southhampton Way entrance with building or wildlfe graphic

 

Sign the petition to stop building in Burgess Park

The Southampton Way entrance to Burgess Park has an area of derelict land used for what was supposed to be temporary scrap yards and car washing.

The land has been designated as part of the protected Metropolitan Open Land of Burgess Park for over 30 years as the council steadily CPO’d (Compulsory Purchased) the various bits of privately owned land selected to be a park in the original Abercrombie Plan after WW2.

However, a developer has bought an option on the site and is suggesting that a 6-storey residential tower-block be built on designated park land.

It is crucial that this land which has been blighted for so long, be landscaped and included in the park next to the recently improved wildlife site.

Please sign the petition calling on Southwark Council to oppose any planning application for building on this site and call on them instead to fulfill their promise to CPO and incorporate this piece of the Burgess Park jigsaw.

Photo of three houses with posterPark art tour

Take a walk, virtual or real, around Burgess Park to view artworks that have been placed here over the years. The Park Art map can be found on the Friends of Burgess Park’s Bridge to Nowhere heritage website which investigates the history of the park that emerged from the streets of south London.

Photo of Gull on sandGulls on the lake

Take a  look at the lake during the winter when the number of gulls and cormorants increases. Identify four different kinds of Gull.

Artist's render of proposed skatebowlUrban games and skate bowl consultations

The urban games and skatebowl website consultation is open to 4 October 2019.  Find out more and add your comments.

The concrete skate bowl will take over a section of the park next to the BMX track  and unfortunately an estimated 3,000 square meters of grass will be lost due to its construction. Friends of Burgess Park object to the replacement of a green area with concrete, one of the worst producers of CO2 . This is the narrowest part of the park, which has been traversed with paths and cycle routes, with tall buildings planned to the north and possibly south, pouring concrete all over it is not an improvement. It is in fact turning this green area into an urban environment not a refuge from it.

Southwark Streetspace MapHave you had your say on the Southwark Council
Streetspace plan yet?

Some ideas are already being implemented and Friends of Burgess Park were out looking at opportunities to improve active travel around the park.

FOBP park orbital teamWe are promoting the Burgess Park Orbital, a protected route, to take cyclists who want to travel securely and efficiently around the park through the neighbourhood so they don’t have to cross the park. The park is very busy at the moment with people socialising and exercising. Some cyclists simply want a straightforward way to get to the other side without interfering in park activities. Some want another place to exercise. Some want an alternative to cycling through the park in the dark winter months.

Using routes around the perimeter means that there will be adequate street lighting rather than trying to light the park and contributing to light pollution which must be controlled according to the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF).

Click the links below and give each a thumbs up, bottom right.
Let’s show support to get these improvements.

Burgess Park Orbital
1. Cycle lanes around Burgess Park using street lighting.

Albany Road
2. Cycle lanes at Albany Road and the Old Kent Road.
3. 2-way protected cycle route the full length of Albany Road.

Albany Road and Portland Street
4. Adapt the cycle crossing from Portland Street into Albany Road to 2-way and on to Wells Way.

New Church Road/Southampton Way
5. Reinstate the existing cycle route by the new playground from Kitson Rd and continue it down Southampton Way.

Wells Way
6. Wells Way cycle lane and widen pavements.
7. Wells Way underpass for pedestrians and St George’s Way junction.
8. Provide cycle parking at the Old Library instead of car parking.
9. Pavements too narrow at junction of Wells Way and St George’s Way

Parkhouse Street/Wells Way
10. 2-way cycle routes on Parkhouse Street.

Burgess Park West
11. Burgess Park West.

St. George’s Way
12. Remove cars on St George’s Way and green route for cycling.
13. Provide cycle lanes which use street lighting for safe winter cycling.

Surrey Canal
14. Surrey Canal too narrow; promote Sumner Road cycle lane alternative
15. Peckham Square for pedestrians; promote Sumner Road cycle lane alternative

park clean-up volunteerLitter-free Mondays and Thursdays July – September

Weekly litter pick  Mondays 7:30-9.30am and Thursdays  6:15-8pm July to September 2020. Meet at the picnic benches at Chumleigh Gardens. Gloves and litter pickers provided or bring your own.
More information here. 
Read the blog.

Photo of Grebe swimmingLaunch of Southwark nature action conservation volunteers

Dave Clark provided online training in recognising birdsong. He has an MSc in Ornithology from Birmingham University and is particularly interested in the interaction between birds and humans. Read his blog about birds in Burgess Park From Africa to the Old Kent Road and follow him on Twitter @daveclark77.

Burgess Park contains a mosaic of locally important habitats including areas of rough grass, wildflower ‘meadows’, hedges and patches of bushes, scrub and trees; and a lake and some small ponds with reeds.

Regular visitors include House Martins, Swifts, Blackcaps, Reed Warblers and Whitethroats. Other birds include House Sparrow, Starling, Greenfinch, and typical garden species like the Robin and Blue Tit. The lake has several different species of waterbirds, including three species of geese – Canada, Egyptian and Greylag.

Tuesday 3 March 2020, 7pm, Theatre Deli, Wells Way SE5 Book ticket.

white letter hairstreakHelp with species’ habitats and nature conservation in Southwark parks: carry out surveys, help with planting, dig ponds, map wildlife sightings to target habitat action, photograph wildlife and habitats etc.

Launch event includes talks from Simon Saville, Butterfly Conservation and Jon Best, Southwark Ecology Officer, films and discussions. Find out more.

