Category: Events

The Great British Spring Clean

Ten volunteers joined together today to carry out the usual quarterly ‘Litter Pick’ in Brandwood End Cemetery. This Spring we are yet again taking part in the Keep Britain Tidy campaign and their theme is ‘The Great British Spring Clean’

Between everyone- 22 bags of litter were collected ! The bag numbers were higher than usual as storm Dorris had managed to whip lots of flower paper across the site! We started at 10am and drew to a close at 11.30am when a Birmingham City Council bin lorry arrived (bang on time) to take all our collected rubbish away!

Our thanks to all our volunteers (even our tiny new member) for coming along to support this event. The sun shone throughout, so it was a lovely morning and enjoyed by everyone.

Great British Spring Clean- Saturday 4th March 10-11.30am.

Keep Britain Tidy are again heading up a anti litter campaign this year, so we have decided to dedicate our MARCH 4th LITTER PICK to this cause.

Please come along and help us to keep the cemetery free of flower paper and blown litter following the recent storms. Meet at the Lodge on the main drive at 10am till 11.30 and enjoy a stroll around this beautiful green space whilst collecting litter to boost this Great British Spring Clean campaign.

We will provide litter pickers and bags but advise strong footwear and gloves. Under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult.

Adults- do you want a bit more detailed Hedgehog information?

FBEC have now enjoyed several family Hedgehog events, delivered on our behalf by Birmingham Park Ranger Service (Jan and Dean) and the Wildlife Trust (Emma). We are coming towards the end of this enormously enjoyable project that seems to have captured the imagination of local schools and residents.

On Monday the 20th March from 7-8pm at Park House in Kings Heath Park we will be holding an adults only event, to cover some of the more technical details relating to the  why the well loved Hedgehog is declining in most areas of the UK.

Places are  FREE but limited, so please reserve your place via this link.

Final Family Hedgehog event !

Today was the final Family Hedgehog Event in Brandwood End Cemetery as part of our ‘Help for Hedgehogs’ Heritage Lottery funded project. We still have plenty of activities planned but they will be aimed mainly at adults, to encourage them to understand more about the decline of Hedgehogs and what they can do to improve the environment within their gardens to attract them.

Today, despite the inclement weather, we were joined by between 30 and 40 ‘Hedgehog Heroes’ who undertook a number of activities. The more hardy amongst them joined Dean the Ranger and Emma from the Wildlife Trust on a walk through the cemetery to demonstrate how to create a log pile.  All the logs had been drilled with small holes to allow bugs to hid within them providing good food for waking Hedgehogs.

Inside activities included making ‘plate’ hedgehogs to take home and name pledge spikes for our large demonstration Hedgehog!

 

 

 

 

Today we have ‘Bug Life’ to thank for the supply of Bug Hotels which were taken home by visitors to deploy in their gardens. Our thanks again to SHED, based at Kings Heath Park, for making some more Hedgehog houses that were also snapped up by families eager to encourage our spiked friends. Follow this link to more photographs taken today.

By now the rain had started but it didn’t deter those keen for information!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Half Term….and it’s Hedgehog Time again !

Schools out, so its about time we made sure our Brandwood End Hedgehogs have plenty of food when they finally emerge.  Not too long to wait now!!

Join us on Wednesday 22nd February at 10am for a couple of hours of making log piles and bug houses to ensure plenty of juicy food for our prickly friends!

(Unless you are over 16 I am afraid you will have to bring an adult!)

Meet at the Lodge on the main drive of Brandwood End Cemetery 10am.

Tree husbandry underway!

Those of you that walk through or visit Brandwood End Cemetery will see some tree work happening in the next week or so. There will be some ‘crown lifting’ (taking off of lower branches) at various locations on the site and also the removal of some self set trees near the Diamond Woodland/yard fence.

 

 

 

 

Great to see so much tree husbandry happening in Brandwood End. More tree work to follow later in the year so watch this blog for details. All this work is being undertaken following consultation between Bereavement Services and the  BCC Tree Officer for the area.

 

Merry Christmas Everyone

The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery would like to wish all their supporters a very Merry Christmas and hope that you all enjoy a healthy 2017.

We have called on our supporters a lot in 2016 to help with lots of projects and they have not let us down. We know that many of you are unable to come along and help physically with projects as your distance to travel, time available, physical capabilities etc all vary dramatically. All we ask is that you continue to renew your memberships each April and/or keep an interest in what we are doing via this site and our facebook page as the day will come when numbers of supporters count when important decisions are made!

Just a reminder of some of the busy work we have undertaken with your support in 2016.

unspecified-2We have enjoyed working with Woodthorpe Primary and St Albans RC Primary, and continue to do so as part of our community filming of our ongoing Hedgehog Project

We ‘Cleaned for the Queen’ earlier in the year and litter picked once a quarter as usual

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We have won a Silver Gilt Medal in the Heart of England in Bloom, organised the refurbishment of the Civilian Garden of Remembrance, held lots of Hedgehog events (thanks to funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund)and held our usual annual Remembrance Service. None of this would have been possible without your support.

As Chairman can I also give special thank you and Seasonal Greetings to all our committee, present and past, for their efforts. Many of our past committee still continue to work on our behalf and I would like to give a special thank you to Pat Franklin who tirelessly takes people on historic Grave Walks on our behalf.  Working with you all is a joy!

In 2017 we will continue our work to try and raise the profile of Brandwood End Cemetery and especially the plight of our magnificent chapels. We believe the more people who visit via events etc……the more support we will have when the time comes for some serious lobbying! Thank you all again.

Young film makers show their skills.

Our final ‘Hedgehog’ related event for 2016 !. Pupils from St Albans RC Primary have been training with our Community Film Maker and spent time at Jasmin Fields Nature Reserve putting their knowledge into practice. They will be making a short film for FBEC about our whole Hedgehog project. Don’t they look professional?

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unspecifiedPupils proudly display their bug hotel.  They had been set the task of making some pallets into an appealing hotel for ‘bugs and beasties’ to become a larder for visiting hedgehogs.

I think we can call their efforts a success? They have also placed their own Hedgehog house in the school grounds.

Second Lieutenant F C Alabaster, commemorated at this years Remembrance Service

FBEC felt they would like to share with you an article prepared by Edwina Rees, for the Moseley History Society newsletter. It sums up our recent Remembrance Day Event. Thank you Edwina.

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The centenary year of the Battle of the Somme was very much in everyone’s thoughts, in this year’s commemorative service held at the Cross of Sacrifice at Brandwood End Cemetery.  Before the laying of wreaths, the last post rang out and during the two minutes silence, instead of poppies, the last golden leaves of autumn fell on the heads of those reflecting on the loss of the many young men who fell that fell during the course of the war in 1916.

Second Lieutenant F C Alabaster was one of those who lost their lives that year. Clifford, as he preferred to be known, was wounded in the head by shrapnel, just before the Battle of the Somme, but the protection afforded by the new ‘Brodie’ helmets lessened the impact and he was expected to survive. Unfortunately, this was not the case and he died in the Empire Hospital for Officers, London just over a month later. His great niece Wendy Alabaster represented the family on the day

His grave and those of others buried here who served in WW1, are now recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission thanks to the campaigning endeavors of the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery. He is also commemorated at St Mary’s Church, Moseley on their WW1 memorial.

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Second Lieutenant F C Alabaster was highlighted at the request of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission as part of their ‘Living  Memories’ project, but in remembering him we must also remember all those who are buried here or on foreign soil who gave their lives for their country and those killed locally as a result of enemy air raids.