There be dragons!

Wildside – our regular look at the non-human residents of SE23

With names like Ruddy Darter and Broad-bodied Chaser to inspire the imagination, Dragonflies are every bit as exciting as their fire-breathing counterparts. And, unlike the fire-breathing variety (rarely spotted in SE23 since the arrival of fried chicken outlets and nail parlours), dragonflies are on show in Forest Hill – if you know where to look.

These beautiful insects have been around for more than 300 million years – that’s 55 million years longer than the dinosaurs - although back then they could have a wingspan of up to one metre.

Like so much of our wildlife, their existence depends on streams and ponds. The dragonfly’s larvae live in water for as long as 7 years before emerging. So, as our ponds disappear and streams are diverted underground, dragonflies have fewer places to breed and their numbers dwindle.

There aren’t many big ponds in Lewisham so, again, the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve is a vital haven. Azure & Large Red Damselflies, Southern Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser and Common Darter have all been recorded in the ponds there in recent years.

Now is the perfect time of year to observe their incredible ability to fly forwards, backwards and sideways. Dragonflies love the sun so a warm day between late morning and early afternoon is the best time to see them.

The British Dragonfly Society is currently running a survey on where the Broad-Bodied Chaser lives. The male has a pale blue coloured abdomen and the female a brown abdomen. Both have dark brown triangular patches at the base of all four wings. To take part in the survey go online at www.brc.ac.uk

Horniman Gardens Revamp

The Horniman Museum is planning a major overhaul of its much-loved gardens and has carried out the first stage of its consultation process. All the suggestions and comments made by local people and users of the gardens have been passed on to the landscape architects, Land Use Consultants (LUC), who have now produced their first draft design. On 18^th June, two members of the Forest Hill Society Committee – together with representatives of other local groups - were invited to view these plans. LUC – one of the UK’s leading environmental and design consultancies – presented its vision for the Horniman Gardens.

OVERVIEW

LUC explained that the Horniman Gardens have evolved in a piecemeal fashion over the years and, as a result, there is no cohesive design to the layout. There is little integration between the Museum and the Gardens. The design team wants to rectify that and devise a garden, which creates a closer relationship between the two.

As a result of the consultation, several key requests came up again and again. Adults wanted water features. Younger users of the Gardens wanted to keep the kick-about area and remove the dog poo from the grass!

FIRST DRAFT – KEY FEATURES

The designers want to realign many of the existing paths, getting rid of some completely, so that there is a more fluid feel to the Gardens. They feel this will help people move naturally from the Museum itself into the centre of the Gardens.

The focus of the Gardens would be the central avenue, which would be upgraded.

They suggest relocating the hugely popular (but not very attractive) animal enclosure closer to the back of the Museum so that it is better integrated.

The existing sunken garden could be given a water feature of some sort.

The hardstanding around the bandstand is seen as a problem area, which has become an eyesore over the years. LUC suggest reducing the width of this area by bringing in additional planting. They would like to improve the panoramic views by removing some trees.

The designers want to restore the bandstand. This would include restoring the glazing at the back.

The old paddling pool/kick-about area would be turned back into a more natural pool as part of an expanded nature area. This pool could be linked thematically with the Horniman’s new aquarium. The pool would be fed by harvesting water from the hardstanding area via a series of small pools.

Another quite radical idea is to bring the Nature Trail into the Gardens by changing the existing boundaries of the cycle path and footpath (obviously, subject to approval from Lewisham Council). The designers feel the Nature Trail is an underused resource partly because it is a dead end. So they would like to build some kind a facility at the Langton Rise end – London Wildlife Trust have expressed an interest – or perhaps key worker housing. This would then provide access to the Nature Trail from that end and the buildings would bring a form of passive security.

The designers suggest introducing a wild play area at the South Circular end of the Nature Trail for young children. Instead of metal climbing frames and swings etc it would make use of natural materials such as sand, gravel and logs for children to explore and climb. A more teen-friendly facility could be located over the road in the Horniman Triangle.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The Horniman team was at pains to stress that these designs are at a very early stage and some of the points mentioned above have already been modified. Nothing has been decided yet and, indeed, no funding has been secured. So this is still very much a work in progress and it’s good to know that they value the input of local groups and users.