Come along to the Big Garden Birdwatch

Big Bird Watch 2020at Chumleigh Gardens
on Sunday 26 January 2020
11 am – 12 midday

All ages welcome
Free event
Free bird ID sheet

Hot drinks and cake

Identifying wildlife at Burgess Lake

We put up signage at the lake and on the bridge about the waterfowl and fish in the lake. We hope this will help park users know more about wild-fowl, fish and plants and how the lake works as a habitat.

Lake signage

Find out more about what Friends of Burgess Park have been doing at the lake with help from children at Cobourg School.

Friends of Burgess Park AGM

Tuesday 12 November 2019 7 pm
at Theatre Deli, Old Library, Wells Way, SE5 0PX

All welcome to hear about Burgess Park Past, Present and Future

Speakers, Q&A:
Diana Cochrane, Walworth History Society, Burgess Park and Beyond heritage
Jason Leech, Camberwell Society, Camberwell plan
Guy Robinson, Camberwell Fields Residents’ Association, Metropolitan Open Land
Plus: Elect new committee, approve accounts, review constitution, priorities 2020.

October monthly meeting changed

The next FOBP meeting 1st October  2019 is being transferred to the council planning committee so that we can comment on and object to the sports centre application. The planning meeting is open to the public Tues 1 October from 6.30pm, 160 Tooley St. SE1 2QX. Planning committee agenda and report.

The planning committee meeting was cancelled at the last minute because a report from Sport England had not arrived. The next Planning Sub-Committee B meeting is now scheduled for Tue 29 Oct 2019 (to be confirmed). 

FOBP objections:
1. Loss of Metropolitan Open Land
2. Impact of the new pitches and spectator mounds on the surrounding park.
3. The design of the new sports centre does not fit with the character of the park or the Cobourg conservation area, or achieve environmental standards.

Wild Burgess: birds, butterflies, moths and crows

Photo of pale blue butterflyFind out about the latest wildlife sightings in Burgess Park. Ornithologist Dave Clark is thrilled to find more Burgess birds than 10 years ago.  Guest blogger Simon Savile of the Butterfly Conservation organisation tells us where to look for butterflies and moths in Burgess Park. Regular FOBP blogger Jenny Morgan urges us to appreciate crows and the more subtle changes in the park.

Poster for 6 June 2019 3:30 pm lake activities

From Africa to the Old Kent Road: Bird species in Burgess Park
Wednesday 19 June 2019, 9 am – 10.30 am
meet at Chumleigh Gardens
Dave Clark, ornithologist, will lead the circular walk (approx 1.3 hrs) finishing at Chumleigh Gardens café for further informal discussion. FREE – Donations to FOBP welcome. Read Dave Clark’s blog

Read about Burgess Park in the Camberwell Quarterly

sample CQ pageFOBP members toured the park with Marie Staunton CBE who wrote the article. Thank you to the editor of the Camberwell Quarterly, Margaret Powley-Baker for letting us include a copy here – From dawn to dusk – Something’s going on in Burgess Park.

It gives a tremendous picture of the park from the Community Garden at one end to the tennis courts at the other celebrating the wide range of activities in-between – rugby, BMX, children’s nurseries, play groups, art clubs, theatre groups to name a few. It is all enabled by park workers and many dedicated volunteers.

2019 Development planning

Southwark Council is holding the next Old Kent Road Forum on open space on Saturday 19 January 2019 from 11am to 1pm at Christ Church Peckham, 676-680 Old Kent Road, SE15 1JF

Sports Hub consultation
20 November 2018

Help shape the future of Burgess Park – Southwark Council wants your views on the sports centre hub. Come along to the drop-in session (20 November) between 4–7pm at the Burgess Park Sports Centre SE5, or have your say online.

Report wildlife sightings

screen grab of the wildlife report pageLondon is home to a diverse range of animals, including everything from bats to reptiles, and Southwark Council is trying to find out which species can be found where in Southwark.

On the Council website you can click on an interactive map, zoom to the location of your sighting and an email link will appear on the left. Enter your email address and click send.

Your records will help the Council to manage wildlife in Southwark and gain a better understanding of what lives where.

Sightings will be collected and shared with the London Biological Records Centre, Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL).

Peckham BMX club in Burgess Park

CK Flash with brothers Tre and Kye Whyte were interviewed by the BBC about the value and benefits of the BMX club. See the BBC video shot at the track in Burgess Park. The brothers are both in the British Cycling Academy and Kye just won silver at the 2018 European Championships.

New art installation “Silent Raid” opening events

Photo of three houses with posterWednesday, 17 October
The new art work by Sally Hogarth commemorates the Zeppelin raid on Calmington Road (now part of Burgess Park) in 1917 with ten houses representing each of the people killed in the attack. Read Sally Hogarth’s blog on creating the sculptures.

The launch will be exactly 101 years after the attack and is part of the Zeppelin 1917 programme of events in Burgess Park about the First World War.

Location map of the sculptures and more information.

Supported by Southwark Council, the Friends of Burgess Park and Theatre Deli.
Photos of the sculptures by Alexander Christie   Instagram   Twitter

Friends of Burgess Park win Mary Boast History Prize

We had great news on 30th September 2018! The Mary Boast Prize, which is organised by the Camberwell Society, has been won by an essay from some of the Friends of Burgess Park ‘Zeppelin 1917’ team. A big thank you to all the volunteer authors including the essay editing team of Judith Barratt, Joan Ashworth and Susan Crisp. Find out more here.

