Necessity is the mother of invention. A large batch of trees had been ordered for the park in March, but the world had other ideas for what would happen this month. So what to do with the trees? Temporarily at least, our very own Tiny Forest has been created in an area the size of a tennis court.
Restricted life in the UK – the Park is still open (for exercise, in groups of two).
Today is the first day of a new set of Coronavirus restrictions in the UK; one exercise walk a day for groups of no more than two people.‡ We have found it best to do this early in the morning and today at 06.30 the weather at that time was absolutely stunning. Things are still happening in the park; we have a new tree nursery being planted!
More spring colour – and a new exercise area!
Around the park contractors are installing twelve new exercise machines, in about five different locations. The largest of these is shown below, which will take six units. I am currently turning up early in the morning (when there is no-one around, as you can see from the photo) in the hope that when the six units are fixed to the base-plates, I will be the very first person to try them all out. So if you do happen upon them before I do, you will take the glory instead!
Continue reading “More spring colour – and a new exercise area!”
The early shoots of spring.
Here are some of the early spring buds and leaves in the park. It will change very quickly from here on.
Dinner tonight – from Perivale Park.
Strolling around the park yesterday with Richard, we walked past the flower meadow near the tennis courts. Last year it had been sown with a Linnet bird seed mix combined with brassicas. The latter are now starting to flower, and are showing yellow. Richard had been hoping for the purple sprouting variety and we pondered if these were just as edible or not. Well, coming home, I found out that the generic term for most brassica sprouts is “grelos” in Portuguese. They are often combined with boiled potatoes, egg and salted cod (bacalhau).
Tiny forests.
On the news today is the project by environmental charity Earthwatch Europe and Witney Town council to plant the “UK’s first-ever Tiny Forest”. On a plot the size of a tennis court, volunteers have planted some 600 fast growing trees.
Spring bulbs – 2020 style!
It is very wet and in places water-logged out there. We got some bulbs for planting last Nov/Dec from the Bulbs for London charity and they contacted me today for photos of how the bulbs looked like this spring. Whether it is the very mild winter, or the abnormal amount of rain we have been having recently, but the bulbs this year are struggling rather to put on their very best show. The crocus and snowdrops we planted last year have not made much of an appearance and the tulips are yet to show. But here, for the record, and also for our benefactors, are some photos just taken (on a very wet and windy day), mostly of daffodils.
Greenford to Gurnell Greenway: Project Update
Visitors to the park may have spotted notices describing progress in the Greenway project. I also attach it here if you want to peruse the details, thanks to Richard!
Continue reading “Greenford to Gurnell Greenway: Project Update”
Birds in the park – February 2020.
This morning we went for a stroll around the park with Neil Anderson to see how many different species of birds we could spot. The final total: 31 and as Neil put it “if we’d looked harder we could have found House Sparrows by some of the gardens + previous visits have seen Jay & Greenfinch”. The kingfishers in particular were a treat! As the river Brent improves we hope to see them far more often.
The first six years of a new pond.
People have been asking about the new ponds in the park. When first dug, they did look rather raw, although even now just a few months later, they mounds of clay spoil surrounding the ponds are starting to green out. Richard has kindly sent us some photos of how a newly created pond develops over the first six years or so of its life and I share those here. 
No ice-skating please: Winter in the park.
The first real cold snap of the winter has resulted in hoar frost on the twigs and branches and a very slightly frozen surface to the new ponds in the park. The stream feeding them is still flowing, so its unlikely anyone will (or should) be ice-skating there this winter, or indeed in the future given the direction of climate change.
Continue reading “No ice-skating please: Winter in the park.”
Quadrat surveys of our biodiverse Perivale meadows, 2019.
Last year, five of us conducted three quadrat surveys of the meadow areas to the east of the railway viaduct in Perivale Park (below, red arrow). This is a beautiful grass meadow and part the Greenford-Gurnell Greenway project, whereby the south meadow has been converted to new wetlands, with the little stream feeding these wetlands running alongside the north meadow. This meadow and the adjacent new wetland ponds featured in a local BBC news item recently.
Continue reading “Quadrat surveys of our biodiverse Perivale meadows, 2019.”
Gurnell-Greenford Greenwayers Diary for Cleaning Up in 2020!
Richard, who organises the Greenwayers diary (and much more) has sent the following dates for clean-ups in 2020. Continue reading “Gurnell-Greenford Greenwayers Diary for Cleaning Up in 2020!”
