Brockley Common Gardening

Sunday 23rd February sees the first session at the garden on Brockley Common. Brockley Cross Action Group will be on site from 1-5pm to attend to the main flower beds and alongside this we could do with at least a couple of hours on our own plot. Details below of the BXAG event. All welcome!

Brockley Christmas Market - Saturday 14th December

Some of you will have seen that the garden down at Brockley Common now has a bit more structure to it with the addition of some small paths and edging through the plot. This was done over a couple of sessions recently and was partly enabled thanks to funds gained through helping out with last year's Christmas Market.

The Brockley Cross Action Group are again running the Brockley Christmas Market on Saturday 14th December from 12-6pm at Coulgate Street, outside Brockley Station. Always one of the most enjoyable events in Brockley's social calender so please spread the word! 

Once again we will be helping out with one of the mulled wine stalls and could really do with a few extra hands to man the stall. If you can offer just an hour of your time it would be greatly appreciated and should still leave plenty of time to enjoy the market as well. If you are able to help could you respond directly to transitionbrockley@hotmail.co.uk and we will co-ordinate from there.

Thanks in advance and if we don't bump into you at the market have a great Christmas!

Transition Brockley

Brockley Common Update

On Sunday 24th February a couple of volunteers helped carry out a quick tidy up of the edible garden and the planting of sweet peas, rhubarb and herbs including Thyme and Rosemary. The Artichokes seem to have suffered somewhat by the contractors constructing the new cycle shelter as they decided to use and cut some of the paving slab stepping stones to replace others near to the cycle shelter and in the process trampled all over the artichokes..sigh. There is lots of lambs lettuce available to pick and it would appear that the fruit bushes planted late last year have taken. The garden has also gained a seat in the form of a cut tree trunk which used to live in one of the cafes on Coulgate Street and was kindly donated to Brockley Common so take a seat and contemplate the next time you're there...

The garden post tidy up and planting

The Brockley Cross Action Group were also on site and we helped them to tidy up the larger beds as well as taking down some of the fencing where the planting is now well-established. At the recent BXAG meeting it was suggested that gardening sessions become a regular monthly event. More news on that and other Brockley Common items to follow...

Community Gardening - Sunday 24th February

A date for your diary as we carry out our first community gardening event of the year on SUNDAY 24th FEBRUARY (12 noon - 4pm) in conjunction with the Brockley Cross Action Group (BXAG).

 

The BXAG will be holding a general tidy up session from midday - 4pm. Details from BXAG Chair, Rupert below:

 

This is our annual spring clean so a good attendance will be essential! We will be doing the usual litter picking, weeding & pruning and will do our once a year clear out of all the rubbish in the wildlife area. I think we also need to do two other things: (i) bag up all the excess green waste at the back of the site for the Council to collect and (ii) take down some of the temporary fencing which is now well and truly rotting, as you can see down at street level.

 

Besides this we would suggest that we spend from midday - 2pm concentrating on our plot and also the areas around the base of the Brockley Rd trees planted last year to get it into shape. Depending on the weather we may also put in some new plants if we have them but would encourage anyone who has any cuttings to bring them along too.

 

As ever please remember to wear suitable clothing, shoes and bring some gloves.

 

If you can't make it the whole session that's not a problem, just come for whatever time you can. With the BXAG beds having now had a good couple of years to take root this could be the best year yet for the areas around the station so if you want to part of this just turn up!  

Community Gardening in Action!

Saturday saw local groups (TTB/BXAG and Brockley Society) alongside members of the public help to tidy up various areas around Brockley Station and Brockley Rd that were in need of some work.

Brockley Common saw a big effort on the flower bed next to the new ticket barriers where bindweed had taken over and hidden or even started to kill off some plants. The edible garden was weeded and new plants put in. Currently there are tomatoes, artichokes, strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and lots of mint in the garden amongst many other plants.

Thanks to David the wildflower meadow had its annual cut and Nicola from the Brockley Society did a sterling job in cleaning out and weeding one of the tree pits for the new trees on Brockley Rd. Photos from the areas in question can be seen below but I would urge you to visit yourself and engage with your local environment!

