An idea for shared use of the wood - comments please!

Some time ago I met the Chair of May Park School governors. He said the school would consider a proposal from the Friends Group for the public to share use of the wood with the school. But how would that work?

What do local people want? Different things of course, but there are common themes. people who have joined the Friends Group want open access to the wood. Many of them want to take their dogs. And everyone  wants to be sure that the wood will not be built on in the future.

What does the school want? A place where pupils can learn in the outdoors without dangers or distractions - no litter (especially drug and sex litter), no dog poo, no passers-by with scarey-looking dogs.

Now here's an idea:

• A new gate is installed at the Rosemary Green end of the wood.
• Part of the year the new gate and the existing gates at the other end of the wood are left open - school holidays plus parts of the autumn and winter terms when no school activities are taking place in the wood. 
• At the end of each period the Friends Group cleans up the wood ready for school use.
• The other parts of the year the gates are locked for school activities.
• The Council designates the wood as a Local Nature Reserve, to give assurance to local people that the wood would not be built on. (Read about Local Nature Reserves here)

Post your comments below. Say what you think about this idea. Suggest an alternative. Please give your name (first name or pen name would do). Over to you...

Visitors to May Park Wood

Many birds migrate, but it is the arrival of warblers that I most look forward to in Spring, because they are so tiny and travel all the way from West Africa.  

April saw the arrival of both Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers to Rosemary Green and May Park Wood, little birds so alike that even experienced birdwatchers struggle to tell them apart. Until, that is, they start to call. 

The call of the Chiffhaff is like its name - a soft, slightly breathless, chiff-chuff-chiff-chuff. It can be heard all around the green spaces in our neighbourhood. The Willow Warbler makes a gentle cascade of declining notes that is quite different. I heard several on Rosemary Green in early April but none since then. Gilbert White was a British naturalist who first realised that these two seemingly identical birds had totally different songs.

Both these birds like open woodland with areas of low scrub and smaller trees for nesting. May Park Wood is perhaps not ideal for them because, although there are lots of young trees, the leaves and branches are not very dense. 

But with a little help it could be perfect for  them. Coppicing (cutting trees to ground level every 5 or 10 years) was devised a way to provide small posts and logs for firewood and other uses, but also encourages warblers to stay and nest by creating lots of crowded stems and leaves for them to hide in.  Traditionally in coppice woodlands, other selected trees are left to grow to full size. What do you think about coppicing May Park Wood? Click on ‘comment’ and share your views…

You may have noticed that the closure of May Park Wood became an local election issue last week. There are a couple of comments at the end of the previous post about this surprising turn of events. Feel free to add your own!

Friends Group joins Bristol Parks Forum

The Friends of Rosemary Green and May Park Wood is now a member of the Bristol Parks Forum, an umbrella organisation where community groups share ideas and advise the City Council on green spaces.  On 29th January the Forum voted overwhelmingly to support our group  in asking that May Park School "offer shared use of May Park Wood whenever possible". Hear, hear!

A packed house heard our petition for shared use read aloud to City Councillors at a public meeting held on 22nd March to debate the new open spaces strategy.  People gathering for the debate from other parts of Bristol said they had read about the closure of May Park Wood in the Evening Post.
Councillor Choudhury also spoke (rather passionately!) about the closure: "I am asking the Executive for Neighbourhoods to look again at the proposed fencing of the woods at May Park School. I strongly urge you to put this project on hold until a proper and thorough consultation has been carried out." Hear, hear!

Back on the Green, 7 hardy souls braved the Spring sunshine on Saturday April 9th to pick litter and keep the green clean. Our pile of rubbish - a bit more modest than the first one - was picked up very promptly the following week. Thanks to those who were able to join in and to the Council team for the pick-up. And the trees planted in March are looking well despite the dry start in their new home.
Sorry for the long wait between posts. I'm on holiday now, so expect more chatter in a few days...

The green is clean!