First World War Victoria Cross commemorative stone unveiling

Monday 3 September 2018, 11am, Old Kent Road entrance, Burgess Park

In September 1918 local hero Jack Harvey was awarded a Victoria Cross for bravery. One hundred years on a commemorative paving stone will be unveiled with a civic service led by the Mayor, Councillor Catherine Rose, with the Army in attendance. All welcome.

Jack Harvey, was born at 2 Canal Grove (just off Old Kent Road) in the old borough of Camberwell. This is why the site chosen for the commemorative paving will be the Old Kent Road main entrance to Burgess Park.

The Victoria Cross commemorative paving stones programme is a national scheme that will see all 627 VC recipient of the First World War commemorated. More information.

More development plans around the park:

  1. Southwark Council is holding the next Old Kent Road Forum  on Saturday 20 October from 11am to 1pm at Christ Church Peckham, 676-680 Old Kent Road, SE15 1JF
    The theme for this forum will be Transport with ward councillors – Evelyn Akoto, Michael Situ and Richard Livingstone and Johnson Situ (Cabinet Member for Growth, Development and Planning). Find out more about the development schemes in Old Kent Road.
  2. Burgess Business Park/Camberwell Union Update Peachtree (the developers) have amended their proposals following community objections and discussions with Southwark Council Planning. The revised planning application is open for comments.  The key documents showing the changes and draft FOBP response here. To put in your comments go to the planning application 17/AP/4797  by 21 October. More information
  3. 37-39 Parkhouse Street (Hunnex site) is a proposed mixed use scheme of commercial rented accommodation including on-site 50% affordable housing.  This substantial site backs onto Burgess Park.
  4. Old Kent Road redevelopment continues with plans for the ARGOS and DFS site opposite Burgess Park OKR entrance. Details of proposals include a hotel, cinema commercial, tall private block and rented housing. Comments wanted by the end of July for a planning application in the autumn.

Zeppelin – the podcast

Graphic of Zeppelin over cityWe are pleased to announce the publication of the latest edition of the Bridge to Nowhere podcast!

This episode is an audio adaptation of the Animated Walk from the Friends’ Zeppelin 1917 season which ran throughout October 2017. It tells the story of the Zeppelin Raid on Camberwell, in the industrial and residential area that existed before the creation of the park itself, and puts the tragic events of that night into the context of local life at that time.

And if you subscribe (it’s free), you will also receive future episodes automatically, as soon as they are released.

photo of fish just caught in the lakeWild Burgess at the Fishing Lake

What is going on above and below the lake? Find out more about the plants, insects, birds and fish.

 

Photo of Lime blossomWild Burgess in May

Any day now, the Lime trees (Common Lime or Linden, Tilia Europea) will come into bloom. They perfume the air with one of the most delightful scents of summer. Walk along the main avenue by the tennis courts … Read more about the flowers, the butterflies and bogs of Burgess.

Parent Egyptian goose with chicksBurgess goes wild about waterfowl

Despite the terrible weather (28 April 2018) the Friends of Burgess Park were out at the lake finding out how much people knew about the birds on the lake; their names; what they eat and the problems of feeding bread to the ducks. Read about the birds we saw and counted and what we should be feeding them.

The identification session was part of the international City Nature Challenge with 70 cities  competing to see who could make the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people in the worldwide 2018 City Nature Challenge.

Unleash your wild side

Find out more about the wildlife in Burgess Park over the next few months.

All through June we are doing #30DaysWild #wildaboutburgess part of the London Wildlife campaign. The perfect excuse to share your favourite photos @BurgessPk.

Saturday 21 July – 4.30 to 6pm Pond-dipping by the lake. Part of London’s National Park City Week.

Photo of Albany Road and Wells WayGoing wild

Find out what to look for as spring comes to Burgess Park – the sights, sounds and scents.

Community Hustings on planning and regeneration

Monday 22nd October 2018 7-9pm
Assemble from 6.45pm at St Philips Church Hall, Avondale Square, SE1 5PD, near Asda on Old Kent Rd.
Help to improve existing neighbourhoods and existing communities’ health and wellbeing.
* Cllr Rebecca Lury, Council deputy leader and Cabinet member for
Culture, Leisure, Equalities and Communities
* Cllr Johnson Situ, Cabinet Member for Growth, Development and Planning
* Professor Kevin Fenton, Strategic Director of Place and Wellbeing, the
Chief Officer for the new Council department, which has brought together
planning, regeneration, public health and community engagement.
Please register through eventbrite here: https://bit.ly/2KYEA1M
Organised by the Southwark Planning Network (SPN)

Park developmentsBurgess Park developments map

Find out more about developments planned in and around Burgess Park

Burgess Park South

Burgess Park South map

Southwark Council are looking at ways to improve the streets south of Burgess Park, with a view to making the area safer and healthier for all road users.

Workshops to help Southwark design the future look and feel of these streets.

  • Session 1: Tuesday 30 January 6pm
  • Session 2: Tuesday 13 February from 3pm
  • Session 3: Wednesday 21 March from 5.30pm to 8pm

At St Luke’s Church Peckham, Chandler Way, Peckham, London, SE15 6LU.

First session: for residents and road users to tell us what the issues are in these streets.

Second session: Walking tour of the area to look at the some of the issues identified and co-design workshop where residents will work with a specialist street design team to come up with ideas for improving the roads.

Third session:  local people will have a chance to comment on the design proposals and help make further changes.

Further information, or contact highways@southwark.gov.uk, call 020 7525 2347, or write to FREEPOST RSCT-BHXK-SCAJ, Highways Division (Transport Projects) Floor 3, Hub 2, Southwark Council, PO BOX 64529, London, SE1P 5LX.