Before - During - After - The bed adjacent to the new ticket barriers at the station

The wildflower meadow - post cut

The tidied up tree pit on Brockley Rd

The Edible Garden at Brockley Common

Some sad news to report is that British Transport Police appear to have taken it upon themselves to remove the recently constructed compost enclosures at Brockley Common presumably on the basis that someone could leap about 10ft off them over the fence and into the station grounds. Craziness! Another article on that particular issue to follow however not wishing to end on a sad note so thanks to the efforts of all the volunteers Brockley now looks cleaner, smarter and a happier place to be! 

Brockley Road Tree Planting Update

All,

 

You may recall that last year we made a successful joint bid with the Brockley Society and Brockley Cross Action Group for Brockley Assembly funding for new trees along Brockley Road. I can now report that the installation of the trees happening as we speak! Rupert from the BXAG has provided an update on the works below:

 

BROCKLEY ROAD TREE PLANTING

Works have commenced on the tree planting project on Brockley Road, outside the main shopping parade.

Last year the Council widened the pavements outside the shops as part of a road safety project funded by TfL, but had no funds for any pavement enhancements. So BXAG teamed up with Transition Town Brockley, who submitted a successful bid to the Brockley Assembly for £4600 to cover the cost of new tree pits & trees along Brockley Road.

Following a series of meetings with Council officers we now have an agreed scheme to plant six trees, three on each of the pavement extensions. We would have liked to plant trees elsewhere on Brockley Road but there are underground services in most locations making the excavation of the tree pits impossible.

In a change from the usual single tree in a pit approach three trees will each be planted in a rectangular tree pit approx. 7 metres long by 1.2 metres wide, at 2 metre spacings. This will make a much greater impact and will create more of an “urban forest” effect. The bigger pits, with over 800mm depth of new topsoil, will provide more room for root growth and rainfall catchment so should give the trees a better chance of survival. The bigger pits will also enable the community to colonise them at a later date e.g. to plant spring flowering bulbs.

The tree species we have chosen is a lovely native tree Whitebeam (Sorbus aria), which has greyish green foliage, white flowers in early summer and red berries (much loved by birds) in autumn. They have an attractive shape and won’t grow too big, so there should be no worries about shade. They will be planted as large standard specimens up to 4 metres tall and will be protected against damage with ornamental tree guards. The overall appearance of the tree planting should really lift the public realm along Brockley Road and provide some much needed greenery.

We hope the Whitebeam tree will in time become Brockley’s main signature tree, planted e.g. around Brockley Cross and along Coulgate Street. This will help strengthen Brockley Cross’s identity.

The council have assured us the trees will be watered regularly as part of a contract. Watering may be something the community could also get involved in, to ensure our trees survive the inevitable droughts that will come our way.

The works should be completed by the end of March.

If you have any questions or comments please contact the BXAG via their website www.brockleycrossactiongroup.

Brockley Common Community Gardening Day - Sunday 21st February

Rupert from the Brockley Cross Action Group has been in touch to tell us of an upcoming gardening event down at Brockley Station. Details below:

IT'S TIME TO SPRING INTO ACTION!

A date for your diaries! Yes the time has come for our first - and much needed  - community gardening event of 2012!

Come and join us for an afternoon of gardening on Brockley Common on SUNDAY 26th FEBRUARY, 12.00 - 4.30pm! Meet outside the Broca Cafe.

We are planning to give the community gardening beds a good clear out and pruning to prepare the planting for Spring! We will also be venturing into the wildlife area for our once a year rubbish removal and cutting back of shrubs, before we hand it back to the birds that nest in there and all the other creatures that live there throughout the year.



So come along for some community action! Please bring warm clothing and stout footwear. BXAG will provide tools, gloves and refreshments on the day.




Hope to see you all there - if you can make it!

Thanks.

Rupert
BXAG

Transition Snippets...

Here's a round up of things happening and events coming up locally...

Lewisham green drinks


A monthly event for those interested in engaging in topics such as environmental issues, climate, politics, local news and of course the transition town movement whilst indulging in a beverage or two! First Monday of every month with the next one happening on Monday 5th September. Come along from 7:30pm to Mr Lawrence Wine Bar on Brockley Rd just past Crofton Park Rail Station.


