National Meadows Day

National Meadows Day 6th July

a new nature blog

It’s national meadows day and I thought this would be a good point to write something about them.

Meadows  – the word is deep within our collective memory – it crops up on branded packaging for fake supermarket farms, decaying council estates from the 50s, and even beyond these shores. Meadow Lane is the location where some of the darkest action in the classic David Lynch neo-noir Blue Velvet take place.  It’s the one place you did not want to end up.

The word is old – from the proto-germanic medwo – “land covered in grass which is grown for hay”, though interestingly while we follow that root, in German the word is now Wiese. I suspect that grass is used here to describe a sward composed of grasses and other wildflowers, because it would never have just been grass let alone one kind of grass. A typical wildflower meadow…

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Want to start or formalise a park or open space friends group?

Information and links from the Parks Community UK website about which legal structure should you choose for your group? What should happen at your AGM? What is the role of the chair? Find out here.

“Sample constitution for a Friends group.

A sample constitution for a new friends group.

Sample Constitution

This is a sample constitution for an small friends group.

Holding an Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Find out how to organise and run your AGM.

Sample Meeting Agenda

This is a sample set of minutes for a groups committee meeting.

How to be an effective chairperson

The chair or chairperson is a key role on any voluntary management committee.

How to be an effective secretary

Each management committee will have its own way of doing things and the way in which work is shared out can depend on the skills, interests or amounts of time that a person has to offer.

How to be an effective treasurer

The treasurer works closely with the management committee to safeguard the organisation’s finances, with a watchdog role over all aspects of financial management.

Friends’ Forum Sample Constitution

An example of a constitution for a Friend’s forum.”

Wellbeing benefits of nature in urban areas should be available to those who need them most

Important message about the mental health benefits of nature from @davies_white ’s #RHSChelsea garden. However our researchers have found that in cities the wellbeing benefits of nature may not always be available to support those who need them most: https://t.co/o7vfHNsB2z pic.twitter.com/7eH9VCJsZI

— Landscape Dept (@LandscapeSheff) May 20, 2019

Wellbeing benefits of nature in urban areas should be available to those who need them most

Important message about the mental health benefits of nature from @davies_white ’s #RHSChelsea garden. However our researchers have found that in cities the wellbeing benefits of nature may not always be available to support those who need them most: https://t.co/o7vfHNsB2z pic.twitter.com/7eH9VCJsZI

— Landscape Dept (@LandscapeSheff) May 20, 2019

Museum of walking

Excellent. But this does not show / ignores many important green spaces in #London #NationalParkCity e.g.@mountsfieldpark @Sutcliffe_Park @ForsterMPark + @LloydParkCR0 @ParkHillFriends and others in #Croydon.

A map of #London parks should show them all. @HelenIlus @LondonNPC https://t.co/ZRlWUMkJih

— QWAG (@qwag) May 14, 2019

Great work DeptfordFolk!

Massive thanks to @rosamund_ElsFdn and @damienegan for joining our chair @TLynskey yesterday to plant tree 200 of the #Evelyn200 project. Clean air, biodiversity and a greener environment for the #Evelynward pic.twitter.com/v2ZiV8kEex

— DeptfordFolk (@deptfordfolk) April 14, 2019

Dead and Dying Trees in Lewisham’s Parks and Open Spaces

mountsfieldpark

These photos show just some of the many trees at Mountsfield Park and other Lewisham parks that are dead or dying due to strimmer and mower damage by Lewisham Council and their parks and open spaces contractors. The Lewisham Council parks managers instruct their landscape contractors to keep grass short right up to the base of each tree for a tidy appearance and because it is currently part of the Lewisham Glendale contract specification. Unfortunately the Lewisham parks and open spaces contractor does not have sufficient capacity or resources to achieve a short grass sward next to trees without harming them. The strimmer and mower damage can cause a tree to die quickly or slowly. External funding is sought by volunteers for replacement tree planting eg London Tree and Woodland Awards. The future of newly planted trees in Lewisham’s Parks and open spaces is uncertain if Lewisham Council…

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Sacred trees

https://uk.lush.com/article/spiritual-connection-nature

today's Lush Times column connects Avatar, St Boniface and my dad's devotion to @WestHamUtd, via Sacred Trees. "A spiritual connection to nature." https://t.co/NmDwW6b3rD. Partly inspired by a conversation with @holland_tom. @M_Z_Harrison @issybryonyh @GeorgeMonbiot @ORFC pic.twitter.com/ridkmVvqBT

— Miles King (@MilesKing10) January 14, 2019

Communities to have a greater say in protecting trees

mountsfieldpark

Communities to have a greater say in protecting trees, Government consultation for better protection of UK trees. Deadline 28 Feb 2019
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/forestry/protecting-trees-and-woodlands/

Sheffield residents objecting to street tree felling

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Lewisham top London borough for its parks and green spaces service – Good Parks For London 2018

Well done Lewisham Council, Glendale and the Lewisham parks group volunteers for maintaining and improving our parks and green spaces in 2018!
https://glhearn-publications.cld.bz/Good-Parks-for-London-2018

Lewisham is the top borough for its parks and green spaces service in  ‘Good Parks for London 2018′
The London borough parks services were assessed by the Parks for London charity for  ‘Good Parks For London 2018‘ .  The scores above are for the following performance criteria: