Ashburnham Triangle Association

Please join us on Saturday, October 8th at 2pm. We will meet at the planter on the Play Street.

Well, May, with its green fizz, and its tuneful blackbirds, has gone.  It’s a time when the number and variety of trees in the Triangle always surprises – and excites.  So waking up the other day to the sound of a chain saw was depressing.  We know so little about the Triangle’s trees.  And it would be tragic to lose them while our backs were turned.  When the first Lockdown arrived, in spring 2020, a group of Triangle residents started sharing observations of Triangle birds – which produced a Birds of the Ashburnham Triangle Check List of 35 species.  You can see it on our Green page ).  But how many species of trees do we have?  And what are the stand outs?  The largest, the oldest, the rarest?  Your favourite? I think I may know the tallest.  And the current guardian of what we think is the oldest – a Mulberry that may be as much as 300 years old – tells me that under his care, it’s hanging on. Just. Surely time, in this tree-ori...

Spring is on its way, so our Triangle's Green team have set dates for gardening and for the Plant Swap in May. Sara says that they are trying out gardening on Saturdays afternoons at 2pm: 26 March 30 April 14 May  with the Plant Swap at 11am in Ashburnham Retreat 25 June Hope to see you there.

In August the Green Hub bought three swift boxes to support the local swift population. These have now been fitted by St Marks onto the side of their tower. Here’s hoping they are occupied next year .. although apparently it can take a few years. Thanks to St Marks.  Alison Haworth

Three swift boxes have been bought by the ATA and will be mounted under the water Ed at St Marks church, hoping to increase the local swift population in the next few years.

Aren't the gardens and green spaces looking good at the moment? It would be good to see some new faces, if you are able to join us, on Sunday June 27th to do some gardening. We are meeting at the planter on Ashburnham Retreat at 10.30am. Sara

If you are free to do some gardening this Sunday , please meet at the planter on the Play Street at ten. Please bring a watering can and trowel and secateurs if you can, if not there will be spares. Future dates are: Sunday 13 Sept. 10am to work at Ada Kennedy Court Saturday 17 October 2pm - Catherine Grove Saturday 21 November - Daffodil planting

The Royal Parks have officially adopted their  Movement Strategy  and the 2020-21 Implementation Plan  for traffic in the Parks, including Greenwich Park, starting on Saturday, 15 August 2020. This strategy sets a coherent framework to help shape and inform the policies they develop and decisions they take relating to how park visitors can access, experience, and move within the parks. Within Greenwich Park this means the full-time closure of the Avenue to vehicle traffic. For a complete list of projects, please see the Implementation Plan and project Fact Sheets on the Parks' website  Project Fact Sheets and more Everyone will have the opportunity to participate in a formal consultation from November – December 2020. The results of the consultation will be published.

We all know the Triangle is green. But how green? Lock Down has made London a quieter, cleaner place. And it's given us time to pay more attention to what this means for the wildlife in our own neighbourhoods. A group of Triangle residents are using this extraordinary opportunity to find out - and they want more help with recording what's moving, and what's growing, all around us. There's definitely something exciting in it for kids - show them this video of Ashburnham Grove's fox cubs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwaXIbBpLyM But whatever your interests - birds, blossoms or insects - there's plenty more to see: here are some of Egerton Drive's busy bees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSbkAcT3LeA Each week those helping with the Spring Census are sending in a short record of what they have seen - in words, or in pictures like these - to Census co-ordinator, Mick Delap. They've been at it since April. And the Census will continue to gat...

The annual ATA Plant Swap is ‘going walkabout’! Saturday, 23rd May 2020 11.00 – 12.30  Come and find new plants at the following addresses: 16 /17 Egerton Drive  75 Ashburnham Grove  38 Greenwich South Street Plants to swap can be dropped off at the same time Look out for the logo and please don’t forget social distancing –  stay two metres apart

This week, as lock down continued, the Triangle turned green. Spring has arrived in full glory. Can you help the ATA residents who have already started tracking what that means along the different streets - and back gardens - of the Triangle?  A small group of us are three weeks into recording the birds and bees and bugs we see, and when and in what numbers shrubs and flowers are blooming. We are saving our weekly accounts, exchanging pictures, and comparing notes. Some of us with just a few lines a week, others in more detail (depending on exactly what they are most interested in). It is already helping to build up a better idea of exactly how green the Triangle is.  But we need more help, urgently, if we are to achieve our ambition. By the end of June, after three months observing, we want to be able to piece together a well informed picture of what Spring means for the Triangle. We are calling it the ATA Spring Census. But so far we have only recruited e...