Brockley Common Community Garden

The garden at Brockley Station has been producing lots of delicious food throughout the summer. Garden co-ordinator Caroline writes:

In case you have a moment to go and pick some home grown food at the Transition Town Brockley garden, please see below what's up for grabs!

- tomatoes, will be ready a week from now

- spinach, doing well, and responds well to regular picking

- squash, still ripening

- runner beans, still producing 

Please feel free to pop to the plot and pick anything that looks ready!

We will be preparing the plot for winter on Saturday 15th October, 2-4pm. Do drop me a line if you have any suggestions, or indeed green contributions! 

Brockley Cross Action Group AGM - Saturday 24th Sept 11-12:30pm @ John Stainer School, Mantle Rd, Brockley

Transition Brockley will have a stall at our neighbours' annual AGM where we'll hopefully have some information on the projects we've been working on throughout the year so far and beyond. Come along and engage with your local community!

Hilly Fields Orchard

The orchard has produced some apples this year however it's best to pick them early to encourage them to produce better and more substantial fruit in the coming years. The mini meadow has been very successful and we hope this could lead to a bigger meadow around the orchard in the future.

Fruit Harvesting

Once again we have been out and about harvesting fallen fruit and fruit from trees which the owners have no need for. We're looking at another harvesting event within the next couple of weeks. More details soon. In the meantime if you wish to be kept up to date with the latest news on harvesting then please contact brockleyharvest@yahoo.co.uk 

We're also looking ahead to October when Ian from the One Tree Hill allotments will hold his annual apple pressing day at the allotments on One Tree Hill from 1-6pm. We're hoping to be able to contribute some fruit from our harvesting and it promises to be a fun day for all the family whether you want to exercise your muscles or just enjoy the fruit juices being made!

Draughtbusting

We've been talking about organsing a draught-busting session locally for some time now and we've  finally got someone to help us out by using one of members' houses as an example for the day on how we help cut down on energy use and save some money!

We're looking at Saturday 29th October, possibly in the morning to run a session. Numbers will be limited on a first come, first served basis but if the event is heavily over-subscribed then we'll look to organise more. The demonstration property will be the Hilly Fields area of Brockley. If you're interested then please email us at
transitionbrockley@hotmail.co.uk and we'll let you know further details.

TT New Cross - Food Group

Our friends from New Cross have recently launched a food group and are looking at lots of different aspects of local food from production to distribution to landsharing schemes and more. The next meeting will take place on September 8th from 7:30 - 9:30pm at the Hill Station Cafe in Kitto Road, Telegraph Hill. There are two presentations taking place at the meeting including one from Transition Brockley member, Fran who will talk about Brockley Gardenshare which aims to match up landowners with people who have no land and want to grow food. There will also be a presentation from Amina who is the new manager of local cafe 'Come the Revolution' which has just opened in New Cross and seeks to use locally produced food.

Brockley Assembly Funding Secured!

Proposed trees opposite the Brockley Barge

This morning the local assembly voting event saw a plethora of very worthy local projects bidding for funding, one of which was our project to plant 6 new trees along a pretty bleak stretch of Brockley Road. The good news is that we were successful in our bid and the project will now continue with further consultations with local stakeholders and consultation with the relevant authorities. This project is great example of the good work that local groups can do when working in partnership with the Brockley Cross Action Group and the Brockley Society all involved in the planning of this project.

Alongside our project we were also supporting a bid from the Brockley Cross Action Group to install a new set of steps on Brockley Common alongside the earthy bank that has become a highly-used access point to the station from the northern end of the site and this also received full funding. There were other projects with food growing and planting at the core of their aims which received funding too so in summary a great success for those with green fingers!

Set out below is a description of the proposal and some conceptual images of the proposed trees (please note the trees shown are conceptual! Some ideas on the different tree varieties can can be viewed on our Flickr site which also has other images of the project alongside our other work.