Google maps: “Your photo is making a difference”
Google maps has for some time allowed anyone to upload a photo of a feature on the map. Once you have done this, they then kindly send you periodic encouragements to continue the habit by revealing the viewing statistics for your photos and a slider which supposedly rewards your activities with “points”.
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Welcome 2020: Winter cheer and future projects!
January 1st and another year to look forward to – lots of projects and ideas on the brew. Here I show splashes of colour still visible in the park and the first signs of spring in the orchard.
Continue reading “Welcome 2020: Winter cheer and future projects!”
Perivale Park in the BBC news – in a good way!
I noted the planting by the edge of the new river in the extended park area last week. Now the BBC has spotted this new wetlands and you can see the TV report here (time codes 5:04 to 7:05: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000csmw/bbc-london-evening-news-23122019#t=5m4s
Continue reading “Perivale Park in the BBC news – in a good way!”
Gauge map, Costons Lane, Greenford
Richard has just sent me this link to the Costons lane river Brent monitoring station (the weir near the new bridge). The display below is live.
Perivale Park stream-side plantings.
Today’s planting was of sedges, rushes and other damp-loving plants along the course of the newly created stream in the extended park area east of the railway embankment. Many of them will produce interesting flowers next year, and will naturalise the shallow banks of this new stream feeding the wetland ponds in the adjacent meadow.
Sunrise in the park on December 9, 2019.
It is on mornings such as these that I lament that I do not have a professional camera. The best I can offer here of sunrise in the park is one taken using a mobile phone.
LONDON NATIONAL PARK CITY RANGERS
Planting Sessions Friday 13th and Saturday 14th Dec
Planting Sessions Friday 13th and Saturday 14th Dec
Thames21 will be hosting 2 planting events. We are going to be planting sedges rushes and a variety of other colourful species on the Gurnell side of the park. Starting location is going to be the Perivale Park Golf Course Café. Below are the links for the event and a poster for the days as well. We are going to be working around the pond areas rather than the steeper banks of the Brent, making these very family friendly events. As always, all equipment will be provided and under 16’s need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Please pass on the details to anyone who you believe would like to help conserve their local river.
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More spring bulbs in the park.
The bulbs alluded to in a previous post have now been planted.
Perivale North Meadow Wildlife Survey, 19/08/2019.
The two meadows to the east of Perivale park and across the railway viaduct are a rich source of diversity. To establish exactly how diverse, we did a survey this August and the results are shown below.
Continue reading “Perivale North Meadow Wildlife Survey, 19/08/2019.”
An update on the Friends of Perivale Park.
Following a public meeting on 4th November, it was agreed to form a Friends of the Park committee. This committee met on 25th November and elected the following officers; Continue reading “An update on the Friends of Perivale Park.”
Bulbs for London – in Perivale Park.
The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association is a long established charity that runs an annual Bulbs for London program. This year, as a newly formed Friends group (of Perivale Park) we applied for bulbs and were delighted to hear that our application was successful. The box arrived a day or so ago:
Orchard garden update: next year’s planting for the four meadows.
We now have details of how the four meadows in the orchard garden will be planted for next year. Each of the meadows now has a mound of soil, which will be mixed shortly with sand and evened out as soon as the rains and rather soggy ground conditions allow!
Continue reading “Orchard garden update: next year’s planting for the four meadows.”
A year in the Park
Carmel Cahill sent me these photos; she is one of the new Friends of Perivale Park, which was formed on Monday 4th November, 2019. The photos come with the comments:
Come to our litter sweep in/along the River Brent in Pitshanger Park on 10th November!
Forming a Friends of Perivale Park Group, Nov 4, 2019.
South West London Environment Network (SWLEN) & Ealing Council are looking to form a Friends of Perivale Park group to help maintain and enhance this precious green space. The inaugural meeting is on Monday, 4 November, 19:00-21:00 GMT in the Conference Room of Brentside High School.
Continue reading “Forming a Friends of Perivale Park Group, Nov 4, 2019.”
The Perivale Park orchard garden in autumn.
This is the orchard’s first year, and so it is still far from its final maturing outlook. But even at this stage the Malus fruits, of which there are in fact just a few, have acquired their brilliant red colour.
Continue reading “The Perivale Park orchard garden in autumn.”