Revised plans for the Burgess Park Community Sports Centre Jan 2018New sports centre and pitches consultation

Thursday 11 January 2018, 4.00 -7.00pm
at Burgess Park Community Sports Centre, Cobourg Road, SE5 0JD

Southwark Council with match funding from Parklife Funding Partners (The FA, the Premier League and Sport England) are presenting draft design proposals for developing the community sports hub . Who will run the new facility? Will there be more fencing of sports’ fields? Will Cobourg Road and Neate Street be closed? What will the provision be for access to Cobourg School? Will there be through routes for pedestrians and cyclists? What about parking? Will  trees be cut down? Please come along and say what you think about the new plans.  Download a pdf of the latest plans. Email your comments to Southwark by 19 January 2018.

Zeppelin Memorial Artist's ImpressionWWI Centenary Memorial 

A new public art installation is being planned for Burgess Park. Ten small replica houses will be placed close to the site of the 1917 Zeppelin bomb. More details and locations are on the application for planning permission.
Friends of Burgess Park Zeppelin 1917 project.

 

Burgess Park West closures

New Church Road is being permanently closed from 4 December as part of the Burgess Park West project. Lighting on New Church Road is being switched off as well as the lighting on the pathway that leads from Albany Road to New Church Road. This is for safety reasons as Southwark do not want people to follow a lit route from Albany Road into the park since it is a dead end. Southwark urge you not to travel through the park after dark until the new lit pathway is open. The new Quietway 7 cycle pathway which will cut through the park will be built as an alternative route. It is expected to open in spring 2018.

Two sections of Burgess Park West designated on a mapThe plan shows which areas of the site Southwark intend to close and for how long. Read more about the closures here.

Trees earmarked for removal in Site A (see map) will be felled in the week starting February 5th.

This is the latest stage in the implementation of the Burgess Park Masterplan. More information on the project can be found here: www.southwark.gov.uk/burgessparkwest or contact John Wade (020 7525 0141) or Pippa Krishnan (020 7525 5133).

Consultations on the Burgess Park West new play area will take place on:

Tuesday 28 November 3.30 to 5pm Chumleigh Gardens play area, next to the Park Life café, off Albany Road. If the weather is poor the consultation will be inside the Chumleigh West building, which will be signposted from the play area.

Monday 4th December 6pm to 8pm Southwark Council’s offices 160 Tooley Street, SE1 2QH

Drop by to see the emerging design which has taken into account previous consultation results, and tell the designers your ideas and opinions.

If you cannot attend either session and are still interested in the play area design, please get in touch with Pippa Krishnan pippa.krishnan@southwark.gov.uk

Burgess Park Cafe catering arrangementsBurgess Park Café

A new catering company will be taking over Burgess Park Café.  The café will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, 30 and 31 October 2017. Southwark Council apologise for the inconvenience and thank Prestigious Catering Ltd trading as Park Life Café who will cease operations on Sunday, 29 October 2017. A Fuorvito & Sons will take over on Wednesday, 1 November 2017.

Friends of Burgess Park Meetings

First Tuesday of each month
All welcome from 7-9 pm
Burgess Park Community Sports Centre, 106 Cobourg Road, SE5 0JV.

Bridge to Nowhere history project 

The Bridge to Nowhere heritage project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund involved loads of people to learn more about the history and heritage of Burgess Park. The project included the Wells Way underpass artwork – a reminder of the main feature of the area which lead to the creation of the park – the Grand Surrey Canal. And we have launched the new Burgess Park Heritage Trail. Look out for the blue plaques around the park.

Find out more about the history of the park and
download your own map 

Bridge to Nowhere - long logo

Making meadows

Uncategorized, ,

A wildlife-friendly approach to Burgess Park maintenance

Photo of flowers.
The wonderful new westside meadow built by Groundworks in the delayed last part of the park redesign

Burgess Park is a large, 24-hour, much frequented green space built in stages over what was previously dense housing and industrial land to eventually become the park we know today. As a result, the soil is difficult to cultivate, with, in many places, the history of the past thinly concealed beneath a layer of compacted topsoil. At around the turn of this century, the space was redesigned and the new park grown on top, but with much of the same soil below.

Wild banks with a mix of wild and introduced plants with more wildflower experiments beyond 

The redesigned park1 has become a functioning tapestry of recreational space and wilder areas, short and long grass, redefined or new woodlands and lots of other new planting. This includes the famous James Hitchmough2 being tasked with designing large non-native prairies to interlink with the improved meadows and wilder areas. He worked with the park gardeners to create the beautiful St George’s prairie, and experimented with non-native mass plantings in various other areas with the LDA contractors. The redesign was very wildlife-aware, and had a looser, more modern approach compared to the typical short grass, flowerbeds and trees combination of many urban green spaces, though we have these things too. There was a mixture of native and many new interesting plants in meadows, and on many new mounds and slopes and dips across the park.

The LDA designed new park — tapestry of recreational and wilder areas 

Over the last two and a bit decades the park has aged, and this ambitious planting has matured and either sustained itself or faded, with nature often having a greater say on the appropriate balance of wildness or cultivation than the gardeners. St George’s has established well, though it is a little tatty these days, with native grasses joining the party and plenty of brambles and tree suckers to remove, invasive native plants taking over in places and gaps appearing in the planting under all the large trees. But a beautiful and clever prairie planting of mainly American perennials that flower in a succession from spring until frost has sustained itself over time. Other Hitchmough areas have persisted well, semi-lasted or faded into wildness, with the wildlife benefiting from our aesthetic loss. We have continued to maintain these areas in some way too, or redefine them in some way as habitat. 