The proposal

The council’s recent work to widen the pavement and provide a parking bay along the parade of shops situated on Brockley Road between Cranfield and just beyond Harefield Roads sadly did not include the provision for any trees. As a result there is now a vast expanse of pavement which looks bleak and desolate. 

This project aims to enhance the new pedestrian pavement adjacent to the shops by planting an area of 4 trees along the eastern side of Brockley Road (2 each side of the pedestrian crossing), one tree outside the Post Office sorting office towards the corner with Harefield Road  and one tree on the western side of Brockley Road on the new widened pavement on the corner of Coulgate and Brockley Road.

Tree planting is a priority of the London Mayor's office as well as the government and is in  line with Ward residents’ Assembly priorities. The effects of global warming make the planting of new trees in the capital all the more imperative. Although street tree management is the responsibility of Lewisham Council, the resources available for planting new trees are unfortunately very limited. Most of Lewisham Council’s ‘Green Scene’ tree budget has to be spent on risk management and maintenance of existing stock, consequently there is little left to satisfy the increasing community demand for new trees.

Members of Transition Brockley and Brockley Cross Action Group have already greatly improved and enhanced the area around Brockley station.  The aim of this project is to achieve a further enhancement of the Brockley Road retail area which will benefit all local residents. 

We will liaise with Lewisham Council's 'Tree Department at Green Scene' who  have agreed to acquire, plant and maintain the trees. We will work together in subsequent years with other interested groups mentioned above  to further enhance the tree pits by underplanting  bulbs, perennials and small shrubs.

In consultation with Lewisham council’s Green Scene department, the precise planting location and type  of the 6 trees will be agreed. The work will then be scheduled by Green Scene with onsite co-operation from local volunteers.

Initial indications are that the suitable sites are:  1 tree outside Toad’s Mouth café.1 tree to be sited to continue the line of trees outside the Post Office sorting office towards the corner of Harefied and Brockley Road. 2 trees to be sited on the wide  section of pavement beyond the pedestrian crossing towards Cranfield Road and 2 trees to be planted before the pedestrian crossing on the new widened section of pavement. In consultation with Green Scene the tree pits will of a large enough area to allow for shrub and perennial plantings.

Site Plan of the Proposed Sites

With help from committed local environment groups, the area adjacent to the Station has been transformed from a run down, neglected and unwelcoming part of Brockley to a pleasant green environment. The new pavement area is not yet welcoming or green.  It is crying out for trees.  Brockley residents who have already expressed their appreciation of the greener environment around the station will all benefit from the addition of trees along this stretch of somewhat desolate pavement. At present cars can and often do mount the pavement to park.  Trees with guards will have the added benefit of protecting children and disabled pedestrians from such inconsiderate parking.

Trees opposite the Brockley Barge

Proposed tree on the corner of the Royal Mail sorting office

Proposed tree outside Toads Mouth Too

Community Gardening down at the Common

Brockley Cross Action Group chair, Rupert has been in touch to tell us of the next planned gardening session down at the station which is happening on Sunday 12th June from 2-6pm. We've recently been discussing details of watering and maintenance going forward for both our garden and the adjacent beds and it looks like we'll be helping out with their watering and vice versa. Details below:
The planting beds and the edible garden are looking very well and appreciated the recent rainfall. The new meadow is only just beginning to shows signs of life and will need a lot more work to get it established. We are due another community planting day to carry out the following activities:
 
1. WATERING. As from next week we will be organising a weekly watering rota to water the main planting beds, the 2 new Cherry trees, the edible garden and the new meadow. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! Watering equipment will now be stored at Turning Point on Coulgate Street and the proposal is for a pair of nominated volunteers to carry out watering in each week up to the end of August. The watering will take about 3 hours to complete each time BUT with a load of volunteers (we have about 20 already!) I doubt volunteers will be asked to water more than twice in the summer. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER FOR THE WATERING ROTA PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I will be preparing a list of volunteers this week to let Turning Point know (for security reasons etc). We will go through the watering arrangements this Sunday so if you want to know the score come along!
 
2. REPLACEMENT PLANTING. BXAG have purchased some replacement plants to fill in the spaces where we lost a few plants last winter. I have been waiting to put these in but needed the weather to break first - it looks like it has for now.
 
