The Friends of Westcombe Woodlands are issuing an invitation to our Annual General meeting for Wednesday, the 20th of November, to start at 7:30pm and finishing at 9pm. This year we have guest speaker Russell Miller.

The venue is once again at Greenwich University; the Lecture Theatre, Room 065, Ground Floor, Queen Anne Court, Park Row, Greenwich, SE10 9NW.

Russell Miller will speak about managing our urban trees and woods. He is an arbicultural consultant and activist, he works with the Ancient Tree Forum and is a founder of “Tree Musketeers”.

On an overcast but warm Sunday afternoon in early October, the community gathered for another several hours filled with activities and goodwill. The event saw around 70 visitors, all eager to participate in the various activities and enjoy the early Autumn event. The light drizzle towards the end of the day didn’t dampen people’s spirits! The refreshment stall, managed by Chris Bates and Fiona Machen, was a popular spot, we offered a large selection of homemade cakes, treats and refreshments that brought in approximately £150 for the management of the woodland. The sweet treats were a hit, perfectly accompanying the day’s events.

One of the highlights was the spring bulb planting of daffodils, where participants got their hands dirty planting bulbs that will bloom into beautiful flowers come early Spring. Andrew Slade led the pond dipping activities, which fascinated both children and adults as they explored the aquatic life including the observation of newts.

Henry Medlam’s apple bobbing station was a source of much laughter and fun, while Rich Sylvester captivated young and old audiences with his storytelling and leaf printing sessions.

These creative activities allowed visitors to take home a piece of the day’s memories. Jerry Avis and Frank Smith did a sterling job manning the front gate, ensuring everything ran smoothly and welcoming each visitor with a warm smile. Finally, we had displays of photographs taken from our recent completion. The afternoon was a perfect blend of nature, creativity, and community spirit, leaving everyone looking forward to the next gathering, which is currently scheduled for early May next year.

Our next Open Day event is only a few days away! We’ll be welcoming you in to the woodlands from 2pm at our usual entrance at the bottom of Seren Park Gardens’ car park. There’ll be home-made cakes and refreshments, storytelling, opportunities to meet the Committee members and much more!

At the end of July, Jeremy Rosie and Andrew Slade started the delicate process of “rescuing” a self-seeded oak sapling that is located next to the path from the main entrance. It’s around 7 feet tall, so it’s been growing for a while, but unfortunately had fallen due to other trees being felled and also being covered in bramble. The photos and video show the 2 taking action to remove a fallen tree, bramble removal and finally the upright tree in it’s new position being supported by a stake.

Luckily the predicted bad weather didn’t arrive today, just the occasional light shower and no dark skies at all. The last few weeks of seemingly constant rain has been good for the plants. During our usual “bramble bashing”, some of the stems were a challenge to the secateurs! The below photo shows members of the local Good Gym attacking brambles in the Oak Glade area.

Young tree planting took place with new hazels being bedded in.

Committee member Jerry Avis can be seen in the accompanying photos fixing one of the broken steps at the entrance of the woodlands.

Finally, during the Greenwich & Bexley Hospice Event a few days ago, the apple trees had started to “self-thin” themselves out. While a few more were on the ground, so far there seems a good crop remaining on the trees.

The plants are really growing at the moment. It’s the turn of hogweeds to really stand and with heights of 4 or 5 feet, they are unmissable. Beetles, wasps, bees and flies are appreciate their small, white flowers.