Those of us at this meeting asked a lot of questions, made a lot of suggestions and these were noted and will feed back into the design process. For example, there were concerns about the realignment and loss of some paths. And there was a plea to keep the kick-about area because it is such a good meeting point for older children.

So, the design process continues. Eventually it will form part of the application for Lottery funding. If that bid is successful, the final design details will be worked out.

This is a long-term project and it’s important for local people to stay involved. We’ll keep you up-to-date with developments via our website and Newsletter.

Sir Steve Bullock

The Queen's birthday honours included a knighthood for Forest Hill resident Steve Bullock, the mayor of Lewisham. Congratulations to Steve from the Forest Hill Society.

Summertime! And the living is easy

Summer is well and truly here which, for many of us on the Hill, means dodging the Stag Beetles in the evening as they fly around in search of a mate.

The spell of good weather also means that all the Open Days, which seem to be happening in SE23 this month, should be well attended and great fun. So why not pack a picnic hamper (plenty of local food shops where you can pick up supplies) and make the most of the world on your doorstep?

9th/10th June – Devonshire Road Nature Reserve Open Days – 12-4.30pm.
This truly is a hidden gem in Forest Hill, tucked away behind the houses and running along the railway line. It’s normally open on the last Sunday of the month, but it’s open on the 9th June as part of the London Open Garden Square Weekend. There’ll be music, a plant stall, wine tasting and refreshments.

The following day is the Big Open Day, which promises a drum workshop, garden tour, storytelling and a variety of LIVE amphibians and reptiles on display in the visitors centre.

10th June – Forest Hill Day – Horniman Gardens - 1-6pm
The Forest Hill Day is in its ninth year but this year offers something a little different. As well as the usual craft activities, inflatables and live music, the Tour de France Roadshow will be there. For the first time in the Tour’s history, the race will start from London and Stage One actually passes through Lewisham. So the Roadshow is a chance to familiarise yourself with the history and spectacle of this great sporting contest. For more information, see www.tourdefrancelondon.com
Food and refreshments will be provided by Provender and All Inn One.

16th June - Blythe Hill Fields Fun Day – 11am-4pm
If you’ve got the legs to get to Blythe Hill Fields then you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views. The Fun Day is a family event featuring live music, a barbecue, donkey rides, children’s crafts, cakes and jam stall, an egg and spoon race, sack race, three-legged race, tug-of-war and the opportunity to sponsor your own bird box. It’s organised by the Blythe Hill Fields User Group whose aim is to improve the facilities and promote the enjoyment of this space for the benefit of the whole community. For more information, see www.blythehillfields.org.uk

Cleaning up in Forest Hill

News in from Lewisham council website that they intend to have a cleaning blitz on Clyde Vale Footpath, which is probably the footpath along the railway known to many locals as 'Dogsh*t Alley'.

From the website:
The next clean-up date will be on Thursday, 7 June at Clyde Vale Footpath, Forest Hill, 10am - 12noon. For more information about this event contact Colin Sandiford on 020 8314 2295.

If anybody is around at this time and would like to help out please use the contact details above. With a bit of luck they may even be able to clean up the subway a bit while they are about it.

Minutes of the Forest Hill Society General Meeting

May 10^th at the Christian Fellowship Building

Michael Abrahams (Chair) welcomed approximately 50 people (including three local councillors) to the meeting and introduced the guest speaker – Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham and local resident of Forest Hill.

Steve Bullock welcomed the existence of the FH society as the council is always looking to work with local groups. He then touched on several topics of current interest to FH Society members:

• FH Pools – refurbishment work is due to start in February 2008.
• Schools – FH School now had a new building and Sydenham School is due to be upgraded.
• FH Station Site – had been identified in a 2003 study as a key site and the East London Line should be a trigger to its development.
• Water Supply – was currently unavailable to parts of Forest Hill – a permanent solution should be in place by the end of 2008.
• FH Post Office – the plan to move the Post Office into WH Smith store was generating concern that the result would be a second rate Post Office and a second rate store.
• FH Neighbourhood Team – visibility had been low due to the Sergeant being off ill. A Police Constable will now take over his duties.
• Current Planning Applications – an application had been received to demolish the Pizza Hut and Red Cross site in FH and put up a new building.