Hitchmough’s St. George’s prairie — Lady’s bedstraw and Coneflowers
A great wall of Goldenrod later in summer at St George’s prairie

It is interesting to observe the relationship between plants that grow naturally and what is planted by humans: how this influences the ecology of the space (how much wildlife is present), and how this will change with the weather over time. Burgess is a great place to do this, with the multitude of different meadows, slopes, dips and flowerbeds all with their own balance of wildness to cultivation. Some of these areas we maintain intensively and others have been left to grow as wild as possible, and most areas are somewhere in between, with a mixture of introduced plants growing happily alongside those appearing naturally.  And beyond this intended planting or sowing there is also the turf itself, which is not just grass but potentially a whole range of other wild plants, either growing away happily in the lawn, or in seeds waiting to germinate. 

Various meadows on slopes and new wildflower seeding experiments beyond

So as the gardeners we maintain these mixed plant populations and try to make them attractive to humans as well as useful for wildlife. There are many questions we can ask to try and do this. These could include:

  • What is the best balance of native and cultivated plants?
  • What should we weed out or keep?
  • Which flowers are useful to pollinating insects? 
  • Can non-native plants significantly lengthen the flowering season? 
  • How can we best maintain the meadows, to maximise flowering and wildlife potential?
  • How can we best cut the short grass to provide more wildflowers?
  • How can we best manage the woodlands and wetlands for more habitat?
  • How sustainable is the park as a habitat and food source for wildlife, and for us? 
  • How will the planting at Burgess evolve over time with people pressure and climate change? 
Sown cornfield annuals and False chamomile, between the westside mounds and Albany Road five years ago

Burgess Park’s wildlife potential is limited by its location in the centre of a city, surrounded by tall buildings and busy roads. Increasingly tall buildings around the park will also increasingly block off wildlife from making it here. The park is also potentially full of people on a sunny day, and can be very busy and noisy. The soil is compacted and full of rubble and potentially toxic chemicals. We are in the centre of London, where it is hot and dry, with not enough rain. So there are many factors that limit the amount of wildlife visiting or living at the park.

But despite the location and other limiting factors, we are doing pretty well in comparison to many green spaces … with the butterfly / bird and bug experts reporting back positively on their findings here. (If you are interested in surveying this wildlife, join one of the Butterfly Conservation transect walks, or connect with local bird spotting and other wildlife experts online). It is fantastic to hear that we have any wildlife at all on our slice of urban land far from the country.

A Holly Blue butterfly — one of the many species of butterfly we see at the park laying eggs on Lucerne (Alfafa), photo courtesy of Simon Saville, Butterfly Conservation

But generally there is a noticeable and worrying decline in wildlife, with fewer insects, bees and birds apparent each year. There has been an obvious decline in insect life especially, which has a knock-on effect on the creatures that feed on them, such as birds. This has been especially apparent after the sequence of worryingly hot summers. Meadows and wild areas formerly buzzing with life now seem to have much lower populations of insects.

So it’s really important that we do what we can to provide as much habitat for wild creatures to enable them to survive in our park and to try to sustain the tree of life that ultimately sustains us.

So what can we do as gardeners in the park to create a more diverse and wildlife friendly space?

Gardening is a strange pursuit. We generally dig up all the wildness and native plants, and replace them with neat and cultivated plants, often from elsewhere in the world. But local flora has evolved to sustain local fauna, and many animals depend on specific plants for survival. 

Essex Skipper butterfly and Crab spider on a thistle at Burgess Park, photo by Simon Saville

The longer I am a gardener and environmentalist, the more I’m interested in what grows naturally, as well as which human-planted or sown, native or non-native plants can be added in order to create more diversity, food sources and habitat for wildlife. Going back to James Hitchmough’s large scale non-native sowing and planting: what is perhaps most interesting is which of these plants will persist in our space over time, merging with our native plants and continuing to grow. Will they sustain themselves or even spread into the surrounding space? In a wildlife context, of course, we have to be careful not to introduce invasive species that will outgrow our local plants, but could we add some non-local native plants and non-natives to wilder areas, to supercharge nature by creating more habitat and food, especially as the climate changes and our range of balance of native plants adjusts anyway? Could we make our wildness more beautiful and diverse again instead of letting it fade? Where do the best plants to try to introduce come from, in terms of having similar soil and climate conditions? 

Painted Lady butterfly on a Verbena bonairiensis, or Argentinian vervain, photo by Simon Saville

We are trying to find a successful balance between cultivation and wildness that maximises the park’s ecological potential. If we do introduce non-native plants it’s important that they are good for wildlife too.

So what more can we do? We have meadows and prairies and woodlands, plenty of wild areas in the park. But there is one type of planting, and the biggest area of all, with the most potential to grow more wild plants: the short grass areas or lawns.

In amongst the grass species regularly cut to grow thick and low, to create a green (or often these days more parched and yellow) lawn, are a whole multitude of other wild plants growing away secretly amongst the grass. These ‘lawn weeds’ are smaller broad-leafed plants that can tolerate being mown regularly (in our park about once a month). And there is also seed waiting in the soil below the grass from times past, waiting for an opportunity to germinate. Some seed can remain dormant for great periods. So what viable ecological history and diversity is there still hidden under our lawns? If we let the grass grow longer than usual, some of these plants will say hello with their flowers. So hidden underneath this turf monoculture is all of nature’s remaining wildness and potential to sustain itself. 

