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Little Green Space |
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Little Green Space |
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LITTLE GREEN SPACE Originally published in the Peak Advertiser on 12 January 2009
Our busy year at
Little Green Space ended with our first Save the North Pole Christmas
campaign. Father Christmas, dressed in the traditional green robes he wore
until mid-Victorian times, rode into Matlock on a horse-drawn carriage,
kindly donated by Darley Dale’s Red
The green costume,
specially made by Matlock-based costume designer Jane Oldfield,
highlighted the threat posed by climate change to Father Christmas’s
home at the North Pole. It was a memorable
day as Father Christmas strolled around the town along with his band of
helpers: polar bears, reindeer and other festive characters. A team of
volunteers handed out letters from Father Christmas, supplying tips on how
to have a carbon-conscious Christmas, and collected money which will
support climate change projects locally and also, via Bakewell-based
Village Aid, in Barn
Owls Earlier in the year,
we started our Barn Owl Project at Hackney Leys. A barn owl nesting box
was situated in a large ash tree with the help of our climbing friend
Andy. We hope that barn owls will find the box and use it as a nesting
site in spring 2009. The area around the ash tree is ideal hunting ground
for barn owls which like long, tussocky grass where they can hunt for
their favourite meal: voles. After mentioning our
barn owl project in the Peak Advertiser back in April we were very much
encouraged by an email we received from Stuart Slack who has lived in the
area for over 60 years. He told us that, as a boy, he remembers seeing
barn owls at Hackney, hunting in broad daylight all along the hillside. If
they have lived here before, we should be able to encourage them to
return. And then, a few weeks
before Christmas our friends Debbie, Andy and their children Jack and
Jessica were walking on Oaker hill – just a couple of miles away –
when they saw a barn owl flying above the surrounding fields. So all in all, we are
quite hopeful that our barn owl box will soon be inhabited, and will have
our binoculars focused upon the old ash tree in the coming months. Trees Meanwhile, we have
been creating an area of mixed native woodland at Hackney Leys and have
planted oak, ash, beech, rowan, wild cherry and silver birch. Twelve broad-leaved
trees were also planted with reception children at The creation of an
orchard is also in progress at Hackney Leys. In May I spent a sunny
afternoon pinching off all the blossoms from the apple trees. It felt
really wrong, as each little bloom, left on the tree, would have become an
apple. But removing the blossom results in a stronger tree and better
crops in years to come - otherwise the tree puts all its energy into
making fruit, instead of putting down roots. So I look forward
enjoying the apple blossom in 2009, and hopefully to a bumper crop of
fruit in the autumn – although the old apple tree in our garden was so
productive in 2008 that we are still eating the fruits we stored on a
shelf in the shed. And the first glass of cider brewed form the juice was
enjoyed on New Year’s Day – very good it was, too! The Veggie Patch One thing that I
really enjoyed in 2008 was growing my own vegetables for the first time. I
am so pleased that I kept a gardening diary – a really useful record of
what I planted, and when, of things that grew well and of the total
failures! I have been reading it in quiet moments over the Christmas
holidays, and using it to plan what to grow in 2009. So I won’t bother
with cauliflowers again – too tricky. And although the sprouts were also
a disaster, I may try again this year with a different variety (my
money’s on “Trafalgar”). I’ll also make sure my carrots are
covered with fleece, to thwart the dreaded carrot fly, and I’ll plant
twice as many onions and potatoes, as they all got eaten so quickly last
year. Last year I managed
to grow all the fresh vegetables needed for Seven Vegetable Soup (see
below) – though unfortunately they weren’t all ready for harvesting at
the same time! So my ambition for 2009 is to get the timing right, and
grow my own soup! Even if you don’t
grow your own veg, this is a great recipe to make up for all the excesses
of the Christmas period – it’s nutritious, low in fat and easy on the
pocket. Happy New Year! Seven Vegetable Soup Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive
oil 2 cloves garlic,
crushed I onion, finely
chopped 2 leeks, washed and
sliced 3 medium-sized
potatoes. peeled and chopped into small pieces 3 large carrots,
peeled and sliced 2 parsnips, peeled
and chopped into small pieces 75g red lentils 2 pints vegetable
stock Method: Heat the oil
in a large saucepan and add the garlic, onion and leeks. Fry gently for
about 5 minutes until softened. Add the potatoes, carrots and parsnips,
stir briefly then add the vegetable stock. Place the lentils in a sieve,
rinse thoroughly under the cold tap and add to the pan. Bring to the boil
then cover the pan and simmer gently for about 30 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until the vegetables are soft. Remove from the heat and use
a hand blender or liquidizer to blend the soup into a smooth, thick liquid
– if it is too thick add extra vegetable stock until it is the desired
consistency. Serve with warm, crusty bread. Penny at Little Green Space |
