On the 22nd October, Andy Buchan led a wonderful (fully booked!) free walk on the history of Horfield Common.
It was an incredibly well-researched talk, where we were so lucky to benefit from Andy's passion for the Common and learn so much about where we live. Andy shared with us the history of the Common right back to when it was used as common land for farms, the Wellington Hill fountain, the Victorian urinals, Horfield Castle and so much more! It was also wonderful for neighbours to share their own stories and memories of the area! Andy's group 'Bishopston, Horfield & Ashley Down Local History Society' meets on the third Tuesday of every month and always welcomes new members! Find further details of where they meet and the provisional 2024 program at their website: https://bishopstonhistorysociety.wordpress.com/ Thank you so much to Andy, for volunteering his time and energy for the walk! If you'd like to attend similar events in future, be sure to email [email protected] to join our mailing list.
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On the 14th October, volunteers joined us in the Autumn sunshine to plant daffodil bulbs around the Common.
We managed to plant almost 4 bags in the area around the car park and up by the entrance on Kellaway Avenue - we'll be looking forward to seeing them bloom in Spring! Big thank you to Steve from The Ardagh who supplied us the bulbs and thanks so much to everyone who stopped by to help, or even just say hello and have a chat - if you'd like to meet your neighbours, please do drop by an event sometime! Rare cat-mint has been found - for the first time in Bristol in 100 years! – at the Common, across the other side of Kellaway Avenue.
Thank you to Dylan Peters, part of BS7 Wildlife and creator of the wonderful site Wild Bristol, who found and championed the cat-mint! Thanks to him, the Council has protected the area with a fence and sign, and we'll be looking into the mowing map for the Common going forward. Please help us protect it by notifying us at [email protected] if you see the fence and sign have been disturbed. FOHC met to discuss plans for the next few months and ongoing points of interest. These included:
Please note that the September Litter Pick has now been cancelled - the next Litter Pick will be the 28th October. Please see the Minutes below for more information:
On the 9th and 10th September, we set out to clear the meadow patches for Autumn!
A big thank you to our volunteers for coming out in the blazing heat for hours to clear an area double the size of last year's patch, and to Steve from The Ardagh for his help with tools. And a special thank you to Val, who has been wonderfully maintaining the patches/liaising with the Council and Lockleaze Good Gym. The patches wouldn't be here without her! What did we do? We raked the cut grass away from the patch behind Horfield Parish Church, and then placed this under hedges for mulch. In order for the wildflowers to grow, the cut grass needs to be raked away from the site, to allow the wildflower seeds to disperse and settle, without grass growing there instead. One of our volunteers has counted 117 plant species in this area, so there's no need to sow new seeds there! Why meadow patches? Meadow patches are home to an incredible range of plants, that all - from bugs to birds to people - can use and enjoy. They're a valuable, dense ecosystem, which is becoming more and more important. They also are a great way to make green space that residents don't use for sitting in more interesting! What's next? There is one more patch next to Wellington Hill that needs clearing. If you'd like to be involved, please email [email protected] so we can update you. As for this patch, we'll wait for the new flowers to grow and supplement with any that we need in future. FOHC met at the Garden Room to discuss events for Autumn! These included:
We'll also be aiming to arrange a FOHC meeting every 6 weeks or so, so please look out for the next meeting in September and feel free to join if you'd like to get involved. Please find the full Minutes available to download below:
We were excited to welcome volunteers to the Garden Room at The Ardagh on the 22nd July, to reinitiate the FOHC Volunteer Group! We had a presentation about the history of the Common/FOHC, along with an explanation of how FOHC works with the Council and The Ardagh Community Trust, and finally a chat about volunteering roles and how to get the word out. As ever, the group needs more Trained Volunteers to lead events - if you'd be interested, please get in touch! Next steps are getting the word out to more potential volunteers, and to arrange an August Volunteer Meeting (details to follow once confirmed.) Thank you to all who attended! Presentation and Minutes are available to download below for those who missed the meeting. Presentation: July 2023 FOHC Volunteer Meeting
Minutes: July 2023 FOHC Volunteer Meeting
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