It is very important that with the destruction of wildness and colony collapse of so many species we make use of this potential to sustain some more wildlife. 

Leaving lawns to grow long and provide habitat and flowers for wildlife is very topical, with so much concern about wildlife and habitat loss. On social media are endless images of impossibly beautiful meadows alongside neat cut lawns comparing the two, with uncut grass being good and lawns being bad. Anyone on a mower is basically the devil.

Burgess Park gardener on a ride on mower.
The devil on horseback

But rather than cutting being evil and not cutting being good, some kind of cutting has to happen. Nearly all green space is managed. A lawn if left uncut will become a meadow. Over time it will thicken up, and the range of species will change. Shrubs and trees will germinate and grow. Slowly the meadow will become a copse, and then a woodland, then eventually a thick forest. The grass needs to be cut to still be a meadow. The question is: when and how frequently, and with what equipment, to maximise its wildlife value? 

Close up of flowers
A small patch of uncut lawn in spring

So most meadows are actually extensively managed spaces with some kind of maintenance regime, or they wouldn’t be meadows for very long, and many wildflowers benefit from this cycle of cutting and ploughing. I wish we had things like ploughs at the park! Going back in time, the UK had a huge amount of these meadows, wheat and hay fields and foraging meadows, without the use of chemicals to control what grows. Most of these have now been replaced with modern agriculture, with mono-culture and chemical spraying, and most of the wildflowers have gone. 

With these traditional meadows gone, we rely on the remainder of our green space and wild places to sustain the diversity of the wildlife that used to live in the old meadows. And much of the recreational green space in the UK is unimaginatively cut short grass and little else. But there is so much wildlife potential hiding beneath these tidy English lawns. We just have to let some of them grow. 

Photo showing paths across the mounds
Grass at various heights to create a softer, wilder space with plenty of flowers on the westside mounds

There are hundreds of acres of such grass at Burgess, and we still have to cut a lot of it regularly enough to stay a lawn. Contractually we are obliged to do so at a certain frequency. The park is for people and recreation, not just wildlife. People want short grass to comfortably sit, picnic or sunbathe, exercise, play sports, walk pets. The short grass areas are also useful for larger events and festivals. The park also needs to be easily accessible, and it also needs to be open enough to be safe to walk through, especially considering that Burgess is a 24-hour space.

The great lawn on a busy summer’s day

We can have both recreational lawns and plentiful habitat for wildlife too, but we need to ask many questions about how we cut the grass. 

  • Beyond the more clearly defined meadow areas what else can we do to encourage more wildflowers and wildlife?
  • How much short grass does there need to be to keep people happy and the park safe?
  • Does every last blade of grass need cutting regularly or can a more loose and dynamic approach be taken?
  • How often does the grass need cutting to keep it under control?
  • How easy is it to cut the grass short again if we temporarily let it grow long?
  • Do cuttings need collecting and reusing somehow, or can they be left in situ; and how does this affect the soil and more plants growing?
  • How messy do different approaches look? Can we tolerate a bit of hay for the sake of wildlife?
  • Does leaving grass to grow long create other problems, with more litter, toileting and more anti-social behaviour?
  • Can the grass-cutting regime be changed but still be understandable and realistically achievable for the grass cutters?
  • Do we have the machinery that can cope with cutting and potentially clearing longer grass areas?
  • How are the plants that appear affected by location, the soil and environmental conditions?
  • Most importantly, once we cut the grass at lower frequencies, what different wild plants appear and what wildlife do they attract?
A mass of daises in an area left uncut in spring

So we have left many areas to experiment. This year we:

  • Continued to experiment with encouraging wildflowers along Albany Road in the west side of the park, after creating a large new meadow between the mounds and the road (there was previously just short grass). This has involved various re-seeding, and cutting and collecting at different times, with different amounts of hay-raking.
  • Continued to leave various other previous short areas of grass un-mown or mown at different frequencies to see what wildflowers appeared. These areas included:
  1. The grass all the way around the car park
  2. A large triangle of grass opposite St George’s church 
  3. The steep slopes next to the BMX track 
  4. Areas of previously cut grass around the tennis court cafe 
  5. The complete south-facing bank of the great lawn
  6. Much larger meadow patches at Rust Square 

We also:

  • Were slower to cut the grass in April/May — cutting as little as possible or leaving large areas uncut 
  • Cut around significant patches of wildflowers when we found them throughout the season
  • Experimented with hay: can it be turned into a rough ‘strulch’ for flowerbeds or used as a mulch around trees?
  • Observed the changing ratios of plants, native and non-native, in all of our more permanent longer grass, meadow areas, prairies, hollows and banks 

The basic conclusions made from of all this grass-cutting experimentation are interesting, and, I think, show that:

  • Experimenting with grass-cutting heights, frequencies and techniques with the typical range of equipment and staff available is perfectly achievable in most green spaces with a bit of thought and a more dynamic approach
  • There is a fear that if we don’t keep the grass cut short and regular everything will grow out of control; there will be chaos instead of order and then the world will likely end! This is far from true. Grass can easily be left to grow longer, so the wild plants can flower and seed, and then be cut short again when appropriate with suitably powerful mowers or other better suited equipment such as scythes and flails if available
Making a mess — Cutting longer grass shorter just creates a bit of hay, which looks a bit messy for a few weeks, then disappears. Alternatively, the cutting short could be done in a few stages so there is no hay, or the cuttings can be raked and collected. One thing our tidy minds should be able to tolerate is a bit of hay in the first place, if it means we can have many more meadows that we don’t have time to rake

Making our lawns more wildlife friendly is perfectly achievable with a bit of thought and a ripping up of old grounds-maintenance contracts that specify that all grass must be cut low. 

