The Ladywell Fields Tiny Forest--now not so tiny any more

About a year ago a 'Tiny Forest' was planted on a mound in the western half of the middle field (near Dressington Avenue).  A Tiny Forest is a dense, fast-growing, native woodland made up of 600 trees planted in a tennis court-sized plot.  They are not only an attractive location for wildlife but are great for people to enjoy as well, and can provide a range of benefits in the fight against climate change.  Lots of local people signed up as 'Tree Keepers' to help care for it and we met for regular volunteer sessions through the summer months. 

With the support of Lewisham Council, this autumn the Tree Keeper group embarked on a project to extend our Tiny Forest by about 30% to cover the rest of the mound. This involved eight volunteer sessions to double dig the soil, then a day of planting and fencing on 9th December. We have followed the same method as the original, except that we did the soil preparation manually. We are grateful to the Kenneth White Legacy Award for a small grant to cover the costs of 180 saplings and some additional fencing. 

Tiny forests need three years of care from local people before they become self sustaining. If you would like to be involved please email us ladywellfields@yahoo.co.uk.

Next Meeting and Christmas Social, Thursday 7 December 2023, 7pm

We have the important job of adopting a revised Constitution, so please come and have your say!  

There will also be time to discuss any other pressing park issues, and the option of a chat and a drink after the meeting.

Meet 7.00pm, Thursday 7 December at the RUSS Community Hub, 12 Church Grove SE13 7UU (via the gate at the far end of Church Grove in Ladywell). 

Dockless hire bikes

2023 has been a record breaking year for dockless bike hire in London.  The lime green Lime bikes offer fast, convenient, environment friendly transport for an ever growing number users.  But some incorrectly parked or abandoned bikes present a hazard.   

Lime bikes in a no parking zone or causing an obstruction should be reported to the operator as soon as possible.  This is easily done via "Improper or illegal parking" menu in the Lime app--just take a photo and send.  It's not necessary to be riding a bike.  Or alternatively, 

• call 0800 808 5223
• email support@li.me 
• email lewisham@glendale-services.co.uk
• use the Council's 'Love Clean Streets' app
• use the 'Fix My Street' app.  

The operator must remove reported bikes within 12 hours.  

Parking rules for Ladywell Fields vary depending on location.  The south field and the middle field east of the Ravensbourne are no parking zones.  Elsewhere in Ladywell Fields it is permitted to end a journey and park the bike responsibly.  The Lime app is giving users clear instructions on how and where to park and collects fines from users who do not end their journey properly.  

The parking zones are about to change, though.  Lewisham Council has just announced a plan to create 300 bike park and hire bays across the borough.  With the introduction of designated Lime bike bays, parking will be banned everywhere else. 

Playground Improvements

The Park User Group has secured some funding through Lewisham's 'Greening Fund' to refurbish the playground in the southern (Catford Green) end of the park near the community orchard and Adenmore/Bournville Roads.  There are three options for new items to supplement existing playground equipment.  You can look at these options in more details, leave comments or express a preference via the user group's Facebook page.  Responses will be fed back to Glendale.

Committee update

At its AGM on 20 September 2023 the Ladywell Fields User Group elected Caroline Cupitt as Chair, Robert Sheppard as Secretary and Tony Rich as Treasurer for 2023/24.  The Group also adopted the Lewisham Parks Charter, which sets out the relationship between the Council and park friends groups.