Developed and managed by Marsh Street Arches and Garden Community Interest Company.
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Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Monday, 30 July 2012
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Bumblebees need our help
Bumblebees like those pictured below at Green Heart Den are in decline and need our help.
According to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust "Bumblebees are mainly under threat because of changes to the countryside in the UK. Changes in agricultural techniques have meant that there are far fewer wild flowers in the landscape than there used to be, meaning that many of our bumblebee species are struggling to survive"
If you would like more information and details of how you can help, please visit the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website here
According to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust "Bumblebees are mainly under threat because of changes to the countryside in the UK. Changes in agricultural techniques have meant that there are far fewer wild flowers in the landscape than there used to be, meaning that many of our bumblebee species are struggling to survive"
If you would like more information and details of how you can help, please visit the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website here
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Vertical veg - How to make a wormery
Courtesy of Vertical Veg - how to make a wormery. "A wormery will recycle your waste food to make a superb
fertiliser for your crops and a living soil in your containers. Wormeries are
perfect for small spaces: they’re small, don’t smell and make compost faster
than conventional composters. You can either buy one or it can be fun and
rewarding to make your own"
To make a simple box wormery you’ll need a shady space
(under a bench or table is fine) for it to live and:
- A large plastic box with a lid
- A drill
- 2 bricks or pieces of wood to stand it on.
- Some newspaper or cardboard.
- Worms and worm bedding
Please visit the Vertical Veg website for more detailed information.
Friday, 27 July 2012
A little garden maintenance in the sun
Valued volunteers David and Alex mowing the Green Heart Den lawn.
.......and talking a well earned break after their hard work.
.......and talking a well earned break after their hard work.
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Timber building progress
Suppliers Ultimate Logcabins, recently confirmed our new timber building is in production and all being well, should be delivered and installed on our newly developed community grow your own scheme within the next 3 weeks. The timber building will be used as our on site office and for activities such as; potential training opportunities, health and well - being sessions, open days and events.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Quote for the week........
“Kind hearts are the gardens, kind thoughts are the roots, kind
words are the flowers, kind deeds are the fruits, take care of your garden and
keep out the weeds, fill it with sunshine, kind words, and kind deeds.” - Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow.
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Barrows Wildlife Bonanza. A most enjoyable event
Our table in the marquee we shared with The Owl Trust.
Millie from the Owl Trust with Sparky, a 10 year old barn owl.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust setting up their display area.
Millie from the Owl Trust with Sparky, a 10 year old barn owl.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust setting up their display area.
Friday, 20 July 2012
Quote for the week.....
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a
kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of
caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around" - Leo Buscaglia
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Cherry tree begins to bear fruit
One of the recently planted cherry trees on our new community grow your own scheme is beginning to bear fruit :)
Preparing for Barrows Wildlife Bonanza
That's the home-made hedgehog box and bat box finished and ready for our table at Barrows Wildlife Bonanza which takes place at Barrow Park, Saturday 21st July 2012.
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Installation of the poly tunnel and potting benches
With the exception of a little tidy up Continental Landscapes have now completed installation of the new poly tunnel and potting benches. Funding to enable the purchase of the poly tunnel was provided by Cumbria Community Foundation.
Harvesting seeds
Collecting seed - heads from some of our ox eye daisies in
the wildlife banking area. More will be collected when the seed-heads on the
stems have dried out naturally, begun to open and drop their seeds.
Monday, 16 July 2012
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Updated maintenance schedule
We have produced a list of garden
maintenance tasks as a guide to assist individuals, volunteers and
organisations involved in managing and maintaining the Green Heart Den
community garden and community grow your own scheme.
Friday, 13 July 2012
Community grow your own scheme progress update
We would like to apologies for a series of unexpected issues
which have resulted in delays to the final completion date for our new
community grow your own scheme.
At the same time we hope you will recognise that there has been a significant difference to the site and that we are very close to the scheme being completed and ready for use.
Works progressed and completed so far include:
At the same time we hope you will recognise that there has been a significant difference to the site and that we are very close to the scheme being completed and ready for use.
Works progressed and completed so far include:
Completed
the mixed border planting scheme
Laid turf in
the orchard area
Planted our
new fruit trees (2 apple, 2 pear and 2 cherry trees)
Completed
installation of all 28 raised planters
Completed
installation of the metal benches
Installed our
litter bin
Provided an
additional wildlife banking
Installed
new post and wire fencing
Completed the
new tarmac parking area
Installed
new block paving
Laid the
final slate dust top surface
Contractors
have also begun installing our new poly tunnel which includes a central paved area
and potting benches.
