For May Day this year: a quiet celebration with Maria Strutz, who created our labyrinth in 2013 — 10 years ago! Last December it was renovated, with as little intervention as possible, by our trustee, Bruno Roubicek. After some experimentation, we decided on the simple use of gravel to better define the path. This means that if and as hot or dry weather causes the labyrinth’s grassy areas to disappear, its winding structure will still be visible and walkable. The…
Lots of frog and frogspawn sightings in our pond – do come and take a look! These are common frogs. One way you can tell that these are frogs rather than toads is by their spawn which appears in cloudy clumps. You can find out more about telling frogs and toads apart by reading this Woodland Trust article.
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,…
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…
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…
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…
Sydenham Common was a 500-acre plot of common land. It was enclosed between 1810 and 1819 and most of it was then built upon. Our Green (for a while, the site of a tennis club) is a mere 2.5 acre portion of it. But today, the Lewisham-based theatre company Teatro Vivo brought forgotten histories of the old Common back to life. In a series of short, interactive performances, the Common rose up to remind us of its great past, to…
You may have noticed recent additions to our local Forest Hill signage! Three ‘fingerpost’ signs have gone up directing residents and visitors to the Green. One is in front of WH Smiths near Forest Hill Station, one is at the bottom of Clyde Vale and the third is at the top of Albion Villas Road. We’re thankful to Jordan Ogbeide-Ihama at Greenscene – Parks and Open Spaces for the London Borough of Lewisham for organising this and hope that the…