Michael Abrahams then asked for questions from the floor and Steve Bulloc said that he was happy to take away any issues raised that he was unable to answer on the night.

Issues Raised & Steve Bullock’s Responses

Policy behind the movement of Post Offices

SB – appears to be entirely commercial reasons – Post Office not willing to discuss.

Building in back gardens of existing houses

SB – needs to be addressed by the council in development plans.

Parking penalties imposed after 30 mins in Sainsbury’s car park London Road

SB – will take away.

Conditions of Local Playgrounds

SB – playgrounds mostly in public parks and these have been upgraded by at least one a year over the last few years. Agreed that more attention may need to be given to facilities for older children.

Availability of a Local Cinema

Cinema – the council cannot decide to have a cinema although the redevelopment of Lewisham town centre may provide an opportunity for one to be built. Films shown regularly at the Broadway Theatre in Catford.

Timing of traffic Lights at Honor Oak Road/London Road Junction resulting in queues on Honor Oak road and increased pollution – can it be tested?

SB – will investigate possibility of a pollution monitor.

Plans for additional events at the FH Day

SB – the festival relies on volunteers but he will be happy to talk to the organisers.

Why Re-Cycling items no longer have to be separated

SB – a new plant in Woolwich can sift and separate different materials.

Plans to encourage shops in FH

SB – East London Line may stimulate more demand for shops although no big retail units are proposed for FH. There has been some discussion of a coffee shop chain taking over a vacant unit beside Sainsburys.

Traffic Calming on Kirkdale

SB – will take away

Traffic on Perry Vale – Problem of corner with Dacres Road

SB – will take away

Empty Dustbins

SB – agreed there was a problem of other people’s rubbish being put into empty dustbins now that more items are being recycled. Council is replacing black bins with smaller ones over time but agreed to talk to the person involved in this particular case (South Road).

Painting the Railway Subway

SB – agreed to sort this out.

Accessibility of FH Station

SB – improvements will be made to accessibility at the station.

Horniman Gardens

Michael Abrahams introduced the following people:

Janet Vitmayer – Manager & Director of the Museum and Gardens

Gordon Lucas – Gardens Manager

Alice Bigelow – Community Consultant

Lottery Funding for the Horniman Gardens

The infrastructure of the gardens requires investment and certain areas need improving. A landscape architect has been appointed and an outline plan should be ready by the end of September 2007. A consultation process with a wide range of groups will go on over several years.

There will be an information stand at the Horniman May Plant Fair on the 19^th May where comments and suggestions can be passed on.

Issues raised by the audience:

• Inclusion of triangular plot of land across the road from the Horniman – to be flagged up in the lottery bid.
• Problem of parking by visitors to the Horniman (although the Museum does encourage the use of public transport).
• Problem of crossing Honor Oak Road for people walking to the Museum.

Suggested areas for improvement:

• animal area, tennis courts, café
• summer concerts, camera obscura, greenhouses to be made into a mini Kew
• capture children’s’ interest through the provision of a maze, tree walks, nature trail etc.
• mini transport system within the gardens for less abled.
• provision of a courtesy bus between FH station and the Museum.
• open up the entrance near Dulwich and incorporate into the Green Chain Walk.

Forest Hill Society General Business

Michael Abrahams listed the issues that the Society has recently campaigned on and the events it had organised and asked people what they would like the society to do next:

Inclusion of the train service from FH to Victoria in discussions on the east London line.

Michael advised that this service will probably be lost but will have increased services to Crystal Palace with more choice of service from there.

Traffic problems in FH town centre – campaign for a one way system.

Local councillors will look at a one way system and the society will look at the traffic problems.

Campaign for open space in Tyson Road to become a community garden.

Fitting a lift at FH station to provide access to opposite platform.

Michael advised that the Department for Transport had provided money to improve accessibility at the station.

