Projects

Project 1- pathways and pruning

Initially the land was over run with brambles and there was no clear way through the abundance of vegetation that reaches up to 7 ft tall at the height of summer.

First patch we cleared . Its since grown back !

Thats all brambles growing through the trees. No . I couldn’t see them either !

First path was to the brew station and compost heap.

First up was to get on top of the brambles and create new paths through the land to make it safe for people to move around the site and preserve as much of the natural habitat as possible. This year we built one through the goat willow to break up the nettle and hogweed and managed to put down some wood chipping to keep down the weeds.

You can now see the trees AND walk through to the brew station all year round !! Yay 😀

Project 2 – create somewhere to sit !

My first sit spot was underneath the Elder tree that was the only place not over run with nettles and grasses . But it wasn’t going to be big enough to accommodate a group .

I spent quite a while feeling out where the seating area should go before clearing the weeds and putting down a tarp for the first year just to avoid having to constantly cut everything back all the time . Then it was figuring out how to make the seating .

Clearing the edges and putting a bench i found around the edge to size up how many benches i could fit.

Once the tarp was down I went skip dipping for spare wood and discovered a huge pile of bricks buried under a load of overgrown brambles . And seating was created !! After lots of lugging bricks about , an attempt at making a wooden bench with legs from sawn posts and a few coats of fence paint on the wood . Enough room now for 10 people! And the tarp came up , allowing the moss to grow out and the grass to regrow.

Projecte 3 – flower beds and compost heap removal !

In the photo above on the left is a knackered old pallet box that was the compost heap. It was falling to bits and neither use nor ornament so i had a fun day smashing it up and getting rid . I then had a bright idea to use all the compost left over to make to low flower beds to add a bit of colour and give some food for the bees before summer came.

Project 4 – Spring bulbs and flower spiral , poly tunnel up and gathering herbs for a herb garden

This year I wanted to add a bit of colour to the area and also provide some flowers for the bees as they were out early and there’s not much by way of flowers in early spring .

We were also in need of somewhere dry to store tools and keep out of the rain because theres no shelter on site making it difficult to stay or visit more often when the weather isn’t great . So we got a poly tunnel. Putting that up on my own was a bit of a job especially pulling the cover over but i managed it eventually!

The herbs hAve now been potted up but still need a proper home in the yet to be created herb garden!

Current / Future projects to get involved with .

September/October – clearing away old dying growth and balsam clearing . Gathering nettle for seeds and fibre. Putting up the new tent and getting the mulch for the paths .

October/November looking to coppice and build up some dead hedges / hurdles and line pathways with woodchips / weed and clear site for wild flower areas .

If you are an experienced gardener/ landscaper / permaculture enthusiast and would like to share your skills and time to help out with developing the land please get in touch . You would be welcome to come over for a visit! Likewise if you’re totally new to working with the outdoors and fancy coming along to help out with the ongoing maintenance of weeding , cutting, pruning , etc .

Email Lex at spacefornature@outlook.com or find me on twitter @spacefornatureUK and DM me .