Planting along the River Rea

We have managed to plant 160 whips along the River Rea Natural Corridor in two short planting sessions.

Thanks, Dinny, Claire, Lynn, Liz, Andy, Louis, Rachel, Sarah (BOSFA), Adam and Paul (Rangers).

The idea is to broaden the depth of this area's rich habitat to help ensure wildlife prospers and the experience of those journeying along the River Rea through Kings Norton park and playing fields is enhanced. 

We want people to continue to enjoy a natural feeling in between the KN Nature Reserve and the Historic Canal Junction, without taking anything away from our Parks individuality.

Amongst the wildlife which is established along our stretch  of the River Rea are Kingsfisher, Cray Fish and Water Voles.  As we planted we watched a low diving Kingfisher, listened to the singing of the early migrant Chiff Chaff and we were overseen by the territorial red breasted robin.   We  inhaled the aroma of wild garlic from the deep green ground cover which will soon spring into a carpet of white and absorbed the warm rays of the sun.  An absolute pleasure.

From a densely wooded area along the river we aim to create a graduation into a softer meadow of wild flowers and grasses that will gently meet the edge of the formal Park.

Warning! You may soon see a change to mowing regime along the River Rea area which may initially seem as though the Council has failed to cut a patch grass.   They have but this is at our request in response to consultation we have undertaken over the last 18 months.

By not cutting the grass we will be able to discover what will naturally grow along this strip enabling before planning which wild flowers to sow.  This was once arable land not far from a manorial mill so it may have produce corn or barley, or its yield may only be dandelion, thistle or clover.

Please bear with us it may take a little time to create our attractive Natural River Rea Corrdor.

Your comments and assistance in this venture are encouraged, so please contact us if you wish to be added onto our mailing list and receive details of planting events.

email:  info.foknp@gmail.com

A Frenzy of Fun!

Phase 1 Completed and handed over, on the afternoon of Friday 30 March 2012

Kings Norton refurbished children's play area is open for the first time for the Easter holidays. 
A very big thank you to everyone who has madep this possible.


Kevan Green and friends test out the new bucket swing

Little Lilley overcomes the new play challenges on the mound

What an absolute pleasure to see such a frenzy of fun following the opening of the childrens play area to the general public on the stuningly sunny afternoon of  Friday 30 March 2012. 

Lilley's friends race to join her

There are new pieces of play equipment, repainted and repositioned pieces too.  All are accessible to children of mixed abilities and there is something for all ages.

Whilst others take a more relaxed approach and enjoy a seat in the sun

Unfortunately the slide which arrived had to be returned as the moulding was imperfect.  A new one will arrive in about 6 but weeks time.   It will be position through the gap featured above which provide an exciting entrance.

Phase II of the play area refurbishment will include a new multi-functional climbing experience.  You may recall that climbing scored very highly amongst children of all ages in our consultation exercise.   This will probably appear sometime during May.

More bins and benches will follow shortly.

We have to thank

• Birmingham City Councils Departments (especially, Sue Amey, Northfield and Edgbaston Parks Manager)
• Friends of Kings Norton Park, (notably Chris Hughes, Lynn and Lucy Horsnett)
• parents and children those who helped and took part in the consultation (especailly Kings Norton Nursery ,Kings Norton Infant and Junior School for allowing us to visit them)
• Contractors (Darren and co-workers) for a such an horganised and clean build - and for working so hard to ensure the play area was ready in time for the Easter holidays!
• Birmingham City Architects (especially Alan Smith) for putting our ideas into design and ensuring a well balanced, exciting and safe design
• local ward Councillors for signing on the dotted so children could have the kind of play area they deserve.

Please forward any comments to the friends group at:  info.foknp@gmail.com

Little Lilley overcomes the challenges of mound

Updated Activity List 2012

Updated (30 Oct) calendar of friends activities and events for 2012.  


We have regular work-outs on the first Friday of the month where we tend to park.  There been lots of renovation to our existing infrastructure and new areas being developed all the time.
Please join in!

January 2012                                                                                                                                                             Successful bulb planting around car park to brighten up a grey spot                                                                           Community bedding planting, bulbs and mulching of flower beds                                                                             Farmers Market donate £200                                                                                       AGM new officers elected - thanks for volunteering!

February Transformation of the play area has begun Planning restoration improvements to the Civic Area - cutting back of  laurel trees and tidying beech hedgrow One member undertook risk assessment and first aid courses by BOSF - others to follow in year Setting up of face book account - we are novices please like us and speak to us

March Attended Ward Committee and requested for details of community chest to be notified to local groups Held a litter picking good Saturday Friday 9 March Planting Oak Whips - meet 1pm at car park Saturday 10 March consulting and sharing ideas at the Kings Norton Farmers Market Stall thanks for visiting us Saturday 24 March 11.30am FoKNP Committee meet at the Lickey Hills                                                     West Midlands Police donate £400 to protective clothing and events signage.                                            Play Area Opens afternoon of  30 March in time for Easter Holidays!

