Over the next six months there will be quite a few things happening in the Park -- from bat walks and seed planting to cutting back undergrowth and opening up views. So, here is an update with some items to pencil in your diary; more specific details to follow.
To coincide with International Bat Night on 24 August, we are planning a Bat Walk in the Park. Meeting before dusk there will be the opportunity to learn more about bats, what we might do to encourage them, and hopefully detect and even see them.
On 3 August, we plan to assess the benches in summer and also catalogue the memorial trees with a view to seeing how these might be managed or even reduced in future. We did remove one which was not in the best place last year.
Our next Working Party is on 7 August when we tackle undergrowth around planting that we wish to encourage. The task is challenging so the more volunteers the better. At over 11 acres there is a lot of ground to cover.
Our recent work has been hindered by heavy rain, and so work on The Glade has taken a hit and rampant growth a challenge. Our tree extractigator tool has had some success but self seeded sycamore on slopes are hard to tackle.
A recent foray into the 1895 extension allowed us to open up the Milner viewpoint a good deal, though despite our investigative archaeological efforts we couldn’t find evidence of the base for the Covered Seat designed to have a great view of the Cathedral and St John’s church.
A recent on-site meeting to review progress in the Park with Richard Smith and Coral Rogers of Winchester City Council brought further endorsement of the work that the Friends are undertaking, and we continue to grow our relationship with Council officers. I am pleased to say that a Memorandum of Understanding between the Friends and Winchester City Council is in the final stage of preparation to put the relationship on a firmer footing over the long term.
The on-site walk-around resulted in a long and short list of tasks and aspirations. The officers are committed to achieving the stabilisation work this year, and the additional tree work on the diseased ash north of the main viewpoint is a priority. The condition of the seating area of the main viewpoint was also lifted up the priority list, although work on this will require more funding. With repair of this area a costly exercise in itself a more site sensitive redesign ought to be a consideration. Among day-to-day priorities, we identified a need for contractors to clear paths of vegetation overgrowth, so let’s hope that can be done soon and become part of regular maintenance regime in the future.
Coming up from the end of August we plan cowslip seed sowing in trays with the aim of involving youngsters. We also plan the planting of native bulbs and plug plants in some appropriate locations, again with the aim of involving as many as possible. Dates will follow.
We’ll be having a litter pick in the Autumn and there will be an Autumn Colours tree walk on Friday 25 October ending up with a cuppa at the Mayor’s residence. We are also working with the Mayor regarding a tree planting and the possible creation of Mayor’s Walk to coincide with the 130th anniversary of the extension to the Park. This would be most appropriate as in the 1890s Mayor Stopher played a leading role in making the Park extension happen, and our current Mayor, a retired landscape architect with very considerable experience in Parks, is a great enthusiast for making the best of St Giles Hill Park.
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