It’s been another busy year on the land. Here’s a brief summary of two of the recent large items we have completed: 

New Tree House

Building the new Tree house has been a tremendous success. So many young people have been using it, and that’s not just during the day but right into the evenings too. The wood was donated by a local person living close to the land and built by another two local people at no cost. There been some maintenance needed since then, like a new roper ladder, single rope and some graffiti removal but all in all we are very pleased. The only downside was 2 of the mature trees beside the structure were vandalised, so we’ll need to take care of them as time goes by. 

New Mud Kitchen

This again was built by a local volunteer at no cost and replaces the old one that had rotted away. Came onto the land in early August 2024 and so far another great success with the very young kids. These toddler age kids have seen their parents in a kitchen environment cooking every day of their short lives, so they know how it works. They then, with their creative imaginations, replicate all that but with stones, sticks and mud. Often together with their best friend, it’s the first foraging they do. Our challenge is to make sure that this foraging these is in a safe environment but with all the benefits of a natural wild landscape. 

On the to do list this coming 12 months: 

There is always a steady stream of jobs needing done on the land. But lately we have 6 big ones we plan to do (plus loads of smaller ones!) : 

1. We’d like to renovate the inside of the brick shed we use as a tool and storage room. It dates back to WW2 days and while we’ve done some work on the roof some years ago the inside and shutters really need seeing to. Surfaces inside need cleaned and pointed. Then floor, ceiling and walls painted. After that new shelving installed.  
2. Get an electricity connection into this building from the street. This would give us heat and / or run a dehumidifier which would stop the condensation we experience during winters. This not only affects our battery powered tools but also all the materials needed to put on the community events etc. It would also brighten up the shed, quite literally by giving us lights. We’d also beable to put on our community events much easier by running electricity to PA systems and heat up drinks etc. 
3. To manage a wild natural greenspace we need a mains connected water supply. Mains connected so that the pressure of the water can be used to run a sprinkler and hoses. This allows us to repair parts of the land that get over used, keeping them natural rather than bare. At the moment we have no water supply on the land and when we do manage to get water its just not practical to water 1.4 hectares of land by watering can. 
4. Our allotment is on a raised bed format. Some of the 32 beds have rotten away and work needs done replacing them. These raised beds are a great opportunity for local people to grow vegetables for them and their family. 
5. We’d like to start work on doing some more meadow creation. It’s been successful before but now needs more work bringing the meadow back to what it was. This also follows on from the very successful rewilding work that volunteers did up near the Clouston street area this last couple of years. 
6. The hedge along Sanda street has been cut this year but we need to plan on how and when to cut it going forward. Its at a lower height which will now make it much easier to cut without going up ladders. This also lets in more light to the woodland area and without the large Poplar tree this increase in light should help to grow the understory within the wood. 

Bins, both street and onsite need maintained and cleaned. Nearby streets need leaves, small branches that have fallen and mud picked up. This all helps to bring a vibe that this area is cared for and so litter dog poo left and other anti social behaviour are unacceptable.