An Official Notice!
Continue reading
The Return of the Phantom Digger
The Phantom Ditch Digger is back!
Continue reading “The Return of the Phantom Digger”More dog poop!
Mail and pictures from DKG
This was the scene which greeted me this morning next to the picnic area and in view of the new signs regarding dog fouling.
Yes, the bag contained dog poop!
DKG
Click here for more about the park’s dog poop problemWork Party Report
by DKG
Another beautiful sunny day greeted the volunteers meeting in the car park for today’s tasks, assisted by Richard from the Countryside Team. Quite a few tasks were highlighted and most, if not all, were completed by the end of the morning. These included;
Continue reading “Work Party Report”
Are you a picker upper?
Turn the page for this week’s champion picker upper
Work Party
Next Tuesday, the 26th, is a work party day; come and join us. We meet in the car park at 9.30am and we work until midday. You will need sound and appropriate footwear and a mug.
The Countryside Team provides the tools, thornproof gloves and the coffee to go in the mug. There will be biscuits.
FoSCP’s response to the Trowbridge Bat Mitigation Strategy
This morning we made our formal response to the disastrous proposals for Southwick Country Park in Section 9 of the otherwise excellent Trowbridge Bat Mitigation Strategy. This is a link to our representation documents.
marsh marigolds
common frog
Yellow flag iris
Boggy Patch Update
Mail from Ian this morning:
“Checked boggy area yesterday, coming on well and no more interference.”
This is excellent news. While it may look like nothing more than a muddy patch at the moment, the flora and fauna that inhabit boggy patches will soon move in. We are hoping for iris and marsh marigolds, frogs and caddis fly larvae. If we get the flora right, the water voles will graze there on sedge and rush leaves.
Click here for a really cute video of watervoles
Damming the Digger’s Ditch
We approached Wiltshire Wildlife for an expert opinion on the ditch that is draining our boggy patch in Lambrok Meadow. Their Water Team has concluded: we think the most likely cause is that it is part of an historic drainage channel that has just opened up naturally.
Continue readingThe Phantom Ditch Digger of Lambrok Meadow
Over the past several years, FoSCP has been monitoring the development of the boggy patch right in the middle of Lambrok Meadow, south east of the goat willow.
Last year, there were caddis fly larvae there, which we think had time to develop into adults before the the puddles dried out. There has been frogspawn and even tadpoles there for the last two years. The flora is developing too, with sedges, rushes and cuckoo flowers.
Pictures from Creative Commons
Somebody has been trying to drain our boggy patch!
read on for the detailsWork Party Report
By DKG
A lovely sunny morning greeted the FoSCP and Richard from the countryside team for our Tuesday’s tasks. A warm welcome was also extended to Jamie, a new volunteer, who will be joining us on future Tuesdays. Welcome aboard Jamie, hoping you enjoy your days with us.
Continue reading “Work Party Report”Dog poop
Please clean up after your dog
Lambrok Meadow is full of dog waste; people seem to drive to the bottom of the car park, let their dogs straight out into the field and then just walk away while the dog defecates in the grass. It is impossible to walk in the field without walking in dog poop.
Southwick Country Park is a public space, a resource for our families and for local schools. It comes under the same rules as the Town Park and should be open and accessible for everybody to enjoy – but we have had complaints from people because they get dog poop on their clothes and shoes.
Nobody wants to limit anybody’s access to the park but the selfishness of some dog walkers is doing just that; there are families who no longer bring their children here because of the dog poop.
WHSAP: the Friends plan the next move
FoSCP’s Wednesday work party met half an hour early, in the car park, to discuss the latest developments in Wiltshire’s Housing Site Allocation Plan’s Examination.
Continue reading “WHSAP: the Friends plan the next move”Asda’s Community Room
By Sarah Marsh
The Friends of Southwick Country Park and a member of the Wiltshire Countryside Team have a bi-monthly get together. These meetings last about two hours and are always held on the last Tuesday afternoon of every other month.
Continue reading “Asda’s Community Room”
This is the robin that sang for the Friends of Southwick Country Park as they hacked their way through the thicket of bramble and blackthorn at the rear of the car park on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday report from DKG
by DKG
A chilly but dry Tuesday greeted FoSCP, meeting up in the car park for the day’s tasks. It was decided to try and finish the clearing of the bramble and blackthorn at the rear of the car park and to burn off the debris from the last working day as well as this.
Continue reading “Tuesday report from DKG”Volunteer – Tuesday 29th
Our next work party is on Tuesday the 29th of January. We meet in the car park at 9.30am; come and join us. The Met Office says it will be very cold but dry and the BBC thinks it will be very cold and wet; wrap up warm.
You will need sturdy footwear and thorn-proof gloves. Bring a coffee mug; we will supply the coffee to put in it and there will be biscuits.
We are looking forward to meeting you. . .
Asda benches
By Sarah Marsh
“A new year and time to reflect on the old one and where better than on one of two seats donated by Asda. The Friends of Southwick Country Park applied for their tokens scheme and when customers voted for us we were awarded £500.
Continue reading “Asda benches”Queen of the litter pickers
Three cheers for Pat, FoSCP’s litter-picking gold medallist, now 89 years old, pictured here with her dog Zack. At least once a week, Pat quarters the park with a litter picker and a bin bag; you have probably seen her.
Continue reading “Queen of the litter pickers”
Who does this. . .
Who does this? Who wraps their dog’s faeces up in a green plastic bag and then throws it into the trees next to the path alongside Lambrok Meadow? There are bins specifically for dogs’ faeces at each end of that stretch of path and a bin for general rubbish somewhere in the middle.
What do they think will happen to their dangling green bag of poop? Who do they think clears it up? The Friends of SCP clear it up; that’s who.
We should be braver; all of us should be brave enough to say something when we see fellow park users do stuff like this. We should be polite and non-confrontational and, for the sake of the park, we should ask people to clean up properly after their dogs.
Car Park Super Heroes
Joan and Patrick Jones are the chairman and treasurer of the Friends of Southwick Park. They emailed us:
To all of the Country Park Team and all the wonderful extra helpers.
Joan and I would just like to extend our very biggest thanks to all concerned for the marvellous work that you performed on Sunday. We pulled in to the Country Parkon our way back today and were astounded by the amount and quality of the work you had done. Talk about “Dog poo fairies,” we reckon it was the action of “CAR PARK SUPER HEROES”.
Thank you all so much and we promise to be with you in March. See you Wednesday.
Kindest regards
Joan and Patrick
Filling the potholes
by DKG and Ian B
Today saw the FoSCP volunteers giving up their Sunday lie-in to turn out at eight o’clock in the morning to fill the potholes in the car park. The early start was intended to keep disruption to the park users to a minimum and we apologise for the inconvenience
Text and Voicemail
FoSCP now has a phone number for text and voicemail.
0774708798
Use it to report litter, things broken or damaged, and abandoned or dumped; the phone will be checked daily by one of our volunteers.
Continue to report antisocial behaviour to the police; their contact details are in the menu.
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 