Category Archives: Organised walks

Environment, Events, Organised walks

A ‘Tree Walk’ in the Park

 

Today’s Tree Walk was a huge success! We had more than 20 people along to hear John Denton’s wise words.  Although it rained a bit, it didn’t put us off learning about the amazing varieties in the park. We were introduced to different kinds of trees –  Gmynosperms (naked seeds) and Angiosperms (enclosed seeds).

One young man took on the task of collecting a leaf from every tree we stopped to look at, and he ended up with a very full bag.

Starting in the car park we saw a Common Lime, a Box Elder, a Copper/Purple Beech we moved on to look at a Holly and a False Acacia – in all there were more than 20 trees identified.

Here are the updated documents:

Trees Key

Trees Map

Tree Classification

John asked us to add the following:

“On the walk a lady (sorry I didn’t ask her name) asked me to identify a tree which was next to the car park behind the Lime Tree.  At the time I hadn’t a clue but I’m now sure that it is a variety of “Flowering Ash”, properly called Manna Ash. “

Environment, Events, Organised walks

Tree Identification Walk

Local  enthusiastic amateur, John Denton, will lead us on a walk through the park – introducing you to local flora and fauna, you’ll learn more than you ever dreamt of about the trees in the park, how they’ve survived and thrived, how old they are and much more!

Sunday 28 April at 2pm

Meeting point : Notice Board by the car park. Binoculars and magnifying glass would be handy.  Sturdy footwear would be an advantage.

No dogs please.
Rain or shine, we’ll still go ahead

Read and download John’s  Trees Key and Tree Classification in advance of the walk!

Trees Map

Environment, Organised walks

Spring Walks 2019

Dig out the boots and join one of the Spring Walks and Talks planned: Birds, trees, flora foraging and bats!

Full details for each walk will be up in the park notice boards, emailed to members and on this site as they come up.

Bird Walk- Sat 16thMarch

Tree ID Walk – Sun 28th April 2pm

Bat Walk – Fri 3rd May,   8.15pm

Foraging Walk – Sun 12th May, 2.30pm

All walks are now free but donations to support park projects are gratefully accepted.

 

Environment, Organised walks

Checking in with the Bats!

This photo is of the eager Bat-seekers that came along for our annual Bat Walk 7 September.  Les had more bat facts for us and as usual a pipistrelle buzzed the crowd prompting the walk to start!

We explored the different  environments in the park,  getting our night vision sorted out and enjoying the pleasant weather.  A tawny owl followed our progress for awhile (looking for mates not humans) and bats came out to display their aerobatic skills while gobbling  their evening meal!

Thank you to everyone who managed the pre-booking. Please keep an eye out for another walk in May if you missed this one. And thanks for the donations on the night, these go towards a second bat detector.

If you would like to borrow the FSP detector for a week please follow link  http://fspark.org.uk/…/Terms-and-conditions-for-loan-of-FSP-bat-detector.docx

Have a look at the Bat Conservation Trust website for loads more about these important creatures.  www.bats.org.uk

Organised walks

BAT WALK – Friday 7 September at 7.30pm

It’s time to  adjust your night vision for the now annual Bat Walk.  After a short intro – next to the notice board by the Plum Lane car park – Les Clark will lead the walk through the woods and glades where the bats hang out. Bat detectors supplied!

This time we ask that you book your free place in advance using;

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bat-walk-tickets-48480937790 

A maximum of 50 people allows everyone to get the most out of the experience.  If you don’t have computer access please drop a note through the door at 189 Plum Lane with your name and phone number.

Wear suitable footwear (maybe bug spray too) and bring a small torch if you have one. The walk is approximately 1 1/2 hours. Dogs are welcome if kept on a lead.

If it’s raining neither bats nor us will be coming out!
Environment, Organised walks

Habitats Walk: Shrewsbury Park and Woodlands Farm Sunday 24 June 1 – 3.30pm

FSP and Woodlands Farm have collaborated to offer a relaxing ramble through these two diverse green spaces. It will be a  meandering walk discovering varied habitats, plants, wildlife and atmospheres.

Walk begins at the car park entrance to Shrewsbury Park on Plum Lane and includes the woods, Dothill allotments and nature reserve. We then follow Barry Gray through the Dothill gate to Woodlands Farm taking in more woods, hedgerows and the hay meadows in full bloom.  Endpoint is the café with refreshments available! You can retrace the route to the Park or take the 89 or 486 bus back up the hill.

Cost: £2 – Children up to 16 go free.  We will be walking through fields containing ewes and lambs, so sorry, NO DOGS allowed on this walk.

Wear sturdy shoes and clothes for the weather on the day. Any questions about accessibility etc. please contact werfs@gmail.com

Organised walks

Bee-autiful day for a Pollen Walk

The weather gods were smiling on Sunday 13 May, as we gathered in the park to look at bee behaviour around the blossoming flowers, ably guided by local Apiarist, John Large.

The idea was to mark some foraging honey bees, with a view to finding them in the apiary hives later, but the bees proved (mainly) elusive.

