nature

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Broom time has arrived on Martins Hill

Broom in flower, Martins Hill

Along with the longer days and warmer weather the Broom, after which Bromley is named, comes into flower. For a few weeks we can enjoy it, unlike the common gorse which while spiky remains in flower for much of the year, and which is also found in this area.

Broom likes the acidic grassland of this site. While it vanished from here for a long time it was apparently reintroduced in the 1960’s

Sadly the broom is being encroached upon by rampant bramble, despite limited attempts to cut the latter back. The slightly better news is that young Broom plants are seeding elsewhere on these slopes. It would be very sad if this iconic plant disappeared from Bromley.

READ HERE to find out more about Martins Hill, the first public park in old Bromley, and what you can find there.

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Fishing in Glassmill!

Netting the fish

As part of the refurbishment project, on 21st March the water level in the pond was drastically reduced. Beforehand however a specialist contractor was on site to collect all the fish in the pond, they were recorded then released safely downstream. Altogether some 140 three-spined sticklebacks, 2 small roach and 3 eels, the largest being 79cm long, were collected.

Large eel caught

The water flow was carefully measured. Then with the weir boards removed the water level reduced rapidly at first, exposing more of the silt deposited over many years.

Exposed silt, with river channel bottom

The newly exposed silt now will be allowed time to dry out, before contractors are able to move in to excavate and reuse the silt to recreate a working river channel and a separate pond, that fish, eels etc can thrive in.

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Church House Lake Nearly Empty

Lake in Church House Garden, on 7th August 2022

The lake is normally replenished by winter rainfall, but this did not happen this time. Indeed the Met Office have advised that the annual rainfall in London and the south east has been the lowest since at least 1935!

With the continuing lack of rain, the lake in Church House Garden is very nearly empty. Any fish in there have long since died, and the birds have moved to desperately find some water elsewhere.

We have been seeking advice how this lake, and the wider park, can longer term be made more resilient to the ongoing climate change.

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Feeding the Birds

Kari feeding the birds, Church House Gardens

Every morning, soon as the gates are opened, our committee member Kari visits Church House Gardens to feed the birds. She always gives them suitable healthy food such as grain and other seeds, rather than unhealthy bits of bread that many people unfortunately do. She has become very well known to these inhabitants, both large and small. In these difficult times it is great that people are still thinking about our non-human “park users”.

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New Life….

With the long days, spring is finally on its way, and nature is responding. Just one example of this is some frog spawn spotted in the lake in Church House Gardens.

Frog spawn in Lake
Photo by Kari Silvester

This frog spawn was moved here by one of the idVerde park workers, as he originally found it in a large puddle nearby which he realised would soon dry out and so the eggs would die. So as a lover of nature, he moved it carefully to this nearby safer spot. Well done him! Let’s hope that at least some of these become adult frogs in due course.