Little Green Space
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Little Green Space |
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March 2009 March 29, 2009 Ash Trees at Cavendish Remember those ash trees we salvaged from All Saints Infants School? Well, as it turned out, there were rather more than 100. Rich counted them up after we'd pulled them out - he got to 1500 then stopped. Rob came straight over, loaded up his van, and got the trees into his pond, to keep them alive until we could find a place to put them. Most of the trees have now been relocated to Cavendish Playing Fields in Matlock. The Cavendish Fields committee agreed to let us plant up there, as it will provide a much-needed wind-break for the football pitches. Transition Matlock members rallied round to get the trees in yesterday and today, and there will be another planting session on Wednesday 8 April from 4pm. Read more about the tree-planting at www.transitionmatlock.org March 26, 2009 Matlock Bath Holy Trinity School
We spent the afternoon at Matlock Bath Holy Trinity School clearing some overgrown shrubs from part of the school grounds. We then helped the school's Gardening Club to plant 3 fruit trees: 2 apples (Katy and James Grieve) and a Victoria plum. The kids then planted garlic bulbs around the trees - the smell helps to deter pests. The children really enjoyed the planting, especially when they discovered the earth was full of worms! March 22, 2009 Trees Yet Again "What shall we do today, Rich?" "Well, we haven't planted any trees for a while. Shall we go up to Riber and plant some more oaks on Willersley Castle's land?" So that's what we did. 50 more trees. I don't want to plant any more trees for at least a week. (Except that we have three more fruit trees sitting in the garden, ready to go in at Matlock Bath Holy Trinity School. Oh well!) March 21, 2009 More Trees We took three fruit trees over to Matlock All Saints Infants this morning, and got them planted. They look great! Then we came home and planted about 150 hedging trees - hawthorn, blackthorn and dogwood - with the help of our friend Alison. (Our friends will stop ringing us soon, as every time they call they get roped into planting things!) March 20, 2009 Trees
Rich went over to Lorna Cross Nursery in Tansley this morning to collect 23 fruit trees - six are for schools, and the rest will be used to create an orchard at Hackney Leys. Orchards are becoming a rarer and rarer habitat, with a decline of over 50% in the UK over the past 50 years or so. This is worrying, as orchard trees support a huge number of different species, and provide particularly good habitats for some endangered species such as the spotted flycatcher. Bees love fruit trees, too, which is reason enough to find a place for them. So we have planted 17 trees: seven different varieties of apple, two of pear, two of plum and a damson. Our friend Debbie came over to help - we couldn't have done it without her - thanks! March 17, 2009 Congratulations! Congratulations to Matlock All Saints Infants School, for winning a greenhouse in a recent npower competition. There were 50 greenhouses to be won, and nearly 1000 entries, so the school have done really well. It's a fantastic greenhouse, too, with its own solar heating and sink heat system. The kids can really get growing now! March 15, 2009 Busy We had another great session at the Infants school yesterday and managed to completely clear the large area intended for the vegetable garden. The raised beds are ready for planting up with nectar-rich plants to attract bees and butterflies, so Rich and I will be off on a shopping trip in the next couple of weeks. We will also order three fruit trees - an apple, a pear and a plum - to plant in the garden. Back at home I've planted onion sets in the vegetable garden, as well as some radishes, broad beans and beetroot. The tomato seedlings are coming along very nicely, as are the leeks and mixed salad leaves. I love this time of year! March 7, 2009 School Gardens
We've been at Matlock All Saints Infants School this morning, helping with the redesign of the school gardens. A new outdoor learning area is being created, including habitats for wildlife, sensory planting and a kitchen garden. Most of the work today was on a large overgrown bed at the side of the school buildings, pulling out a load of leggy, spiky shrubs (and well over 100 ash saplings, which we have salvaged and will re-home). The plan is to have a school fruit and vegetable garden where the shrubs were, and Rob and Margaret from Transition Matlock came along to advise on the construction of raised beds and compost bins. Around twenty parents and members of staff turned out to work on the garden. Everybody is really enthusiastic about the project, and it's great to be working on something so positive (especially when the sun is shining!) There is still a lot to do, and it's hard work, but it is going to look fantastic. The wildlife-friendly planting will become a great habitat for bees, butterflies and birds. And it will be so good for the kids to get out there and start growing. March 6, 2009 Goldcrest We've had a goldcrest visiting our garden for a few weeks now, but I've never seen it. Each time Rich has spotted it and called for me to come and see it, it's flown away before I've made it to the window. But this afternoon I was enjoying a cup of tea on the patio in the (rather cold) spring sunshine when a tiny bird landed in the cherry tree just a few feet from where I was sitting. It was the goldcrest! I got a pretty good look at it before it flitted away again - they are busy little birds. March 1, 2009 Trees at Starkholmes
We've been up at Starkholmes today, helping the Transition Matlock folks to plant over 100 trees. It's part of a plan, initiated by Matlock Town Councillor Martin Burfoot, to create a new woodland on land belonging to Willersley Castle Hotel. Little Green Space donated 20 trees - a mixture of oak, ash and birch - to the project.
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