On the second Saturday of each month we hold Workdays on the Green to which all are welcome. Join us at the Albion Villas Road entrance at 10.30 am, making sure you are wearing strong shoes or boots and have a good pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands. Do also bring any small hand tools you may have. This month (as well as the usual litter-picking) we focused on clearing areas of bramble. While bramble flowers are a…
We’ve had a 7-circuit classical labyrinth on the Green since May 2013. Local artist Maria Strutz designed it for an arts festival that was held on the Green (LEAF 2013). Maria created it using stones and twigs and it wasn’t expected to last beyond the festival. But moss and grass gradually gathered and helped stabilise the fragile structure. And Maria has given it a lot of ongoing care. In more recent years, though, with several spells of hot, dry weather,…
We are delighted that Albion Millennium Green is featured in a new book, Green Lewisham: Our treasured open spaces by Candy Blackham. The book, which is full of beautiful full colour reproductions, and fascinating, carefully researched articles was published by Clink Street Publishing in July of this year and there is a copy in Forest Library if you would like to check it out. In the book – as described by the author and publishers – “we are invited to…
Many thanks to Steve Bolton from Big City Butterflies for leading this fascinating event on the Green, which was open to all. The species spotted were Speckled Wood (the most common butterflies on the Green this summer) as well as Gatekeeper (pictured above), Small White and Large White. Other butterflies spotted this summer were the Holly Blue, Comma, Marbled White and the Jersey Tiger (moth).
On Saturday 9 July about 25 young Mud Club members had a day out on the Green. Mud Club is an outdoor arts and crafts session for children aged 3 and over. One of the club leaders, Ellie Weedman had this to say! “What a wonderful day we had! Our job today as a team was to put some magic into Albion Millennium Green!! We truely did! It was a magical 4 hrs of very busy fun and exploring! It…
We are very pleased to be hosting Teatro Vivo on the Green again this year. Do come and join the workshop!
So much is in bloom right now. In the wooded areas of the Green are scatterings of Primroses and Bluebells. Look for the Bird Cherry, with its dangling plumes of tiny white flowers. Later, these will develop into bitter, black fruits which are good for wildlife but not for human consumption. Kingcups, also known as Marsh Marigold, are growing by the pond and we’ve also spotted a Wood Anemone, one of first of a batch planted by the Friends of…
This year we took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch. These were the results for Albion Millennium Green, with magpies (below left) and great tits (centre) registered as our most commonly seen birds – on the day (Sunday 30th January) Magpie, Great Tit and Redwing (images courtesy of the RSPB website) Not recorded here is the fact that we also spotted a redwing (right). It landed at the edge of the pond, where it spent a short while drinking. It…
The end of year on the Green is somewhat waterlogged but there is much to celebrate. Thank you to everyone who enjoys the Green, and to our Friends, Trustees and other volunteers, for collectively making the Green a safe and refreshing haven over the last year. We are also grateful for the ongoing support we receive from Lewisham Council’s Nature Conservation team and those working for Greenscene, from Nature’s Gym, and many others. This October we again received a Green…
A close-up of a wild chicory flower (Cichorium intybus) on the left and a lovely clump of them through which we can see a wider vista of the Green. Below, from left to right Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense) and Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) which will shortly develop red berries. But do beware! This is attractive but poisonous plant. Right now, we have ripe blackberries and there are also abundant damsons and plums.