3. WEEDING. The weeds never rest despite all the mulch!
 
I therefore propose we meet up at 2.00 this coming SUNDAY 12th JUNE to carry out another afternoon of community gardening. We will be on site from 2.00-6.00.
 
As before just bring stout footwear. BXAG will provide tools, gloves and refreshments at the Broca Cafe.
 
Hope to see you on Sunday! 

Local gardening events coming up...

Those of you with green fingers who fancy a spot of gardening outside of the confines of your own home will be pleased to know that are 2 events coming up where you can get your fingernails dirty. The first event is this weekend at Brockley Common and BXAG chair Rupert has been in touch, he writes:


Dear BXAG members and volunteers,
 
Well the weather has been very kind to us humans, especially with the passing of two gloriously sunny bank holiday weekends, but alas this weather is no good at all for our beloved plants! The main planting down at Brockley Common is looking rather wonderful at the moment but the ground is very dry and we need to do a thorough watering, along with some weeding. The new meadow is also looking rather sad. But just add water - and a change of weather please - and who knows what might happen!?
 
I therefore propose we meet up at 1.00 this coming SUNDAY 15th MAY to carry out another afternoon of community gardening and general horticultural TLC. We will be on site from 1.00-5.00.
 
As before just bring stout footwear. BXAG will provide tools, gloves and refreshments.
 
Hope to see you on Sunday!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile Ruth who set up the community garden at St. Saviours Church has this to say:
St.Saviour's permaculture gardening session & plant sale - Saturday 21st May 
Please drop by from 10-11:30am for light gardening, maybe harvesting and if you have a plant or two to sell then please bring along!
Leyla will be selling a few home grown offerings too (tomatoes, cucumber, melons, sugar snap peas) with a portion of the proceeds to Christian Aid...
Hope to see you there!  
Gloves and tea provided!

Wildflower Meadow - Brockley Common

Just a reminder that this weekend sees the first session in creating a wildflower meadow at the northern end of Brockley Common. BXAG chair, Rupert writes:

Work has already started on the new 2011 Edible Garden - it's time to start work on the creation of the wildflower meadow! This will be located mainly on the steep bank right at the north end of Brockley Common, below the Edible Garden and next to the railway bridge.

The bank is currently overrun with weeds. The plan is to grub out all of the existing weeds, prepare the soil and sow a flowery wildflower meadow that will attract bees, butterflies and other insects while also creating a very visible splash of colour for everyone to enjoy at the junction of Coulgate Street and Brockley Road.

The idea is to sow a mix of annuals and a meadow mix together. The annuals will provide a quick splash of colour later this year while the meadow mix will develop into a more permanent feature in subsequent years - well that's the plan!

But it is going to need a lot of work just to prepare the site, so we need lots of volunteers! Can you come and help us?

The key dates are as follows:

PREPARATION DAY: SUNDAY 17th APRIL, 1.00-6.00pm.

PLANTING & SEEDING DAY: GOOD FRIDAY 22nd APRIL, 1.00 - 5.00pm.

Depending how we get on other evening gardening get togethers may be added in the w/b Monday 18th April.

As always BXAG will provide tools, gloves and refreshments. All you need to do is wear stout footwear and some warm clothing! I do hope to see you on one or both of the days - there will be various other maintenance chores on the Common as well, so the more the merrier! Note: no previous gardening experience necessary!

*UPDATE*
Transition member John will also be building some compost bins on the site so that we can properly compost the green waste which is already there and needs sorting for future use. If you would like to help then please come along from 1pm on Sunday.

Royal Weeding Day - Friday 29th April *Updated*

First coined by the Brockley Cross Action Group's chair Rupert King at a recent gardening event at Brockley Station this planned event is starting to gain pace via Facebook and beyond as the country prepares itself for a right ol' royal knees up on the 29th April. Here in Brockley we're encouraging the local community to join us at the community garden for our own special day by helping out at the garden so, remember weeds are just plants in the wrong place and if you're not sitting in front of a tv or a big screen in a royal park or even helping put up bunting in your street then do drop by even if it's just to say hello and greet us with your best curtsey.

