A breath of fresh air in Kings Norton Civic Garden

 A breath of fresh air in the Civic Garden

The Laurel has now been cut back

The Civic Garden is the formal strip of park which lies behind the graveyard of  St Nicolas Church in  Kings Norton.

This year you will see changes which seek to restore some of the garden's former glory.

The friends group wanted to recognise the contribution of the Birmingham Civic Society, which in 1920 purchased the land and donated it to the City for recreational purposes.  They also found money from donations to landscape it.  Noteable people of the Civic Society at that time were members of the Cadbury, Chamberlain and Calthorpe families.

Southern view of the Civic Garden

 The Old Grammar School (left) and St Nicolas (right) just peeping through

The Friends of Kings Norton Park, working with Birmingham City Council, hope to replace the stone benches, six each 9ft long and an additional curved bench.  Work on thinning out the wooded areas and over grown boarders to allow in more light has already begun.

We also plant a small orchard of fruit trees with historical relevance.  This will capture past times and give and allow sharing to take place.  You will be able to sit comfortably in a peaceful area and pick a fruit to eat.

We have a designed a new interpretation panel, will have a neater rail along the Pershore Road installed,  reshape the grasses and weed and enhance the far border.

Please let us know what you feel about this area and share your memories and photograps with us.

email:  info.foknp@gmail.com

Photos taken by Lynn Horsnett
February 2012 

Wiggerly Bulb Planting

There's a worm at the bottom of the garden and his name is wiggerly woo, woo woo!

It was our first really sunny day in 2012          ( Friday 13 January) when the small people from Kings Norton Nursery brought their teachers to help plant bulbs on the car park edge to break up a bland area with a band of bright yellow and purple.  

Steve Hinton demonstrated which way was up and how deep to plant - we all learnt and laughed.  The  children excitedly dug with tools and hands, they planted, covered and patted, explored the textures of the earth and marvelled at wiggerly woo's (the common name for garden worms apparently).

Thank you to Gemma and her staff for making the effort to join us - we really do want the next generation to grow up with a love of the park and recognise that is their open space to share and enjoy.  

Thanks Kids, it was a very refreshing experience.

So much to look forward to in 2012

2012 should be our year of  the realisation… when all our community discussions will be seen in birth of a new children’s play area and a resorted Civic Garden.

PLAY AREA...

The Play Area will be built in 2 phases, the 1st phase has began.  The chaps contracted to carry out the work are ensuring our plans are transferred safely from paper in to a fully accessible interesting facility for all our children.   They managed to overcome their first real challenge which was to ensure the path around the mound needed to graduated in such away it was not too steep and there were no scary drops either side.

The mound will represent a Camp ruin, a type of fort and settlement in one. This should be exciting and educational.  The style will reflect the Roman pathway through the area to Metchley Fort,  and the camping out of an army of 5,000 Royalists, led by Queen Henrietta on behalf of her husband Charles I during the Civil War.

Phase I should be completed by Easter and Phase 2 will follow shortly, including improvements to the car park.   Some of the equipment in the play area will be refreshed, the Caterpillar has been saved and moved, and there will be new pieces too.

Apologies but we couldnt avoid the play area being entirely closed for a short while but I am sure you will agree it will be worth it.

CIVIC GARDEN

You will also see change to the upper formal Civic Garden area which lies behind the St Nicolas Church.  We wanted to recognise the contribution of the Birmingham Civic Society in 1920, when they purchased the land and donated it to the City so that we could use it for recreational purposes.

We hope to replace the stone benches, have an additional curved bench, thin out the wooded areas to allow in more light and plant a small orchard of fruit trees with historical relevance. We hope to see more bins, neater signs, reshaped grasses and enhanced borders.

Look out for the official opening date of our play area.

We would welcome your comments on the improvements once they are made.

OTHER THINGS

Lots more of spring colour on the way, better car park surfaces, the beginnings of the development nature corridor along the River Rea - you may notice a change in the grass cutting programme after March.

You can get involved in many different ways contact us at:   info.foknp@gmail.com

Photos taken by Lynn Horsnett 
February 2012

What were we up to in 2011?

A very quick tour of 2011

We accomplished the amazing feat of transforming 3 dowdy rose beds, about to be grassed over, into well stocked shrub beds of sustainable all year round colour.  The coldest start to year hampered our first attempts to plant up but in contrast, the warmest end to year allowed us to bask in sunshine whilst we added winter pansies and spring bulbs.  We had fun at our own events and joining in other groups’ activities and conferences, as well as exploring the rich history of Kings Norton.

But I would say that 2011, has really been the year of the Consultation… we have had fascinating conversations with hundreds of you, at the Farmers Market, Kings Norton Festival, in our park and other green spaces, planting trees on the nature reserve, at The Fields Millennium Trust magical event and the Fold Christmas fete.  We also undertook a programme of visits to local community groups, nursery, infant and junior schools.

Like all good tours, we have to thank those involved so... lets say thanks to everyone who has contributed  in anyway and their own way.   You may have talked about us, shown us opportunities, provided an encouraging word, visited us for a quick chat at one of our community stalls, joined our email list or got your hands dirty… whatever it was, thank you!

Special thanks Sue Amey, Northfield and Constituency Parks Manager and Steve and Adam our Lickey Hub Rangers, who have each gone out of their way to steer us in the right direction and take part in our activities.   Especially, in these very difficult economic times, when council jobs are being lost, workloads are increasing and pay is reducing, it would have been so easy for them to have become despondent.
Also thank you to PCSO, Andy Ryan who is committed to working closely in our community and Sarah Royal from BOSFA for some wonderful training.

BIG THANK YOU TO THE COMMUNITY FOR SUPPORTING US!
Without you talking to us, we would be merely guessing how our community feels and wants.  We would much rather find out and try to get some of your ideas incorporated in any improvement plans. We will do our best but have learnt that our aspirations need to be matched with what we can realistically be achieved at any one time, and that that it is highly dependent on what funding and support is available!