We are electing:

A Chair
A Secretary
And a Treasurer

If you want to stand for any of these posts please contact us or come along to the meeting when the elections will take place on:

Thurs 29th Sept
The Pink Palace, Frankham Street
7pm

Saturday 20th August between 10am and 4pm

Tools and light refreshments provided!

We need to make some plans!

We need to sort out constitution and when we are going to have elections to posts and to set up bank accounts etc. So if you are interested in getting involved in any capacity?

We need to set dates for work days in Sue Godfrey Garden:
Weeding and tidying days are required SOON!
We also need to start planning what plants we want to buy. We have £500 available for replanting the garden.
As soon as the new area is finished and prepared we can have raised beds delivered and will need a bed building day.

We also need to introduce new and enthusiastic members to what we have to offer. Including suggested plans for small “mini allotments”

Need to discus plans for raised beds when they are built: Plans for winter plantings and for growing schemes starting next spring.

Crossfields festival: how are we going to be involved? And whats going on?

Visits and socials YAY!  We need to organize a couple of exciting trips! LWT Wildflower centre in Peckham anyone??

There will also be FANTASTIC treats and gourmet food so you all better come!!

Herbs including Rosemary and lemon thyme and a dazzling array of colourful flowers supplied by Bretts Flower Stall have already started to brighten the balconies of Crossfields. We will be taking some pictures of as many boxes as possible to share  here!

  A friendly and sociable afternoon was filled with fun for everyone who came. The tombola, cakes and free tea all went down very well with young and old and when the rain stopped the outside area of the creekside centre was a good place for the kids to play with the outdoor toys they had won!

Thanks to Lewisham Homes Community Fund for sponsoring the Scheme and to everyone who helped out on the day Thanks are also due to Bettina and The Creekside centre for supporting the event.

NAME THE FRIENDLY WORM COMPETITION

Was won by Sheryl Middleton  who suggested our friendly worm should be called
EINSTEIN A GOGO (apparently because he’s a clever worm and he can move!)

Your prize is waiting for you Sheryl!

We are GIVING AWAY plants soil and tools for every window box on Crossfields!

PLUS:

• Special Kids growing Kits and FUN prizes.
• Find out about our EXCITING plans.
• EAT cakes and BUY Jam!
• Name the Friendly WORM
  
• Take part in our PRIZE DRAW
• Get FREE advice on window box growing.

If you can’t come along and still want your free plants, tools and soil just email us!

EVERYONE WELCOME!

Saturday 16th July, 1pm to 5pm
Creekside Centre, Creekside, SE8

location map here

I was lucky enough to see rare volumes from their Herbarium collections, including notebooks from Captain Cookes original voyages, an apothecaries notebook fromm 1600 and fascinating volumes from the collection of Hans Soanes which are kept at the Museum.

I also had a very interesting chat with some people who work at OPAL
See their site here

I have a couple of kits for doing their Earthworm surveys.

“It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organised creatures”

Charles Darwin.

A good way to get to know a bit more about these fascinating and vital animals!

Anyone fancy helping me out or doing a survey in other parts of the estate?We might also do their lichen survey if anyone’s interested …

A very big thanks to everyone who came along and made such valuable contributions.

As well as introducing Crossfields Green Spaces to the World we had a good chance to meet a variety of interested people from the estate. A very positive experience. 

We had a very good discussion funders and architects about the proposals to develop green areas on the Estate.

A Full report can be seen on our “Greening Crossfields” page here. Please please please give us your ideas/thoughts about these proposals. Either by comments on the page or by email here.

See here for details of this fund

After some thought and a few ideas being tried out  the idea we have come up with is:

Everyone on Crossfields Estate has a window box out side their flat. So what better way of encouraging people to start growing than by offering the first 100 residents who apply a ” Crossfields Boxes Growing Kit.”

These will consist of:

• A Bag of Organic Compost big enough to re / fill a window box.
• 2 Packets of seeds… One salad and one flower chosen to be suitable for window box growing.
• A small watering can.
• A packet of organic fertiliser.
• A postcard with instructions on how to grow the seeds.
• Help if needed to fill and plant the box.

This will be promoted through the Estate magazine “Crosstalk” and through an estate wide publicity campaign and leaflet drop.

We see this proposal as having the following advantages for the Community:

• Visually improve the estate.. Lets as many boxes  growing as we can!
• Encourage growing and gardening for people who might not otherwise try it.
  Particularly children who might not have any other opportunity to grow.
• Interest people who might not think “Crossfields Green Spaces” is for them.
• Promoting and getting the community interested in a Crossfields Green Spaces.
• We might eventually be able to have a “Boxes in Bloom” Celebration of the “Hanging Gardens of Crossfields”!

Crossfields Green Spaces is a new group aiming to encourage and nurture the green spaces on Crossfields Estate.

We want to have fun while we grow things!

Wherever your interests lie…
whatever your level of skill…
no matter how much or how little time you have..

• Meet New People.
• Share  skills and interests.
• Healthy excercise.
• Grow your own satisfaction

How Would you Like To Grow?

We have lots of ways for you to get involved:

Allotments:

There are a variety of Allotments on the Estate: Let us know if you are interested and we can add you to the waiting list.

Mini Allotments:

We are keen to develop small growing areas for residents without the time or enthusiasm to take on the work of a full sized garden but who still want a small area to grow in.

Community Gardening:

Help look after our beautiful “Secret Garden” The Sue Godfrey Community garden is a haven for wildlife and a place to relax and enjoy. Look out for our series of Fun Work Days and come along and get involved in looking after this special place on our estate.

Food Growing:

We are developing the area next to the Sue Godfrey Garden as a food growing Project. A series of raised beds will offer an opportunity to grow vegetables, fruit and herbs. We will be offering various workshops and fun activities for all ages.

• Come Along to the next meeting…
  
• Tell us what you think…
  
• Email us here or leave a comment…