20130814-15 Stave Hill Park Management Course

Thanks to Julian, some money available with the Open Spaces program was made available to the Friends of Surrey Square Park.

Frank and especially Julian had a tough time pursuing the additional funding but at the end persistence paid off and the extra funding have been utilised for some much needed tools and even more exciting for training for the Friends.

In this case the money was stretched to cover two courses one teaching how to write a Park Management Plan (over two days) and another on Management plans for Urban Wild Life Areas.

The courses were provided by the Trust for Urban Ecology and took place at the Stave Hill Ecological Park under the guidance of the insuppressible Steve Hill Park Director: Rebeka Clark.

Day one

The inside of the lodge was surprisingly cosy and conductive to discussion and learning. We were quite taken by our surroundings and Julian and Daniel seemed particularly pleased with it all. Other students too seemed to be sharing our enthusiasm.

The first day of the course was so interesting that passed in a jiffy but we had still time to linger in the late afternoon and sample the pleasure that the ecology Park provided.

Sara kindly took some time in showing us around the kitchen garden an the various attractions built in (using recycled materials) to entertain and educate the visitors.

The apiary and the herb raised bed were favourite amomst many other worthy features.

Day two

The second day of the course offered everybody a more relaxed chance to look around.

Didactically the material at hand was easier to understand, due to the previous day introductions, and the modus operandi was established. The tranquil mood offered to all the participants a better opportunity to explore our surroundings and enjoy in depth the excellency of the Ecological Park.

The kitchen garden offered a glimpse on how the place is cared and how well even in this urban environment nature, given a chance can flourish.

The beauty of Stave hill is however in the space utilisation, in the paths shaded by woodland and the many niches that they offer for utilising recycling for building friendly micro-environment opportunities.

Bottles to tires, discarded building materials and salvaged coppice, all find a place, harmoniously and pleasantly to the eye and at the same time provide the opportunity that the wild part of our world can exploit.

I was how the facilities, for visitors and the various works implemented to provide water and maintenance facilities to the various parts and sub-divisions of the Park. This must clearly be an inspiration for all of us that together with the knowledge we have been receiving from the course, will allow us to make our little Park a better and better place.

At the end of the day it was hight time to meet some of the local residents!

We left with a group memento we surely treasure