With a more multi-layered approach to grass cutting all kinds of wild plants can appear. The lawns can cease to be dead zones for nature and become useful habitats. These useful habitats will link all the intentional planting in the park to create a more complete ecology.

But in many places longer grass is inappropriate, or the resulting meadow not impressive-looking to us or floriferous for wildlife. Wildness can cause other problems with rubbish and questionable human behaviour! A lot depends on the site: how it is used by people, the presence of the right conditions for specific plants to grow, and whether those wild plants are still there in the first place, having been reduced to short lawns for so long.

In the next blog I’d like to discuss these meadow experiments in more detail and how successful they have been, as well as suggesting the best practice for cutting meadows and an updated approach for short-grass cutting that we have started using in small areas of the park already. 

Gregory Smith 
Head Gardener, Burgess Park

Chicory and Wild rocket on the west facing westside slopes

1 Landscape Institute case study, LDA Design Consulting LTD, Burgess Park Regeneration Project
https://my.landscapeinstitute.org/case-study/burgess-park-regeneration-project/0a156c22-d37b-e911-a99b-00224801ab04

2 The Landscape Institute, The Landscape Legacy of the Olympics, Part 7, The Olympic Planting Strategy, Olympic Park designers Professors Hitchmough and Dunnett interviewed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsuU3APsA5c 

REF 2014 impact case studies — The development of new, designed sustainable plant communities for use in urban greenspace
https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=23133

Celebration 26 March 2023 Passmore Edwards bicentenary

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Old sepia image of the library and overwritten with event details
Join Friends of Burgess Park celebrations Sunday 23 March 2023

Celebrate the Grade II listed building and it’s benefactor Passmore Edwards.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Passmore Edwards’ birth on 24th March 1823, and Friends of Burgess Park is joining with others around the UK to celebrate the Passmore Edwards 200 Festival. We’ll be holding a programme of events based at the old library, baths and washhouse on Wells Way on Sunday 26th March. There’s an exhibition about the man and his legacy, children’s activities, a commemorative tree-planting, and a reading by local author Jacqueline Crooks from her new book, refreshments and more.

Bike Tour 2-4pm We’ve also organised a short Bike Tour around three of Passmore Edwards’ south London buildings, guided by a renowned local architect. You can book now for the bike tour 2pm to 4pm on Eventbrite – places are limited to 25, so book early!

Commemorative Tree Planting 4.00- 4.30pm- Across the country Rowan trees are being planted to celebrate the Passmore Edwards bicentenary, join us from 4pm for the tree planting and reading by local author Jacqueline Crooks from her new book Fire Rush, and refreshments.

Exhibition 1-5.30pm – Find out more about Passmore Edwards with an exhibition on loan from the Passmore Edwards legacy. Plus more about the old library bath and washhouse building its history and future role benefitting local people.

Read more about Passmore Edwards and the library.

Anti-littering graphic

Tackling litter

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Michael Faraday primary school art work for anti-litter banners
Thank you Year 3 pupils (summer 2022) and for helping litterpic. See the banners in Albany Road near Giraffe House and Wells Way near the old library.


FOBP weekly litterpic Every Monday morning 8am to 9am

FOBP provide litterpics, gloves and bags.
Meet at Chumleigh Gardens – in the gardens behind the behind the cafe.

Peregrine Falcon

Birds of Burgess 2021 Review

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Blog: Dave Clark

Writing this in January 2022 the focus of birding interest centres around the lake at Burgess Park. Geese, gulls and cormorants increase their numbers at this time of year as they battle to survive the natural elements and human impositions before the high energy sapping spring arrives. Spring, when the days are longer, spring, when optimism fills the air, spring, when not just the lake but the whole park resonates to the natural sounds and movements of birds. Spring is when the lifestage focus shifts from one of survival to breeding; finding territories, finding partners, building nests, laying eggs and having kids…………well chicks. With this in mind and the short winter days and long nights providing an opportune mental space for human reflection it `s appropriate to mull over and review the multitude of bird highlights that over the 2021 seasons Burgess provided.

Mediterranean Gull - Josep del Hoyo

Mediterranean Gull                                                                              Josep del Hoyo Macaulay Library

Common Goldeneye Adult male

Goldeneye                                                                                               Dorian Anderson Macaulay Library

Eighty five species were seen across the year by twenty two observers who provided hundreds of important records of these sightings. There were twelve different long distant spring migrants recorded, either staying for a few days, using the park as a feeding stepping stone or remaining until summer to breed, nine different species of warbler, seven different species of gulls, five different species of birds of prey, two different flycatchers and a partridge in a pear tree………..ahem, not really,  but a pheasant was indeed seen!

Common Redstart - eBird

Common Redstart                                                                                 K. Al Dhaheri Macaulay Library

Spotted Flycatcher - Saurabh Sawant

Spotted Flycatcher                                                                                S. Sawant Macaulay Library

However these numbers are pretty, lifeless and unemotive without context. For the true importance of Burgess Park as an avian hotspot and green performer to be understood we should compare these figures and the interest that they have engendered to other green spaces. Eighty five is a tick list that would be expected in more `wilder` and `natural` areas or rural arcadian idylls not in an urban park, indeed in these traditionally more cosmeticized environments forty to fifty species would be a more likely expectation. Neither are these numbers just birders ticks in a little black book or competitive markers but more importantly denote what can be achieved in urban green spaces at a time when 67% of the UK`s bird species are deemed of conservation concern.