Brockley Common Community Garden - Update

Volunteers tending to the garden

Last weekend saw the first planting action of the year at the garden while the sun shone. It was good to see new people helping out and many passers-by commenting on the good work being done.

Alongside some of last years plants which have survived the harsh winter so far in the garden we have:

Jerusalem Artichokes - Runner Beans - Rainbow Chard - Turnips - Camomile - Crocosmia - Sweet Peas - Marigolds - Wildflowers - Cornflowers - Mixed Salad Leaves - Sunflowers - Carrots

The next session at the gardening will be the joint project with the Brockley Cross Action Group where we will be clearing the bank next to the community garden and planting a wildflower meadow. This will be on the weekend of 16th/17th April (10am-5pm) with equipment and refreshments provided.

Planted and ready to go!

See more images on our Flickr site

Going over old ground - Part 2

Following last weekends successful clean up of the flower beds at Brockley Station by members of the Brockley Cross Action Group and Transition Brockley this weekend sees the attention turned to the community garden plot that was initiated by our group last year.

We've reported previously that we put in a successful localities fund bid for some money to improve the garden and now the time has come to prepare the site and start thinking about the design of this years garden. Now we're not garden designers* but we like to think we can string something together that will look half-decent!

This year Caroline from the group will be leading the group for the garden. She writes:

There is a meeting at Transition Brockley plot next to the station this saturday at 10.30am. The purpose of this meeting is to weed, rake, clear up the plot / create a vision for this year's garden and put some planting dates in the diary

Please bring your own tools, particularly gardening gloves / forks & trowels. If anyone has a rake that could be useful too! Once we have done a clear up, we will go for a coffee, look at last year's plan, & decide what we want to focus on this year. Ideas already suggested include: fruit trees / sunflowers / pathways / willow arches / beans / new signage.

We do have a budget, whilst contributions of seeds etc are always welcome however this Saturday we will not planting as such but preparing the plot for the coming months and impending planting session.

I will be meeting with Rupert (BXAG) next week to discuss the shared areas , all ideas welcome.

We look forward to seeing you there ! 

*The author has tenuous links to one of the gardens at this years Chelsea Flower Show...

Going over old ground...

Rupert from the Brockley Cross Action Group has been in touch to tell us of a planned spring clean-up event down at Brockley Station. He writes:

Spring is getting closer and the worst of winter is behind us. That can only mean one thing: time for our first community gardening event down at Brockley Common!


We need to give all of our community planting beds a thorough clean out, to remove rubbish, cut back & remove last year's dead growth, a bit of weeding and mulching. We also need to do our once a year foray into the wildife area to remove the rubbish and do some pruning, before the birds start nesting.

If we get enough people we might also send a gang across the road to Mantle Road to clean up our other 2 beds over there.

So please put the following date in your diary: SUNDAY 6th MARCH, 1.00 - 5.00pm. Meet outside the Broca Cafe. As ever BXAG will provide all tools and gloves etc (but feel free to bring your own) so just bring warm clothing and stout footwear. BXAG will provide refreshments for all at the Broca at 4.00.

I hope you can make it! Lets kickstart spring and get everything ready for summer!

During the day we will also tell you about the exciting plans that BXAG and Transition Town Brockley have for the north end of the site. We submitted a successful joint bid for funding from the Lewisham Localities Fund so very soon we will start planning some more improvements on the Common!

See you in 2 weeks time! Posters will be going up around the site. Please tell your friends - there's a lot to do!

Funding success for Brockley Common

Following last years successful transformation of the land next to Brockley Station we are delighted to announce that a joint bid to the Localities Fund by the Brockley Cross Action Group and Transition Brockley has been successful in gaining funds to continue the project at the station.

The project has two distinct elements, which are linked by their location alongside each other at the northern end of Brockley Common, the community-inspired public open space between Coulgate Street and Brockley Station.


1. A community wildflower meadow on the bank above Coulgate Street, at the north end of the site next to the railway bridge.

2. A community fruit & vegetable garden on the level area above and adjoining the bank, at the north end of Brockley Common.

