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05 Aug 2011
Volunteers at Edgecombe Hall Estate cutting back brambles
Edgecombe Hall Residents Association is working with environmental regeneration charity Groundwork London and the London Borough of Wandsworth to improve the estate’s green spaces and attract more wildlife to the area. Improvements have been funded by the Big Lottery’s Community Wildlife fund and volunteers have undertaken many practical improvements including clearing the pond and planting lilies, clearing brambles and planting a wildflower meadow.
On Saturday 13 August, The Mayor of Wandsworth, Cllr Jane Cooper attended the Wildlife Explorers Day and cut a cake to share with residents. There were lots of fun activities including getting up close with newts, pondskaters and frogs during pond dipping, making bird boxes and bat boxes as well as free refreshments.
The floating duckhouse purchased by the Residents Association has seen the arrival of two White Campbell ducks and a drake who will be introduced to the main pond. There was a naming competition to name the ducks and the winners will be announced on the day. The winning entries were: Puddles named by Moham Chaudhry (age 8), Lili named by Donna Purvis Nantale (age 10) and Daisy named by Ben Green (age 8).
George McKenzie has lived on the estate with his wife since 1962, and was one of the first residents to move in. He has been Chair of the Residents Association for ten years and has seen the ponds fall into disrepair over time until improvements began four years ago.
Mr McKenzie said: “I believe that people should get involved with volunteering and keep the estate clean. My dream is to see the ponds restored to how they used to be, the waterfall and pump working properly and for the outdoor area to look nice again so this can develop as a space for people to sit, relax and enjoy.”
The ponds are an area of great historic interest and are believed to have been built by James Pulham and Son, celebrated Victorian and Edwardian landscape gardeners. The Pulham family created a special stone known as Pulhamite, which they used to create elaborate features. Pulhamite is found in only a few sites in London including Buckingham Palace and Battersea Park. The Residents Association are fundraising to excavate and re-line a cascade of three feeder ponds that lead on to the main pond, plant the edges, get the waterfalls working again and install a pump and filter that will recycle rainwater and kill algae, meaning that the Council will no longer need to clear algae from the pond every six weeks.
George has been volunteering together with his grandson Jake Lee, 20, to make environmental improvements on the estate. Jack said: ”It’s important to get involved in the community and do some manual labour to improve the grounds.”
There will be further volunteering sessions to make the grounds more attractive and encourage wildlife and biodiversity, under the guidance of Mark Patterson of Groundwork London. Dates have been set until November and practical tasks will include planting wild flowers, blue bells, snow drops and trees and building a stag beetle loggery.
Click here for further information on the volunteering sessions.
