I thought I would start with the obvious, a quick introduction from me!

My background is a mixture of conservation, animal husbandry, education, and project management, oh and photography! I spent about 10 years working and researching in South East Asia, Australia, and West Africa. Much of this time was spent in the water studying marine habitats and animal behaviour but when I moved back to the UK I focused on the behaviour of the most unpredictable of animals, humans! I studied behaviour change and worked for the charities Global Action Plan and Groundwork London running programmes that helped vulnerable communities. However, my love has always been for working outside, so the opportunity to work for SCCoop and manage a truly unique place, was too much to resist!

 

I am delighted to say that earlier this year our Assistant Head Gardener, Nick Mawbey was promoted to Head Gardener. Nick has been instrumental in bringing the Rookery Gardens to the standard they are, a standard that see us reach Silver Guilt with London in Bloom. Next stop Gold!

Nick is supported by George, our apprentice gardener studying at Capel Manor College. We are lucky to have a passionate duo to develop our gardens. We are also very fortunate to have a fantastic group of volunteers who work tirelessly every Friday to support the horticultural team. If you are interested in joining please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

December and January are a quiet time in the gardens, but by February the work really begins to ramp up. Regulars to the gardens will have noticed the hard work that has been going on at both our main and side entrance flower beds. Sadly, soon after the planting had begun we had a number of plants stolen, but more about that later. The beds now look stunning and the work that Nick and George have done to secure the beds and added more fencing speaks for itself!

 

The first grass cut of the year has now taken place, which will now need regular maintenance.

You will notice in the Orchard that some areas have not been cut

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These are called ‘no mow’ zones and allow for a greater diversity of habitat for the variety of creatures we try to encourage across Streatham Common, including vital pollinators.

Our two formal gardens have now had their post winter make over, with much of the vegetation cut back and the beds weeded. You may have noticed during the winter, when we could spend more than our designated 1 hour of exercise in the gardens, that the vegetation in the Old English Garden (OEG) had been left to die off. This was intentional and not something you see in a lot of formal gardens. Many of the species in this space have stunning foliage that continues to look beautiful when it has dried. This added a stunning mixture of colour and texture throughout the winter, much to the delight of our visitors.

With the change in the lifestyle we have all seen since January, our teams working patterns have needed to adapt. We have done this to ensure that we stay open, safe and maintain the Rookery Gardens to the level expected. We are currently opening the gates at 1000 from Monday to Friday, which enables the team to get much of the larger jobs done, including the backbreaking weeding on the paths.

We really do appreciate the support in maintaining the social distancing and helping our team to do their work safely.

There really is too much happening with the horticultural team to fit in a newsletter, so please come and see all the changes, it really is impressive!

Streatham Common has an increasingly broad level of biodiversity, and thanks to our fantastic relationship with Lambeth Council, we are developing more and more projects. Our Ranger team, lead by Mered Jones has been working hard to improve the habitats for local wildlife and vitally increase the accessibility and education to the community. Much of his work is with local volunteers who meet weekly to cut back invasive species, thin out vegetation to allow other species to grow, improve paths and protect vulnerable trees and plants. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Our recent projects have been:

Woodland steps
Situated towards the boundary gate to Norwood Grove, the steps replace the muddy path that came down from the crown of oak trees at the top. Regularly turning into a small stream, this was contributing to the erosion of the soil in the area. Working with the London Wildlife Trust we were able to create a meander at the top through the trees and build the steps to improve access for all users. You will notice towards the top that we have diverted the water flow to the side, under the path and into a channel that is a seasonal source for the River Wandle!

Oak Protection
At the top of the steps are the much-loved cluster of large oaks, that form a crown to our woodland area. Years of activity has removed the vital ground cover vegetation and compacted the soil. With rain the top layer has been eroded and the roots can now be seen, which puts the oaks at risk.

Our work sees us rebuilding that top layer and vegetation over time using a simple and old technique. We have fenced an area around some of the oaks, which in turn collects most of the fallen leaves.  Over time these breakdown into mulch, providing protection and nutrients for the trees and a vital habitat for insects, bird and mammals and allows vegetation to re-establish. This is a longer-term project but we are already seeing the results. Why not pop up and see what you can spot!

Streatham Common Community Woodland Project
Let me start by celebrating the fact that we have reached our target with time to spare! Thank you for your support with this project, which is now also funded by the Mayor of London and Veolia. The project will continue the work that was started above and build more areas for better habitat resilience and community engagement. For all the project details please visit our Streatham Common Community Woodland Project campaign page.

 

As many of you will be aware, we had a series of thefts and vandalism over Christmas and into the new year. It is sad that a place designed for everyone to enjoy, is the victim of a small group who want to ruin it for others.

This included the shelter on the upper level of the gardens that was built in 1913 to honour Stenton Covington, who led the campaign to save the site as a public garden. Theft of the many of the plants was also devastating, after all the thought and work put in by the team to make the beds look to lovely.

Although this was hard for the team, the response from the community had been amazing. Our regulars have been reporting anything suspicious to us and the authorities, providing us with hundreds of extra eyes. We were also encouraged to set up a donations campaign to purchase CCTV for the site, which will allow us to better protect the gardens.

I would like to thank our amazing team who open and close the gardens everyday. They help ensure the place is tidy, litter free, support our events and report any of the issues they come across. We have a small but vital team at SCCoop in maintaining our activities in the Rookery Gardens and on the common.