friends of calverley grounds newsletter, issue 4, spring 2014
DESCRIPTION
Friends of Calverley Grounds Newsletter, Issue 4, Spring 2014TRANSCRIPT
SPRING 2014ISSUE NUMBER 4
If you lookcarefullyat thecultivatedspurgefound inCalverleyGrounds
you are l ikely to see a variety ofinsect l ife including (above) thefemale of the tiny bronzy greenmining bee, Lasioglossum morio.Look again and you might also see awinged fly Tephritis Formosa and theblack garden ant, Lasius niger. Don’tknow what they look like? Just fol lowIan Beavis, @TWBC_Museum onTwitter, to see his great photos andregular updates on what’s buzzingaround in our park. Kids stuff for free
Seeds for the annual sunflowergrowing competition for children wil lbe distributed at the 5th Apri lgardening event. This year childrenand adults are also invited to sowseeds to grow golden yellowvegetables and bring them back toput in the planters by the café in Mayonce they are big enough.
Welcome to TrevorFoCG welcomes Trevor Twort,’our’ man from Sodexo in CalverleyGrounds. Trevor has worked inTunbridge Wells parks for over 1 5years. Last time he worked inCalverley Grounds there were 3 ful l-time gardeners maintaining the park.Times have changed! Trevor is ful ltime working in Calverley Groundsand we look forward to enjoying thefruits of his labour during thesummer.
A two year project to revital ise thewhole rose terrace began on 22March when a group of FoCGmembers dug up 1 35 old, weak anddiseased rose bushes. The soilneeds to be rested and revital isedbefore replanting so a wild flowermeadow wil l be sown for a floraldisplay this summer. A new selectionof Old English roses chosen for theircolour and perfume wil l be planted inthe autumn. There may be an
opportunity to sponsor a rose but thedetai ls are sti l l to be worked out. I fyou are interested [email protected] and we wil l send youmore detai ls as we have them.
Rollapaluza is a unique cycle sportwhere two riders battle it out on apair of custom-built rol lersconnected to a huge dial over asimulated 500m distance. I t’scoming to Calverley Grounds onSunday 11 th May from 3pm after a
ladies cycling and information eventin the morning. ‘Rollapaluza-Roller-Racing’ is open to both men andwomen. I t is FREE to attend but youneed to book your place in advancewith Clare Maynard, emailsales@wildside-onl ine.co.uk.
Get in gear for Rollapaluza!
Calverley Groundsis buzzing
Poppy plantingTo commemorate the centenary ofthe start of WW1 , a field of poppieswil l be planted beside the tal l stepson Saturday 5th Apri l . FoCGmembers and friends are needed toprepare the ground and plant seeds,and to nurture seeds into plants forplanting out later in the season.
Rose bed renewal starts
What’s On this SummerSun May 11th - Prosecco &Rollapaluza - cycling event
Sun June 8th - Urban orienteering -the Saxons Club
Sun June 29th - Churches picnicSun July 13th - Mela - multiculturalmusic, dance and food
Sun August 3rd -WW1 interdenominational service
Sat & Sun August 23rd/24th - ‘Local &Live’- music festival
FoCG InformationChairman Jim Kedge (521787)[email protected]
Vice Chairman Nick [email protected]
Secretary Jane [email protected]
Treasurer Lisa [email protected]
Facebook:FriendsOfCalverleyGrounds
Twitter: @FoCGTunWel ls
Email: [email protected]
Jim Kedge reports: “Our park is one ofthe two that are mentioned by name in theCouncil ’s recently published draft 5-year‘Vision 201 4’ for the town. The Council ’sstated objective is that “Tunbridge Wellsremains a prosperous, green andconfident borough”. You’l l be glad to knowthat our park is seen as providing a keycontribution to delivering that vision. Youcan read the document in its entirety onthe Council ’s website- comments arewelcomed up to the end of March.“The challenge that we face as
residents, and as Friends of CalverleyGrounds in particular, in pursuing theobjective in relation to our park is one ofresources, ie money and time! Grosvenor& Hilbert Park, the other park highl ightedin the Vision, has secured £2.7mil l ion ofHeritage Lottery Funding to improve andrestore the whole park in the style of itscreator, Robert Marnock, the man whoalso designed Dunorlan Park. Well doneto the Council team and to the Friends ofGrosvenor & Hilbert Park who activelycontributed to and supported the bid.Work should start towards the end of thisyear and wil l be the main focus of theParks Dept over the next couple of years.We all look forward to seeing the resultsof their labours.
“Calverley Grounds, potential ly‘Tunbridge Wells’ town centre showpiecepark’ in the view of the Friends, doeshave an agreed and documentedManagement Plan. This is referred to inthe draft ‘Vision’ document although theManagement Plan is not visionary in anysense of the word. I t lays out themaintenance and minor improvementsthat we can expect- better signage forexample, but it does not provide any over-arching view for the park or where it fitsinto the overal l plan for the parks andopen spaces of Tunbridge Wells."We feel that this is a missed
opportunity. The Friends wil l continue topush for the adoption of a vision for thepark, even though there is currently nomoney in Council ’s ‘Vision’ to pursue ouraspirations. At present, the Parks teamresource needed to put together a bid forexternal funding is al located elsewhere.Natural ly we wil l keep working on yourbehalf to make sure that the ManagementPlan is progressed and, with your helpand physical support, wil l continue tosupport the gardening efforts of the Parksteam and their contractors, Sodexo, tomake sure that Calverley Grounds wil leventual ly become a park that we can allbe proud of.”
Calverley Grounds does have a future!
Wet, grey and often empty – that hasbeen the park for much of the winter, so it’shardly surprising that the entries for our
annual photocompetition reflectedthis reality. The winners,whose entries ‘A BigSplash’ and ‘Benches’,have already appearedin the ‘Courier’, caughtthis well . Toddler,Nathaniel, splashed in apuddle to win mum,Hannah Roberts of
Oakdale Road, first prize in the adultcategory Many congratulations also toFinn Taylor of Mountfield Gardens whose‘Benches’ won the under 1 6 category. (Topleft) Hannah and Nathaniel received theprize from FoCG Chairman Jim Kedge,while last year’s under 1 6 winner, LaurenGrant, presented the prize to Finn (bottomleft). Our thanks to all those who entered.
Don’t forget you can share your photos ofCalverley Grounds on our Facebook page.
Winning winter photos...