At 10.30am on Wednesday the 14th of November a planting event will take place in Brandwood End Cemetery to establish a small woodland area . Thirty Children from St Albans Primary School will be assisted by Cemetery staff, members of FBEC and helpers to plant 24 trees close to the main entrance gates. If you would like to help please come in suitable footwear and clothing. Spades will be available. There will also be a short opening ceremony as this area will be used for the burial of ashes in future. This will be attended by a representative of Birmingham City Council.
Author: Jane Edwards
Oak Tree Pruning
Many of you who visit the Cemetery will have noticed, with horror, the severe pruning or pollarding of the Oak on the island in the main drive. Unfortunately this has been necessary as the oak has been weakened by fungus at the base and this has resulted in a number of the lower branches becoming dangerously rotten. This tree also had a very heavy canopy and it was feared that in wet and windy weather it could be in danger of falling. To try and give it a chance of recovery the leaf bearing branches have been removed thus reducing its wind resistance and it will be watched closely by the BCC Tree Officer over the coming months. It‘s not a foregone conclusion that this tree will survive but every effort will be made to retain it. There are a number of trees on site that have also had to be treated in a similar manner but FBEC are pleased that there is some appropriate tree husbandry now happening in Brandwood End and will encourage the replacement of any trees that have to be removed.
Litter Pick and Gardening morning.
Our usual Litter Pick will be taking place this Saturday, the 1st September but in addition to this we will be trying to continue our weeding project in the Civilian Garden of Remembrance. If you think you can help with either event please meet at the Lodge in the cemetery at 10am.
August joint community event
Rain stopped play at our recent community event. In common with many larger events the Summer Event organised by New Vision Community Group was rained off. Members of FBEC manfully soldiered on with gardening and handing out information to participants who were taking a 4 site challenge. The challenge involved them visiting Broad Lane Allotments, Brandwood Pool, Jasmin Fields Nature Reserve and Brandwood End Cemetery. Each site had its own activities but unfortunately most of them had to abandon their plans due to torrential rain. Never mind….perhaps we will all try again next summer!
Civilian Garden of Remembrance looking lush after the recent rain.
The Civilian Garden is looking particularly fine at the moment with all the recent rain and the efforts of the Friends to keep it tidy. We are also delighted that the recently planted hawthorn hedge is thriving.
If you have an hour or two to spare and would like to help us with a weeding project there please contact us via our e mail.
Local Scouts help with June litter pick
At the most recent litter pick in June Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery were delighted to have a group of local Scouts join in and by helping us out they will be able to gain their Community Badge.
We were out in force to clear up a considerable amount of litter and filled several bags full of rubbish. With the rain and wind it is usually flower wrappings, old plant containers and artificial flowers that become scattered around the Cemetery.
It would be lovely if people used degradable items, like flowers, so the Cemetery grounds don’t become clogged up with non-degradable grave decorations.
Has spring sprung?
In early January snowdrops made an appearance in the cemetery and the hawthorn hedge still hadn’t dropped its leaves! The squirrels are dashing about and the birds are ignoring the berries in favour of worms in the still soft soil. Where will it end?
Final Litter Pick of 2011
Our thanks to those members who joined us for our final litter pick of 2011. Despite the cold weather we managed to spend and hour and a half in various areas of the cemetery collecting mainly wind blown flower wrappings and artificial flowers. Can we remind everyone again to remove wrapping paper from flowers and secure artificial flowers, as the wind scatters them and we are not able to identify the graves they originated from. Unfortunately some fly tipping had occurred in Broad Lane and a lot of this had blown into the lower end of the cemetery but one of our members worked hard to remove as much as was possible. Our next litter pick will be in March 2012 and we look forward to welcoming you then. Detailed information will appear on this site and our notice boards at either entrance to the cemetery.
Brandwood Christmas Cracker
Several hundred local residents turned out to hear the choir of St Albans Primary school and welcome Santa in his sleigh to a Christmas community event. The event was organised by New Vision Community Team supported by FBEC, Friends of Jasmin Fields,Friends of the Brandwood Pool, Broad Lane Allotments,Cocks Moors Leisure Centre, The Brandwood Centre, BCC and the local Neighbourhood Policing Team ! Everyone worked together to provide a spectacular evening of entertainment including music from Moonlighting and an outdoor art display by a local community artist. Santa provided gifts for all the children and the Brandwood Centre cooked lots of hot dogs and burgers for the crowd. Children also enjoyed cake decorating and face painting whilst they waited for Santa to arrive.
Community Groups work together at local events
The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery joined with members of other local community organisations to support an experimental night time event at Brandwood Pool. Close to 80 people joined a small community choir and musicians around Brandwood Pool which was illuminated by 300 lanterns. Volunteers had decorated most of the jars that held the candles with bright drawings and inspirational words. The event was lead by the Park Ranger service.