The Green is clean, thanks to 12 people who came down last Saturday to plant trees, clear bramble and pick litter. Look what a big pile we made (see right). The Council's collection team described it as a 'great effort' - even though they haven't been to collect the litter yet...
Brambles are Autumn food for us and cover for sparrows which visit the green, but we cut them back to keep the green open and encourage young trees. Thank you to Eastside Roots and Fred's allotment for donating trees - look out for pears in a year or two.
There are human remains buried under the green, dating from the same era as the graves of wealthier Bristol citizens in the cemetery opposite. We show respect to these people by keeping the green clean and planting trees in their memory.
We saw no ghosts on Saturday, but one of us disturbed a Red Admiral butterfly - the first butterfly I've seen this year. Red Admirals are one of several types of butterfly that hibernate in Britain. Those that survive the winter are usually tatty and faded but this one was bright and beautiful! Red Admiral caterpillars feed on nettles, which are common around the Green.
One way to stop fly tipping at the green might be to install bollards near the back entrance to the school. Use the voting buttons on the right to say what you think about this idea, or add a comment.
Meet on Saturday 9th April at 10am for more maintenance tea and chat.

Clean the green! Saturday 12th March, 10 till 3

May Park Wood may be closed to the public but Rosemary Green is still open. And it needs a little bit of attention we think. 

Drop by on Saturday 12th March any time between 10 and 3 and lend a hand to care for our environment or have a chat. The jobs are litter clear, tree prune, tree plant, bramble prune - whatever time you can spare.

Meet at Greenbank View,  opposite Greenbank Cemetery or find people already at work. Bring gloves and a bin bag....Any queries: Fred Miller 0117 9514344

News from the wood

On Saturday morning between 40 and 45 people braved the wind and drizzle to meet outside May Park Wood. Sadly, no-one was able to enter the wood lawfully because there was a fearsome ugly fence across the gap from Rosemary Green and security guards at both entrances ready to escort people off the premises. Instead of tying them to a tree, people attached their written wishes for the wood to the fence spikes. 
Thanks go to the Evening Post for photos and stories in both the Saturday and Monday editions. Thanks also to Steve Comer, LibDem Councillor for Eastville, and Kerry McCarthy MP and Mahmadur Khan from Labour for coming to the event and debating the issues.

Meanwhile back in the wood, sharp-eyed children may have noticed that hazel catkins are out - a reassuring early reminder that spring is coming and longer, warmer days. Hawthorn bushes in the most sheltered part of the wood have also broken bud this week.
The other catkin-bearing tree in the wood is the alder tree, which can be recognised at all times of winter by the little acorn-sized cones on its branches - the only deciduous tree to bear cones.
From a distance the young trees all look similar in winter, but there are many ways to recognise one type from another. Last year's 'keys' still cling to the branches of some ash trees and oak and beech leaves are also still holding on in some places.
Bark can be helpful in identifying other trees in winter - cherry bark is distinctive, as is the birch bark on the viaduct - but buds are the best way to tell one tree from another in winter. The coal-black buds of the ash tree are the easiest to spot on branches (ash and coal may them easy to remember too), but with a little study and practice, it is possible to recognise the buds of many common trees.

The fence goes up, just as the conversation gets started

When I walked through May park Wood last night with my dog, picking my way through the dog poo, condoms and discarded needles (that's a joke by the way, because some people say its a big problem and I think they exaggerate), I wondered if it might be my last visit to my favourite local retreat.  And so it has come to pass - the school delivered on its plan to fence local walkers out of May Park Wood today.
The timing appears spiteful to say the least - but tomorrow's public event in the wood will still take place, even though we may have to gather on Rosemary Green instead of meeting under the big tree in the wood as planned.
At the same time, a really interesting and civilised conversation has finally started on the blog, presumably prompted by the flyer which has been distributed lo ally this week. It involves parents from the school, residents adjacent to the wood and people like myself who have enjoyed walking in the wood. It's a shame we couldn't have had this conversation before the fence went up.
Many of us who walk in the wood believe the wood can be managed for shared use. We have been saying for some time to the school and local councillors that we would like to be given the chance to put forward our ideas and to explain what we have to offer in terms of muscle and expertise. I imagine I speak for them when I say that I feel that my views, my offers of help, my willingness to listen and debate - not to mention my feelings about the wood - have not been treated with respect.
But never mind! Whoever you are, please come tomorrow at 11. And bring an open mind, whatever your views about the closure.