Over the past two and a half years a group of dedicated volunteers have converted 3 overgrown allotments above the former Holy Trinity Church on Hopping Hill into The Milford Community Greenspace, a place full of facilities for children to play and learn and for the wider community to use. For more details on the work that has been done, the facilities created and the school groups and others that use it, see our web page here.
Throughout the life of the project regular updates of our progress have been published and this is the latest. Despite the often wet and sometimes snowy weather, the Greenspace volunteers have achieved a great deal since our last report.
In our last report in February (here) we described how we had installed shelves in the shed and extended the eaves on one side of our biggest project of 2022, the installation of a new 10ft x 8ft shed. Since then the improvements to the shed have continued, with gutters and drains added and these connected to a new water butt, bringing more water storage to the site, which can be very dry in the summer as the spring dries up and there is no piped water.
We have also added a green sedum roof to the extended eaves side of the shed. It was 6 square metres and very heavy to carry! It was paid for by Blooming Milford and is hard wearing and drought resistant, as well as being attractive and good for the environment.
6 square metres of sedum turf waiting to be carried up Church Steps
Volunteers admiring the new sedum roof of the shed
In the last report we described how we had completed a Pallet Bench for the children playing on the Tinker Zone to work on and were in the process of creating a Pallet Wall. This would divide the more formal parts of the Greenspace from the wilder parts and the story telling area and at the same time provide shelves for the children to store precious things they have found/made on the Greenspace, and hanging space for chalk boards, mirrors etc. The final upper section of this was completed this time, and the mirrors and chalk boards hung, as shown in the photos below.
Pallet wall now complete
Mirror being hung onto Pallet Wall
We have undertaken a great deal of path improvement work since the last report. Paths have been smoothed out and steps incorporated/relaid, and the stepping stones leading from the old shed past the mud kitchen and the stream, and on to the composting toilet, reset.
Stepping stones reset.
We have also covered many of the paths with a new layer of chipped bark and weed matting; much of the old chip had rotted away and the paths were getting quite damp. Following the cutting down of ash trees on Jackson’s Lane the contractors left a large pile of wood chip. Mark Hudson from Quarry Wood Cottage also donated a large pile of chip for us. Combined, these produced over 130 x 40 litre bags of wood chip, all of which was carried up to the Greenspace.
Ash wood chip pile left by contractors on Jackson’s Lane
Wood chip donated by Mark Hudson
New wood chip path leading to solitary bee house
Fresh wood chip right along main path at bottom of Greenspace
A large variety of other projects have also been completed this month. The pond has been reset and deepened and flag iris and frogspawn added, hopefully creating a wildlife haven. A fully functioning wormery was added and an hibernaculum. The children’s story telling area has been tidied and a new canopy hung. A new willow wicker hedge was created, and dogwood from a Blooming Milford tidy up of The Triangle used to create novel bird feeders. This year’s potatoes have also been planted.
Deepened pond with flag iris
Wormery
Hibernaculum
Revamped children’s story telling area
New willow wicker hedge being created
Dogwood bird feeder
This year’s potatoes being planted.
Finally we would like to thank Duke of Edinburgh award trainee Freddie from Duffield. He has now completed his time with us, but he worked extremely hard, an hour a week over 6 months, and helped us achieve a great deal.
Make sure you take part in the Greenspace Easter Hunt, which is taking place all over Milford. Details of how to take part are here.