Our Environment & Gardening team have announced the following dates for the year: Gardening:   15 March 10am 10 April  (Good  Friday,  time to be announced) 14 June 10am 18 July 2pm 23 Aug 10am 13 Sept 10am 17 Oct 2pm Plant swap   Sunday 10 May  morning Daffodil planting 14 Nov As far as environmental issues and action, we are linking with other groups and will publicise through the ATA . We may have an event next Autumn/Winter. Do let us know if you have any ideas or a willing to help. For more information email Sara Emanuel 

  Eleven residents planted nine tree on Saturday 30th November in beautiful sunshine. The trees are good for the environment as they will capture carbon and pollutants. We planted: A crab apple and flowering cherry by each of Barnstaple and Plymouth Houses. Weeping silver birches in private gardens on Ashburnham Grove and Greenwich South Street. Three  small bay trees in the front garden of a house on Greenwich South Street. It was a great way to get to know local people.

The ATA’s Environment and Green Hub need help to plant nine trees in the Ashburnham Triangle on Saturday 30 November. If you think you can help please email Sara at sjemanuel21@gmail.com . Also, at the recent Climate Concern meeting at the Haddo Community Centre a range of  ideas to help save the planet were presented: Shop without packaging opposite Lee Green Sainsburys https://www.swop.market/ Become part of Better Century a virtual meeting place for those concerned about the Climate Emergency https://bettercentury.org/ Invest as little as £250 in local solar power by 30 November through a reputable community organisation https://selce.org.uk/ Flying uses eight times as much carbon as taking the train https://flightfree.co.uk/ Help protect London’s wildlife with the London Wildlife Trust https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/ Together we can make a difference.

What On Earth Can I Do About Climate Change? is an open meeting at New Haddo Greenwich Community Centre, 29 Tarves Way SE10 9JU on November 14th, starting at 6.15pm More details can be found at  https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/events/event/7313/what_on_earth_can_i_do_about_climate_change_at_greenwich_community_centre

The ATA Green Hub is transforming into the “Environment and Gardening Hub”. We will encourage residents to take action to deal with the Climate Crisis as well as continuing with the community gardening. We hope that more people will take part in environmentally friendly activities locally and, more importantly, will urge the Government and Council to do more. The first thing we are planning is to plant as many trees as possible on National Tree Planting Day 30 November. Did you know that a mature tree can absorb 48 lbs of carbon dioxide per year? So tree planting is a really positive thing we can do to start dealing with the Climate Crisis. Would you like to plant a tree in your garden? If so we can help by ordering and planting it. The ATA will pay for the compost and stakes. In addition we will be planting trees in public spaces on Devonshire Drive. We will need lots of people. Would you like to help plant trees on 30 November? We are also planning to: Continue to work on the...

In the front garden of 75 Ashburnham Grove Sara Emanuel says: 'Gardening is on June 16th, moved forward from 23rd.' Alison Haworth says: 'The front of 75 Ashburnham Grove looks lovely with foxgloves and dog roses in flower; the geraniums are beautiful by the front door; and the Play Street planter is a mass of poppies and herbs - stunning.'

Saturday 19th, Plant Swap in the Play Street, 11.30am-1pm. Sunday 20th, gardening at 75 Ashburnham Grove and the Play Street planter, 10am-12pm.

Chris Ward, Chair of the ATA, says: Well actually it’s our 2018 AGM. Now these are far from formal and stuffy. We aim to reflect the vibrancy and pace of our community. The Ashburnham Triangle community (as defined by the Council) is estimated to be around 3,000. That’s 3,000 lives living, working, playing in the area and the pace of change is rampant. New developments, new businesses, new attractions, new safety concerns, new opportunities. It’s our job to make sure you have your say in what goes on and voice any comments or concerns you have, as well as bringing us together as a community. Our AGM is the one point in the year when all the parts of the ATA get together and talk about plans for the future. So please, don’t write it off, come and join in, have your say. We have events to talk about, we have new initiatives to discuss, we have positions we’d like volunteers for, and we’d really like to hear from you. So come along, there is cake and wine - yes...