Today we received confirmation from contractors, Continental
Landscapes that any outstanding works, including the poly tunnel and potting
benches will be completed by the end of next week (Friday 20th July 2012). Suppliers of the timber building have also
confirmed that the building is in production and they are aiming towards delivering
the building to the site in approximately 4 weeks time.
Open Space Award results
Earlier this week The Our Green Space project was confirmed as runner up in the Open Spaces Society - Open Space Award. The Our Green Space Project was a Cumbria wide project, managed in partnership with Friends of The Lake District and Action with Communities in Cumbria and funded by Heritage Lotterys "Your Heritage" grant scheme. We were one of five Cumbrian projects included in, and befitting from the scheme which aimed to celebrate and enhance the heritage, cultural, environmental and community value of open green spaces in Cumbria for all to enjoy.
Jan Darrall from Friends of the Lake District commented "The Our Green Space project has been announced as runner up in the national Open Space Awards and we are really delighted. It is a real testament to all the hard work and commitment you all put in so we hope you are very proud too. The winner was a meadow in Surrey. The judges paid tribute to the commitment, energy and outputs of you all, so really well done and thanks for working with us"
Congratulations and well done to all involved
Jan Darrall from Friends of the Lake District commented "The Our Green Space project has been announced as runner up in the national Open Space Awards and we are really delighted. It is a real testament to all the hard work and commitment you all put in so we hope you are very proud too. The winner was a meadow in Surrey. The judges paid tribute to the commitment, energy and outputs of you all, so really well done and thanks for working with us"
Congratulations and well done to all involved
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Quote for the week........
"If you don't believe that the world has a heart, then
you won't hear it beating, you won't think it's alive and you won't consider
what you're doing to it." - Charles
de Lint.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Options for a composting toilet
Visiting Rachel at the BTCV nursery in Kendal to seek about the potential installation of a composting toilet.
What is a composting - A compost toilet is a dry or waterless toilet, i.e. one that doesn’t use water to take the waste somewhere else; it also allows natural processes to produce useful compost, after a resting period depending on the type of toilet. There are usually two chambers – one in use and one resting. A typical toilet would use one chamber for a year, then change to the second chamber and allow the first to decompose for a year before emptying.
They don’t smell, as long as there is a vent pipe, and a drain to take away excess liquid. A handful of a soak (straw or sawdust etc.) is dropped into the toilet after each use. This is because bacteria like to eat a balanced diet of carbon and nitrogen, and as human waste contains a lot of nitrogen, if they don’t get enough carboniferous material (like sawdust, straw, hay, shredded paper) they will give off excess nitrogen in the form of ammonia, which makes the loo smelly. Also, the soak allows oxygen into the pile, and absorbs liquid. This allows the pile to decompose aerobically to produce nitrates, phosphates and sulphates. Without a soak, the pile will decompose anaerobically and produce methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide – all smelly and not very useful.
What is a composting - A compost toilet is a dry or waterless toilet, i.e. one that doesn’t use water to take the waste somewhere else; it also allows natural processes to produce useful compost, after a resting period depending on the type of toilet. There are usually two chambers – one in use and one resting. A typical toilet would use one chamber for a year, then change to the second chamber and allow the first to decompose for a year before emptying.
They don’t smell, as long as there is a vent pipe, and a drain to take away excess liquid. A handful of a soak (straw or sawdust etc.) is dropped into the toilet after each use. This is because bacteria like to eat a balanced diet of carbon and nitrogen, and as human waste contains a lot of nitrogen, if they don’t get enough carboniferous material (like sawdust, straw, hay, shredded paper) they will give off excess nitrogen in the form of ammonia, which makes the loo smelly. Also, the soak allows oxygen into the pile, and absorbs liquid. This allows the pile to decompose aerobically to produce nitrates, phosphates and sulphates. Without a soak, the pile will decompose anaerobically and produce methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide – all smelly and not very useful.
Open Spaces Society - Open Space Awards
We would like to wish Our Green Space Project the very best of luck in the Open Spaces Society - Open Space Award. The Our Green Space Project was a Cumbria wide project, managed in partnership with Friends of The Lake District and Action with Communities in Cumbria and funded by Heritage Lotterys "Your Heritage" grant scheme.
We were one of five Cumbrian projects included in, and befitting from the scheme which aimed to celebrate and enhance the heritage, cultural, environmental and community value of open green spaces in Cumbria for all to enjoy.
...............Good luck all.
We were one of five Cumbrian projects included in, and befitting from the scheme which aimed to celebrate and enhance the heritage, cultural, environmental and community value of open green spaces in Cumbria for all to enjoy.
...............Good luck all.