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Quay Update…

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A great work party at the Quay on 2 June. A few new faces (and a couple of old familiar faces) to add to the mix, and a lot of good work accomplished – one corner cleared, with space made for a composting bin to use on site.

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20160602_125254The area at the far end of the car park is quite over-grown, and it will take a bit of hard graft to get it ready for planting up, but what an amazing start – so much done in just a few hours!

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DSCF7444Meanwhile, weeds and grass growing in the seating area also got a bit of a sort out. With all the rain we’ve just had, I expect we’ll be back again soon!

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Weeding party at the Quay…

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As mentioned previously, the Quay needs a little bit of help removing some of the weeds growing in their outdoor sitting area. The larger prickly ones have been taken out, but there are still some smaller weeds, and grasses, that  need to go!

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We’ll be there at 11:45 am on Thursday, 2nd June.

So, bring a trowel, gloves, a kneeler (if needed) to get up close and personal with the weeds, plus a keen eye to identify them, and come along! If there is time afterwards, and weather permits, we might also take a stroll along the railway path to visit the Kingfisher Leisure Centre beds.

Kingfisher clear up…

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A couple of us did a very quick tidy up at the Kingfisher beds on Sunday morning – but there’s more to be done! The edible bed (the one closest to the Kingfisher entrance) is looking very healthy – in fact, we may have to do some cutting back soon before we are over-run with lavender, rosemary and sage. If you are passing, please feel free to dead-head the marigold flowers to encourage more blooms, as we could do with a bit more orange in the mix!

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The bees, butterflies, ladybirds and moths kept us company as we worked.

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This looks like a Mint Moth.

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This, however, looks as if it might be a Harlequin ladybird (above) – an invasive ladybird which is not good news for our native ladybirds.

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The wildflower bed is slightly over-run with various grasses, but there is colour to be had there as well – it needs a little bit of a sort out. Watch this space!

May we suggest…?

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One of our activities in the last year was a visit to the Quay Theatre to do some weeding to spruce up the seating area at the back of the theatre. We returned to the Quay at the end of last week for an update, and to make plans for what to do next.

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Clearly, our first priority is to do some more weeding (see above) to take out any spiky or prickly weeds and those which threaten to swamp the area, and to do a little more planting – our additions to the area have ‘taken’, which is lovely to see. We will let you know a time and date for this very soon.

After that, we will be looking at transforming the patch of ground to the rear of the Quay car park into an area of permaculture, with layered fruit trees, shrubs and ground plants, good for bees and butterflies, and foraging.

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While birds are nesting, we will take a gentle approach initially, but hope to prepare the area for planting, and for the inclusion of a composting bin. Please keep a look out for information as to dates and times for this new venture.

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We are a friendly bunch, so we do hope you’ll be able to join us!

Our friend, Jane Carter.

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Our recent AGM gave us an opportunity to take some quiet moments to remember our valued member Jane Carter, who died at the beginning of this year.

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Jane was a founding member of our group, and was a joy to have with us – she was held in considerable affection by all of us. Jane could not abide injustice in any shape or form, and we will miss hearing her wonderful husky voice and precise diction as she railed against the ‘bad guys’ and their wrongdoing. She was quite a force for such a small woman, and made a positive difference in the world. We will miss her.

Annual General Meeting

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Spring has most definitely sprung, and we are all getting itchy fingers ready to start sorting out some projects for this year.

First things first, we would like to invite you to our Annual General Meeting, which will be held at 6:30pm, on Thursday 21st April at the Sudbury Institute, 54 Station Rd, Sudbury, CO10 2SP. We hope to see you there!

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Wildflowers for Sudbury.

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Greener Sudbury have teamed up with the Sudbury Community Hub in an initiative to brighten up the edges of our town while making it more nature-friendly.

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The green group at the Community Hub on Northern Road grew wild flowers from seed donated by Sudbury in Bloom, carefully tending them in polytunnels until they were ready to be planted out.

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Members of Greener Sudbury then stepped in to plant foxglove, verbascum and nectar-rich species, favoured by bees and other insects, near the Homebase roundabout, First Avenue and Acton Lane.

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We must now wait patiently until next summer to see if these efforts have paid off. If so, we’ll continue to plant up Sudbury!

Get in touch if you would like to join in!

Walk On The Wild Side…

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Food from our hedgerows

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Nick Miller led an early autumn foraging walk at his wonderful property at Tiger Hill, near Assington, for Greener Sudbury on Sunday 23 August.
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This Site of Special Scientific Interest has a wealth of interesting plants and ancient woodland to explore, and participants enjoyed nibbling sour-tasting wood sorrel (good in omelettes), sampling the flesh of hawthorn berries (supposed to be good for the circulatory system), and smelling wild mint for a mood uplift!

Intrepid explorers!

A late summer/autumn list of foraging plants common in our woods and hedgerows is given below. These must only be picked and eaten if you are 100% sure you have identified the right plant, as many of our native species are poisonous. Do take care.

FOOD FOR FREE: LATE SUMMER – AUTUMN

FRUIT
Blackberry
Raspberry
Elder
Rosehips
Hawthorn
Sloe, Damson
Bullace
Cherry plum
Crab Apple
Rowan, Whitebeam

NUTS
Sweet Chestnut
Hazel
Beech

FLAVOURING
Peppermint
Hops
Hogweed seeds
Horseradish

FUNGI
Puff-ball
Boletus, Cep
Field Mushroom
Parasol
Blewit
Blusher
Oyster Mushroom
Ink-cap (not with alcohol)
Chanterelle

LEAVES
Watercress (must be cooked)
Wintercress

Remember, winter is a time for preserved food – dried, bottled, pickled, cured, jellied, sprouted or, of course, frozen.

Guessing games help raise funds…

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Greener Sudbury held a stand promoting its activities at the Green Fair, at St Peter’s Church, Sudbury, on Saturday 1 August.
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We held fun competitions to identify a selection of herbs and wildflowers, with our botanical experts Jill Fisher and Janet Smith on hand to let participants know if they were on the right track.
Green Fair St Peters 'Guess the Herb'

‘Guess the weight of the marrow’ had two contestants close to the mark of 6lb 5oz.
Weighing up the marrow for 'Guess the Weight@

A teacher took advantage of our schools resources – info sheets on how to build “toad abodes” and nectar bars for butterflies and other insects.
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Meanwhile, Janet’s hedgerow jam and a selection of herbaceous perennials and herbs dug from her garden proved popular, and raised a few funds towards the greening of our town!