A bit of gardening August 2024

On the 18 August 2024 a group of volunteers from STRA made a start tidying the two garden areas we are responsible either side of Sudbury and Harrow Road Station. This was a weeding session, removal of cuttings and general litter pick.

In Bloom visit. June 2024

STRA gardening team were visited by Derek Beer from RHS in bloom. Derek gave some useful davice which STRA are considering.

Derek is a Dorset Councillor for Shaftesbury, and has served his community in many roles since 1980, as chairman of our Chamber of Trade, then town councillor for many years , serving as mayor on three occasions.

In 1985 he formed Shaftesbury in Bloom, and went on to become a regional judge in 1991, and now is a trustee and ambassador for the organisation.

He does’t have a lot of horticultural knowledge, but is strong on community involvement, sustainability and volunteering.

As well as his other varied responsibilities he is also chairman of the Blackmore Vale Rail Partnership, and help scoordinate stations in bloom.

The ideas

(1) Investigate Network Rail staff volunteer days (https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/social-performance/charities-and-volunteering/)

(2) Other organisations like us are covered by local authority insurance and therefore don't need to spend money on separate insurance.

(3) Use our gardening sessions to promote mental health wellbeing. Perhaps let memory cafes and local NHS surgeries know.

(4) If anyone in the flats have moved from somewhere that previously had gardens, they may relish the chance to garden again

(5) Encourage people who thank us for our work to join us (maybe a business card with STRA details)

(6) Encourage local businesses to sponsor a planter. We would need to clear dead plants first. They business could then plan what they want and place a plaque on the planter. We spoke with one business who are keen on the idea. Suggestion was that they could plant herbs that they could then use in the kitchen.

(7) Add wood chippings to the planters to aid moisture retention.

(8) Look into members gifting donations in their wills. This is a delicate area and obviously needs to be dealt with in a sensitive manner.

(9) recording in-kind donations such as free printing and use of halls in our accounts as evidence of matching funding.

A bit of gardening June 2023

On the 11 June 2023 a group of volunteers from STRA made a start tidying the two garden areas we are responsible either side of Sudbury and Harrow Road Station. This was a weeding session and general litter pick.

STRA has organised regeneration of the Network Rail site on Harrow Road which STRA has the lease to manage. The photograph below shopws the site after the work was finished.

STRA requested that the contractors Conway who are regenerating the pavements in the area help with relaying the recycled slabs on the site STRA manages for Network Rail.  Conway agreed to help STRA.  Network Rail approved and work was completed in March 2022.

The site before the work was started.

The gardening session team would appreciate any offers of help from interested members or the public. We will be working by the plots near Sudbury & Harrow Road Station. Please get in touch via telephone 07840 491142 or email info@stra.org.uk with your details.

Volunteers will need to be aware of the Network Rail terms & conditions of working at these plots, have had a briefing on rail site safety, and signed to this effect. In addition there is a low risk of Weil's Disease

(Leptospirosis). Suitable gloves/protective clothing should always be worn on site.

A recent new member of STRA was welcomed by three of the regular Sudbury in Bloom team on Saturday 30 June, to assist with the ongoing transformation work to the Barham side Railway Bridge plot. The paved area for the planters was completed in readiness for the next stage to be undertaken on the following weekend. Plants were given a good watering in the plots each side of the road and both areas left in a clean and tidy condition. A local resident waiting at the bus stop beside the plot gave some helpful advice during the work, and stood in for a photo as we neared the end of our visit.

Five members of the Sudbury in Bloom brigade took to the railway bridge plot by Barham Park on Saturday 9 June, to commence a makeover. Planters were temporarily removed while the ground was levelled off and overlaid with weed suppressant membrane and bedding sand. Recycled paving slabs, supplied by Conway's with agreement from Brent Council, were laid and the planters resited on top of them. Another visit was planned to complete the paved area.

The Railway Bridge plot adjacent to Tesco was the subject of the four member Sudbury in Bloom team’s activity on Saturday 2 June. Litter was removed from the plot before the team introduced new plants, while some existing plantlife was relocated to more aesthetically appropriate positions within the plot.

After the long, hard winter came to an end, the Sudbury in Bloom gardening team was finally able to get stuck into the task of rejuvenating the railway bridge plots on either side of the Harrow Road.

On Saturday 19 May, four volunteers began work on the Tesco side of the Harrow Road. This included clearing litter and debris, weeding, removing dead leaves and generally tidying up the patch.

The following day, Sunday 20 May, a six-person team set about improving the plot on the Barham Park side of the Harrow Road. This involved more of the same treatment with a thorough litter and debris clear up, as well as weeding and a general tidy up of the area in preparation for the our transformation plans.

STRA now has a licence to manage the land on either side of the bridge.

Please see attached suggested plans for the site opposite TESCO.  STRA Volunteers are not permitted to dig into the ground.  STRA volunteers can only use planters.

STRA Volunteers are permitted to use hand trowel and small forks on the land on the same side as TESCO, which is a steep bank.

See attached map of the land.

The plants must be:

Non poisonous

Support bees and wild life

Low maintenance

Evergreen

Drought resistant

Also attached is a form which must be read and signed by each volunteer and sent to Jackie.

The Network Rail helpline number is 03457 11 41 41. If you see anything that needs reporting please call that number