These heartening results do not come by chance. Burgess Park has locational advantages; it is not far from Thames and is characterised by superb vistas which allows birds sightlines of the lake and green areas. But it is the considered management and provision of various habitats which are the key factors in attracting the abundance and diversity of birds,  ……scrub, long grass, wild flower meadows, richly planted gardens and ofcourse the important water feature. It is no surprise that many of the rarer species encountered were found in the less sterile environments, environments which we have been institutionalized to believe as rough and unkempt. These pejorative terms mask the positives, we should be thinking rich, diverse and life affirming. Scrub is good is the mantra.

For these birds, several of which are long distance migrants, wintering south of the Sahara, to continue to be attracted, these habitats need to be retained and maintained by diligent management and hard work. Management that does not have dominion but understands that nature is at the apex of importance of any green space.

If anyone would like to take part in citizen science by recording bird sightings, the references below should help and if a full annual bird list is required check out this link:

https://ebird.org/hotspot/L7578420

or contact me at: dave@mailbox.co.uk.

Peregrine Falcon                                                                                      Joshua Stacy Macaulay Library

Resources:

London Birders Wiki

GIGL

BTO

ebird

Squirrel in tree

Love your woodlands

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so much more than lots of trees

Wild boar, auroch and red deer shaped our ancient woodlands. They grazed on the saplings that sprung up in the clearings caused by falling trees and kept the soil open to the sky. Wildflowers and berries thrived in the sunshine attracting more wildlife. Stone-age hunters found it profitable to hunt where the animals gathered and were able to keep the clearings open using flint axes. Later on, Bronze age people developed the clearings into places to cultivate rough pasture and crops.* 

Closed canopy woodland
Under  the shade of a closed canopy, very little grows. Trees are not regenerated. Small areas like this add to the experience of walking in a wood, but it would be rather gloomy if covering a large area.

A completely closed canopy is poor in biodiversity as without sunlight, there will be no plants for forage on the woodland floor. The only insects to be found will be those that feed on decaying leaf litter and their predators. The mighty English Oak will not grow here, their seedlings grow best in more open conditions, often under the protection of a Blackberry thicket. ‘The thorn is mother to the Oak.’ When you find an Oak tree in the middle of a wood, it was there first, other trees grew around it.

Break in the canopy
Here, the break in the canopy is allowing regeneration of the woodland floor. Alkanet and nettles flower, encouraging butterflies to lay their eggs and young trees to grow from seed.

Throughout the many centuries since, under-woodsmen have harvested the underwood, taking Hazel, Ash and Chestnut to make hurdles, fences, rustic furniture, firewood and charcoal. The standards, Oak and Elm were left to grow on into timber for ship and house building or to become veteran trees. Felling all the underwood may seem like vandalism, but letting the light in regenerates the woodland as the trees quickly re-grow.

Woodland edge
The most biodiverse part of woodland is the woodland edge. Abundant plant cover provides food and protection for small animals, insects and birds. Birds will feast on the wild cherry on the right then spread their stones to create more trees. This is a good place to spot Speckled Wood Butterflies.

The woodland in Burgess Park West is a young Broad Leaf woodland, planted to imitate ancient woodland, but it will be many decades before it develops veteran trees and the complex wildlife that they support. Similarly, with the plants that indicate ancient woodland – Wood anemone, Herb Paris, Twayblade, Purple Orchid, They need deep, moist, leaf mould interlaced with fungal mycelium and soil micro-organisms to grow in. 

Adjacent to the Burgess Park West Wood is this area of wild carrot, Viper’s bugloss, Bird’s foot trefoil, Knapweed & Clover. Ants, spiders, shield insects and beetles in abundance are a vital supply for the hungry nestlings waiting in the wood. Pollinators turn the flowers into seeds that keep the birds fed through autumn and winter. Common Blue butterfly caterpillars feed on Bird’s foot trefoil, Painted lady on Viper’s bugloss and Clouded yellow butterfly on clover.
Dog Rose
This thicket of Dog Rose would provide enough cover for a Black Cap, nicknamed ‘Northern Nightingale’ to nest. There are quite a few of them in this part of London.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn provides fodder for animals, edible berries, and is a food plant of the Black-veined white butterfly caterpillar.

Sunshine is a vital agent. In a coppiced woodland, sections of the woodland called Coups are cut every 7-12 years in rotation. Under this system, there are always young tree shoots within the reach of grazing animals somewhere in the woods. Other trees and plants are mature enough to produce nuts and berries to feed animals such as dormice. Somewhere in the wood, areas of thick scrub will have sprung up into a site where nightingales can nest. Full exposure to sunlight every decade is enough to sustain bluebells and other woodland flora. In neglected woods, the flora will eventually be shaded out along with all the wildlife it supports.

Coppicing is hard work and under woodsmen a rare breed. In Blean Woods near Canterbury, things are going full circle and European Bison are being re-introduced to look after the woods. Unfortunately, natural habitats are becoming more fragmented by roads and buildings, so it will take a lot of changes to make it possible for native mammals like the hedgehog or the wild boar to return to this bit of London. The plants and trees that have lasted with us into the 21st Century have adapted to our ancient methods of managing the land and to the animals that live on it. But, they can’t keep up with our present rate of change and we run the risk of destroying these beautiful habitats if we don’t understand and fight for what it takes to keep them alive.

Jenny

* See A Natural History of the Hedgerow by John Wright