More activities to be included in the FH Day festival next year.

More social events.

The meeting closed at 9.30pam and Michael thanked everyone for attending.

Mayor to speak to Forest Hill Society

Local resident, and Mayor of Lewisham, Steve Bullock, will be speaking at the next Forest Hill Society General meeting on 10th May, 7pm at the Christian Fellowship Centre, Honor Oak Road (opposite Fairlawn School). This is a chance for members of the Forest Hill Society and non-members to ask the mayor about council services in Forest Hill and across Lewisham.

There will also be the first public consultation regarding plans for developing facilities in Horniman Gardens, so if you have any suggestions please come along and put them to the team from Horniman Museum and Gardens.

Devonshire Road Nature Reserve Walk

Glorious weather awaited as 25 or more residents from across Forest Hill, adults of all ages and several intrepid youngsters, gathered on Devonshire Road to explore a local hidden treasure, the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve.

The Reserve covers a large area along the tracks behind the houses on Devonshire Road (see map here). The Reserve functions almost exclusively with the work of volunteers. Nick Pond, in charge of nature conservation at Lewisham Council, gave us the introduction and tour. We also met Johanna Morley, Iris Borger and Tony Canning. Tony was our expert on all matters pond related. Iris manages the Wildlife Garden and also works with local schools to get younger residents involved with conservation, and Johanna is helping to energise more volunteers through the Friends of Devonshire Road Nature Reserve (if you want to know more, send her an email).

The wildlife garden is complete with "luxury apartments" at the wood pile for Stag Beetles and lots of attractive, yet wildlife friendly garden features, including the amazing pond teeming with young toads and even newts. As Nick pointed out, wildlife gardening, and supporting local wildlife, like birds, butterflies, beetles and frogs does not mean you can't garden, but you need to think a little more and maybe incorporate some 'wilder' features. If nothing else, it means that leaving that flower bed unweeded and the pile of logs in the back is not laziness, but positive action for the environment!

On our a gentle trek around the Reserve it was so peaceful, other than the occasional passing train, you could imagine yourself miles outside of the city.

Nick explained how important these areas are to our local wildlife and what small steps we can take to help, such as limiting our use of slug pellets (that also kill birds and spread chemical debris), leaving areas of taller grasses to support the breeding of butterflies, building ponds to help frogs, birds, dragonflies and plants, and more.

This is not untamed wilderness. There are open meadows, well maintained paths and the classroom has the important amenities! The Reserve is not ancient woodland so it is quite open, light and easy to walk.

After 2 hours in almost 25 degree weather, the tea and cakes (home made by Iris and Johanna) were very welcome and quickly devoured whilst we rested in the sun.

If you would like to take a look around it yourself, or even get involved, it is open in the afternoon of the last Sunday of every month. Iris is also there several days a week to welcome the school students to the wildlife garden, so you could speak to her there.

Please do get involved, even if it is just for raising awareness of this local oasis. I'm sure they'd appreciate the support.

To see more photos, you can click here.

Devonshire Road Nature Reserve - Guided Tour

This Sunday 15th April, Nick Pond (who's in charge of nature conservation in Lewisham) will be leading a guided tour of the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve (entrance opposite Tyson Road). It's a great opportunity to explore this beautiful, secluded spot and learn about the rich biodiversity that SE23 enjoys. Iris Borger will also be on hand to talk about wildlife gardening. We're even promised refreshments! Meet at 2pm in the classroom. We look forward to seeing you there.

Stanstead Road Community Garden

For a few months now a group of residents have been discussing plans to improve the area around 'Old Stanstead Road' (the bit that is not the south circular). With the support of the Forest Hill Society, and the active involvement of some of the committee members, local residents have been drawing up plans for a small community garden to improve the environment around Travis Perkins and a small plot of land.

What is particularly nice about this group is the way they plan to involve local people, from children to adults, and have been able to get the support of local businesses and Lewisham Council.

It is small scale projects such as this that help to create a sense of community and improve the surroundings for everybody in the area. We wish them the very best of luck in developing their plans for the community garden, and may what starts as a garden, blossom into even greater things!