Walking through Shrewsbury Park – May 2018

We then departed for Oxleas Wood Apiary, where after a short, but informative talk, beekeeping suits and gauntlets were passed round, preparing us to get up close and personal with the bees.

Opening up the hives identifying the Queens, and seeing the way the pollen, nectar, honey and bee larvae were stored was a real eye-opener.

Later on, we even got a chance to taste the amazing honey – a great day with a very sweet ending!

More photos here

Thanks go to John Large – find out more about his Beekeeping courses and Apiary Days now.

Organised walks

Foraging Walk a delicious success!

If you’ve ever wondered how you’d survive if you were stranded in the woods over a weekend, our local foraging expert, Kevin Godby is the man to ask.

On Sunday 6 May, 26 residents gathered, eager to learn more about foraging. Amongst the edible plants were, black mustard, nettles, ground elder and ash keys (samples of which Kevin had pickled last year). See a list of our Foraging_Finds

As the group munched their way through the park, he talked about how the first communities would have used foraging to supplement their diets, eating small amounts from each plant. It is an important thing to note, as this would stop any digestion problems from eating too much of a particular plant.

Kevin works for Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency, delivering the Growing Greenwich project at 5 locations in Greenwich Borough. It allows local residents to attend free, drop in gardening sessions and is part of the Good Food in Greenwich network.

To find out more about Growing Greenwich please contact:

Kevin Godby  on 020 8269 4880 or email Kevin on Kevin@gcda.org.uk

Update: Kevin has some recipe advice for fellow foragers:

The cherry plum jam I made had less sugar than ‘proper jam’ as it is kept in the fridge. To make it I squeezed out the stones as I worked through the pile of fruit and cooked in a preserving pan.

The hogweed omelette would have been tastier if I had ignored the poor advice online that says frying brings out the flavour. If I were doing it again, I would use a smaller amount of the youngest fresh leaves, chopped fine, perhaps steamed for a couple of minutes to soften, and stirred into the egg just before cooking.

I based my pickled ash keys on the parts of several recipes I liked the look of but this one is a decent starting point, the main thing is to boil them and discard the water a few times to remove the bitterness before making the vinegar. Use cider vinegar and brown sugar. I didn’t include ginger as I didn’t want it to overpower the other flavours. Some recipes add curry type spices which doesn’t appeal to me. The harvesting timing is crucial, they need to be quite small and not be at all stringy when tasted raw from the tree, but soon the bunches of keys will be hidden by the leaves until they suddenly become too big.

Link to recipe for Rowan Jelly (ignore the waffle that precedes the recipe, and can use ordinary apples instead of crab apples).

Enjoy!

Environment, Events, Organised walks

Shrewsbury Park Pollen Foraging Walk and Apiary Visit – Sunday 13 May

Sunday 13 May, meeting at Shrewsbury Park Car Park
(entrance on Plum Lane)
11am – 2pm
Ever wondered where honeybees gather their pollen to make nectar and then delicious honey? Or what the link is to local honey relieving the symptoms of hayfever?
Join us for a walk through Shrewsbury Park identifying which plants are in bloom and taking samples of pollen using tweezers and poly bags – also watching the honey bees foraging on the plants.
Afterwards, we have tickets for 10 lucky members to visit the Oxleas Apiary to see the bees in action – we might examine some microscopic slides of pollen samples too!
We can accommodate much more than 10 on the walk but only 10 at the Apiary session 
Children are welcome on the Park walk, but not at the Apiary session which is held at the Council’s depot, meaning it could be dangerous for them – also, no pet dogs please!
Here are some links that might be useful if you are thinking of joining us for the event – http://www.largeassociates.com/cz1000/QuestionsandAnswers/BeeCatcher.html
Access to the Apiary is from Kenilworth Gardens, into Crown Woods Lane, 1st right by Jack Wood Cottage, then 1st right again through the black gates (that may appear locked), into the depot yard and congregate near the parked YELLOW council lorries.
Finally, please read the Oxleas Wood Apiary Risk Assessment and for the visit wear a stout or preferably toe protected footwear and try to avoid using heavily scented soaps or perfume, as it can trigger hostility in the bees – more information on Health and Safety issues, bee stings, and Do’s and Don’ts when in the Apiary are available HERE: http://www.largeassociates.com/cz1000/YourPastQuestions.htm
Want to know how to book the Apiary session? just click through and register for free: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pollen-foraging-walk-tickets-45129025129 
p.s. if you would like to make up some pollen microscope slides in advance then we could view these through a microscope during the visit.
Environment, Organised walks

Spring Foraging Walk – Sunday 6 May at 2.30pm

Meet at Garland Road entrance This free walk will take about 1.5 hours and finish at the car park off Plum Lane.

Kevin Godby of GCDA leads the walk, suitable for beginners or those who want to revisit his Autumn foraging trail of last year in a new season. You will learn to identify around 18 common forageable species, be shown where they grow and taste some of them too!

You may also bring along something to take home the things you come across, if you wish. A small teaspoon might be handy too…

Please wear suitable footwear and be aware we will be walking uphill. This walk is aimed at adults. If you have questions about the route re mobility please contact werfsp@gmail.com so we can help. No dogs, please.

This is an all-weather walk!