News
Pensford Field Environmental Trust Wins Award
Readers of the Richmond and Twickenham Times may already be
aware of this picture which shows the winners at the recent London in Bloom
Awards 2011, held at York House. As you will see, Pensford Field was one of the
award winners. The Committee are really proud that we have been recognised in
this way and want to thank all the volunteers who give up their time to come and
help. It is great that those efforts have been properly recognised.
As part of the award ceremony, each
recipient was required to provide a backdrop photo and we were fortunate to be
able to use a lovely photo of Pensford Field taken by a local photographer,
Andrew Wilson. This photo, and others inspired by Pensford Field is on our website. They are also included in his book “Wild About Kew” which has
just been published and available at the local bookshop.
Wild About Kew
A new book has been published about Kew by Andrew Wilson. It features a section and some pictures of Pensford Field. It is available at the Kew Bookshop in Station Approach. A selection of the pictures appears here. We would like to say a special thank you to Andrew for kindly permitting us to use his beautiful
photos.
Night Sky pages
We are very grateful for the time and effort that Roy Singham has spent in kindly updating the Night Sky section which is back online just in time for the Winter solstice (or longest night) tonight, 21 December 2011. You can click on Night Sky at the top of the page, or click here
There is a page entitled the Night Sky Now, which covers the period to the end of February 2012. There is now a very informative section entitled Night Sky Facts. There are links on each page to easily pass back and forth between the two.
Bird Watching October 2011
Comments from recent visitor
See comments from a recent first-time visitor to Pensford Field.
We usually have a gardening day once a month on a Saturday morning, and will let you know when the next one is due to take place. Many hands make light work so if you feel you have a couple of hours to spare it would be great to see you there.
Gardening Day Saturday 26th November 2011
Many thanks to Julia, Chris and Freya (4 months), Nonn and David and of course Aaron, who is the driving force behind these work days, who came to assist on Saturday 26th November. We had a glorious day and made the most of it achieving a great deal. Lots of blackthorn was cut down and weeding done on the path and round the fruit trees. Here are a few photos of us hard at work whilst enjoying the sunshine.
We usually have a gardening day once a month on a Saturday morning, and will let you know when the next one is due to take place. Many hands make light work so if you feel you have a couple of hours to spare it would be great to see you there.
Butterfly Report
We are again grateful to Richard Jeffries who has compiled this year's butterfly report and we are delighted that he is happy to continue next year. It can be viewed here .
The Log Bench
Who would have thought that a tree growing not far from Ham Common would end up as a bench in Pensford Field! Some of you might have seen a photo of it already on our website and here is another one showing the bench being put to good use.
The log was leaning dangerously in the Remand Centre in Ham and so, sadly, it was cut down in the name of health and safety. It was a Lime tree probably over 100 years old.
Thanks to the imagination of our last Chairperson, Diana Hutchings, some expert cutting work by Jamie Simpson this huge log now provides a delightful place to sit in the meadow. Of course the two strong lads from The Tree Company have to be mentioned too, as it was they, undaunted by the size and weight of the logs, expertly retrieved them from the ditch in Ham and winched them on to their lorry. Having executed the first part of the journey they then brought them all the way to Kew and with only centimetres to spare, negotiated the entrance to the field and then swung them high over the chosen area and deftly lowered them into place. It was quite a sight. The bench provided us with the perfect spot to rest during our bird watching mornings last month but more about that in my next news item.
Summer Picnic - June 19th
The picnic was held on June 19th with dancing and music from Mike Ruff and his band.
Some pictures appear below:
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The new signage has arrived and has now been erected in the field. Here is the sign by the entrance.
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We have been given the distinguished title of SINC, Site of Importance to Nature Conservation. I only wish the acronym could sound more exciting ! The new planting in the pond has been arranged using pots. The expense of filling the pond with aquatic soil which has low nutrient levels was avoided this way.
Berula erecta - Lesser Water Parsnip
Myosotis scorpioides - Water Forgetmenot
Butomus umbellatus - Flowering Rush
Sparganium erectum - Branched Bur-Reed
Scirpus lacustris - Common Club-Rush
Mentha aquatica - Water Mint
The idea is that these new plants are less invasive than the previous planting and we will not have to maintain it so often. The significant approval was during the picnic the ducks who frequent the pond have returned and seem very happy even though there is not much cover yet.
We have been given a clean bill of aquatic health from Wrefords as having no more crasula helmsii
See below for a recent picture