Both elements will be created and maintained by members of Transition Brockley and BXAG and gardening volunteers from the local Brockley community.

The land is currently unused – though the level area was the site of an initial community garden in the summer of 2010 – and is earmarked as the site of the final phase of Brockley Common, comprising a circular performance & seating areas and steps back down to Coulgate Street. At present no funding has been identified for this work so rather than leave the site as wasteland the two Groups wish to combine to create a temporary garden space that will benefit local people and enhance the local environment.

The aims of the project are as follows:

COMMUNITY FRUIT & VEGETABLE GARDEN

• To promote awareness of the importance of locally grown organic food.
• To put into practice Transition Brockley’s commitment to develop ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and promote a more sustainable low carbon community.
• To implement organic principles to minimise damage to the environment.

WILDFLOWER MEADOW

• To create a beautiful, colourful & flowery feature in a prominent location that will enhance the local environment for both residents and passing commuters on what is a heavily used road.

Both projects will also encourage local wildlife and in particular attract bees by providing much needed nectar plants. For local volunteers it will provide opportunities to get involved in healthy gardening activities, learn about the growing and harvesting of fruit & vegetables and find out about the principles that underpin the project.

More news on when this gets going on the blog!

Brockley Common - A Post Celebration

For anyone that made it down to Brockley Station on Saturday they had a treat as the Brockley Cross Action Group and Transition Brockley alongside many volunteers and some of Brockley's very talented people came together to provide visitors with food, drink, musical entertainment and hopefully a bit of inspiration! The Brockley Cross Action Group have done wonders in transforming the area around the station and it will only get better as time goes on with plans for a performance space and hopefully new station facilities sometime in the future providing a welcome gateway into Brockley for residents and visitors.

It's early days in our quest to harvest Brockley's unwanted fruit and we're quickly finding out about the logistics of such an operation but I'm pleased to report that it's proving to be very rewarding and great fun!

Our first harvest of the day began at a house in Breakspears Road, Brockley where we were confronted by the most wonderful site of huge pear trees, likely to have been a part of Brockley's past heritage and many different varieties of Apple. We were tasked with picking Bramley cooking apples from a very well-trained tree which has obviously had a lot of love and time given to it over the years. The pictures below show the tree and volunteers in action. We tried out our new fruit picker with its handy prongs and basket which allow you to pick the apples easily and collect them in one move without straining too much. In all we picked around 10 boxes of apples of which 4 were to go down to Brockley Common to be given away to passers by.

The Apple Tree

Using the new apple picker

The second harvest at a house in Algiers Road by Katie and Caroline in the afternoon provided eating apples to compliment what we had on offer but we didn't just have apples though as we also gave away the damsons picked earlier in the week alongside fruits picked at the station from our own plot and also the hedgerow nearby.

One of the highlights of the day was one of our visitors who took it upon herself to take some of the apples and bake a pie only to come back within an hour and allow us to sell it to very willing customers! A prime example of how quickly fruit can be transformed from the point of picking to something different but very tasty.

Our stall in front of the garden we created and some keen customers tuck into the apple pie that one very generous and enthusiastic visitor made after taking some apples frm our stall.

At the end of the day we managed to give away all the fruit we picked which was great and make people more aware of the things we do and promote the fruit harvesting and new orchard underway this autumn.

You can view more photos of the day here

Thankyou to all that helped out!

Brockley Common - A Celebration

Rupert from the Brockley Cross Action Group has emailed to let us know about an event taking place soon to celebrate the fine work that has been done and ongoing at Brockley Station. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun!

Click on the image above to find out about all the main event details but in addition to this Transition Brockley will be there too. We'll be available to chat to any interested visitors about the community garden we created at the end of the ramp where hopefully a performance space will one day materialise.

Performance Planting > Take 2

This evening members of Transition Brockley spent some time tending to the temporary performance space planting on Brockley Common which was started back in June. As well as weeding the plants we also gave the site a good water along with the main beds planted by the Brockley Cross Action Group.

We picked our first vegetables with some rather large radishes having grown extremely quickly! Also progressing well are the tomato plants, sunflowers, various lettuce varieties and more radishes!