This Saturday 3rd September, meet at the Lodge on the main drive of Brandwood End Cemetery. Bags and pickers provided but stout footwear and gloves advisable. 10-11.30am
Bags and pickers provided but stout footwear and gloves advisable. 10-11.30am
Category: Community
Great News- Wildlife Project funding secured.
The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery are excited to announce that we have been successful in a bid to the National Lottery (Heritage Lottery Fund) to undertake a ‘Help for Hedgehogs’ project in Brandwood End Cemetery and the surrounding area. The project will be delivered for us by The Wildlife Trust (Birmingham and Black Country) and the Ranger Service who will be offering events and workshops, over the next year, to encourage local residents to improve Hedgehog habitat and also surveying the cemetery for Hedgehog activity.
Please come along and support this event and learn why Hedgehogs are in dramatic decline and what YOU can do to increase the local population.
Some of these events will be family orientated and other will be of a more serious nature, for those of you that want to learn how to and participate in surveying for Hedgehogs. Come along to the launch and find out more!
Supporting Kings Norton Cemetery
As those of you who have relatives in Brandwood End know, we have very close links with the much newer cemetery at Kings Norton as this is where all the Bereavement Service Staff and Ground Staff who service both cemeteries are based. They have an event coming up for anyone who may have an interest in Kings Norton Cemetery.
Primrose Meadow- Natural Burial Site- September 9th 11am-13:00– Consultation Event.
Here at our award winning cemetery in Kings Norton we offer the facility of a natural burial site – Primrose Meadow. Established in 2012 the meadow is still in its infancy stage and as it develops we would like to the views of all stakeholders as to developments in the future. For those interested in natural burials we have staff on hand to guide you through the protocols of a natural burial. A range of environmental projects are attending for those simply interested in wildlife and wildflowers.
September litter pick
Another quarter of a year has passed and we will be carrying out our next Litter Pick on Saturday 3rd September. Meet at the Lodge on the main drive at 10am. We may also need to be watering the newly planted Civilian Garden of Remembrance if it stays as hot as it is now! 
Please come along and enjoy an hour and a half strolling around the cemetery and clearing any unsightly litter you may come across. Bags and pickers provided but stout shoes and gloves advised.
Completion of the ‘Civilian Garden’ refurbishment
Those of you that follow our blog will know that back in June the Friends engaged ‘Darren Rudge Landscape Designs’ and some of his students to refresh and partly redesign the Civilian Garden of Remembrance flower beds. The beds had become overgrown and following a donation we were in a position to carry out work to reduce future day to day maintenance by our small team of volunteer gardeners. You will see from the photographs below that the results are magnificent, but we would like to invite you to join us at an official unveiling on Saturday September 24th at 10am, followed by tea and cake.
Brightening the Brandwood area.
Thank you to local community members who plant and maintain this lovely flower box in Broad Lane near the rear entry to the cemetery. It has been a joy all year round.
Sunny day for RHS visit
When we all got up to heavy rain this morning we wondered if the visit of the RHS Heart of England in Bloom judges to Brandwood End might be a wash out, but by lunch time the sun was shining and Brandwood End was looking at its best.
Volunteers work within Brandwood End all year round doing all sorts of activities. Their work ranges from litter picks, gardening, historical research, environmental projects, to carrying out surveys, attending meetings and making grant applications. You probably don’t see us, but we hope you see the effect we have in the cemetery.
The Friends of Brandwood End work with Bereavement Services staff and horticultural contractors to try and improve the ‘visitor’ experience in the cemetery. You may be visiting the grave of a loved one, or walking through as a short cut, carrying out grave research or just enjoying the peace and quiet. Whatever your reason, we hope it creates a pleasant interlude in your day.
Today we found a local family enjoying their snacks in the Civilian Garden of Remembrance. We are so glad to see people relaxing in this beautiful, peaceful area.
Congratulation to Kings Norton Cemetery on Green Flag Award!
You may not realise it, but the Ground staff you see at Brandwood End are also responsible for Kings Norton Cemetery. Kings Norton Cemetery was entered into the Green Flag Awards again this year and was awarded Green Flag status yet again. Well done to all the staff for their ‘Green Flag’ efforts at Kings Norton but also their work at Brandwood End on a day to day basis.
RHS Heart of England in Bloom-Judges visit due!
Gosh, such a frenzy of activity in the cemetery. We are sure the RHS and all our visitors will appreciate it! Gates mended, benches varnished, beds weeded, roses pruned, hedges cut, notice boards washed, section markers scrubbed, litter picked…….. but hey…..we actually do all of these things all the time- but not usually all at the same time. Well done to all our supporters and committee members for stepping up to the plate. Fingers crossed.
Can we invite anyone who is interested in the visit of the Judges to Brandwood End to pop along and join us. We will be meeting them at 3pm by the Lodge, on Wednesday 27th July.
Sarah has spent two weekends re varnishing our two benches- so why not come along and sit on them!
Birmingham Big Bus- World War 1 Tour
FBEC are not involved in the event below but the Birmingham Big Bus Tour staff join FBEC on Birmingham Heritage Forum, so we are happy to point you in their direction.
This is the year when we remember the Battle of the Somme. Birmingham has a fascinating story to tell with its involvement in the First World War. Starting at the iconic Town Hall you will hear about Neville Chamberlain’s rousing inspirational speech and the massive recruiting parade in Victoria Square. On the route we will visit sites to learn about Zeppelins and Armaments; the Quakers and conscientious objectors; War hospitals taking over the University of Birmingham and Highbury Hall; the Hall of Memory built to commemorate the 12, 320 Birmingham citizens who died and the 35,000 who were wounded during the War; the massive involvement of the Jewellery Quarter and Cadbury’s; the women’s stories including the 15,000 migrant women working in the factories and the plight of the Belgian refugees.
Date: Sunday 24th July 2016
Time: 6pm
Meeting point: end of Colmore Row/corner of Waterloo Street, Victoria Square next to the Council House
Cost: Tickets £12 per person – please contact Sue by email at enquiries@birmingham-tours.co.uk
Come and join the Big Bus Guides to commemorate Birmingham’s contribution to the First World War.