April Friday Workout 6 April 11.30am  9 bags of litter collected and a wild flower meadow is marked out.  The first cut is missed out.  Litter    Cancelled Saturday 7 April - Easter event unfortunately cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Play Area is open for holidays - phase 1 is complete!  Have Fun!         Friday 27 April - A big thank you to Kings Norton Boys Schools who collect 12 bags of rubbish  End of April - Upper Civic Garden benches have been installed, the cooper hedges have been cut back and a historic orchard of various fruit trees have been planted.                                                             Trip Rail Fencing and bollards around the borders of the park are installed.  New signage on the Pershore Road side of the park

May Friday 4 May – 11.30 am workout: Shrub bed weeding and borders Saturday 12 May - Picnic in park meeting and photo library sort 2nd Phase of Play Area - Multi purpose item, benches and bins will be under way.

June Friday 1 June - Borders of flower beds are shaped, they are weed and mulched. Rangers and local community Friday 22 June - FoKNP Cttee meeting 11.30 am and tour of Martineau Gardens   http://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk/visitor-information

July Friday 7 July – Community workout and Awards for All Bid submitted.  KN Park side Car Park is surfaced and marked out with ordinary and disabled spaces.                               Saturday 14 July - Kings Norton Festival - progress and tree trail activity why not help organise and run? Friday 13 July - Environmental Studies Kings Norton Boys School and Ranger, 9.30am - 1pm in park

August Friday 3 August – Workout - interpretation panel to be installed in the Upper Civic Garden, explaining the background to the area and the restoration project.  Saturday  11 August – Open Day Planning Suggestions and help with an event welcome.  Phase 3 of Play Area: slide and climbing frame to be installed

September Friday 7 September                                                                                                              Going Batty Walk - see article  Saturday 8 September                                                                                Meeting 11.30am Kings                                                                               Norton Library

October Friday 5 October – planning day for 13 October and exploring new fund Friday 12 October - we installed the lectern installing the lectern in the Upper Civic Garden, the council replanted the upper civic garden shrub bed and sourced bog plants for one of the not so thriving new shrubs bed which we will plant at a future workout.                                                                                                                                                             Saturday 13 October  - What a wonderful first event!  A great celebration -thank you so much to all the community groups, Positive Futures, Catch 22, Friends of Walkers Heath Park, Millennium Fields Trust, Kings Norton Nature Reserve and supporting organisations, National Trust, Civic Society, Guide Dogs for the Blind, not to mention our fantastic parks team (Sue Amey, Steve Hinton and Adam Noon).  Thanks also to Cllr Steve Bedser.    See more at article.  Tuesday 30 October - A Willow Den Building course at Fields Millennium Trust with Alf Dimock from National Trust.  It was quite a mean feat engineering feat for our a first willow den construction, a tunnel on a sharp bend,after a bit of group consideration and mucking in we created a structure that will hopefully thrive over the next few months - super both the tall and the small can enjoy the tunnel.

November Friday 2 November – Shrubs beds: weeding, general tidy up at 11.30 am.  Sunday 4 November walk from Millennium Fields Kings Norton to Clent Hills with groups the National Trust Gap project has worked with over the past 12 months.   Saturday 17 & 18 November  Canal and Rivers Trust Initiative - Kings Norton Basin Tidy Up meet at Lifford Lane, Guillotine Lock end 9 am-3 pm, bring water and a snack.      Saturday 17 and 24 November leaf collecting with Positive Futures, Catch 22 in Churchyard and Park.  Saturday 24 November - committee meeting moved to Sat 8 December.

December  Friday 7 December – Work Out meet 11.30 am in the Park.   Friday 7 December Winter Fayre on Green,  Saturday 8 December FoKNP Committee meeting venue tbc.

All events unless otherwise specified commence at 11.30 am in the Park.   Please email to check venues of meetings. 

There will be some events you and your family can join in and some we are encouraging local schools and nurseries to support.

You are welcome to join in the planning and delivery of these events and activities - or  set ones up you would like to happen in our Park.  

We would love local groups to get involved too and businesses to adopt projects and spend their corporate days with us in the park . 

This programme may be subject to slight change periodically
so please email us on info.foknp@gmail.com to check an event is still going ahead and timings remain the same, or text 07866532240.

See you soon!

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!