During November and December 2018 we were fortunate to have three visits of groups of volunteers to help to cut back many of the ash tree shoots from around the lake and create new views across the water. Also they helped to clear the snowberry and berberis bushes from behind the playground swings.
In February one of the tallest Ash trees had to be felled as it was infected with a fungal disease which could have spread to other trees and had also made the tree unsafe. In Southwark’s Cleaner Greener Safer awards just announced the park has been awarded £2,000 for new plants and £2,500 for the planting of new trees.
This should enable planting in the newly cleared area behind the swings and at the back of the park along the border with the Casino Avenue community garden. We should also see around 10 new trees planted as Southwark Council have also allocated some funds from their internal budget. We aim to start up the Sunday morning volunteer group in the next few weeks to continue to tidy up the park.