Category: Events

Final September Litter Pick Reminder

Final reminder, our September Litter Pick will be taking place on this Saturday morning, the 2nd September. Please meet at the Lodge on the main drive at 10am and we will finish at 11.30am. This will be our final Litter pick before the onset of Winter!  Our next visit will be in December.

Please think about joining us for this event as the cemetery is such a beautiful environment and we want to help keep it that way. Combine your litter picking with wandering around its tree lined pathways and listen to the bird song. What a good use of a hopefully sunny morning!

Litter pickers and bags will be provided but we do advise stout footwear and gloves as well. Children under 16 are welcome but must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Extension to our Help for Hedgehogs project

FBEC are pleased to announce that Heritage Lottery, the grant providers for the above project, have agreed a 3 month extension to our time schedule and some additional expenditure.

We would like to thank all the people that provided items free of charge and gave their time for free. This has resulted in an under spend! Unusual in this day and age!

After discussion with Heritage Lottery  it has been agreed  that we can spend the remaining funding on an interpretation board, highlighting Hedgehog facts, to be placed in the cemetery. A time extension has been agreed to allow for design, manufacture and installation.

 

Our thanks again to all the organisations involved as we were dependent not only on their expertise, but also on their hours of dedication to this project.

 

Heritage Hedge maturing well.

Those of you that follow the activities of FBEC will know that a few years ago we enlisted the help of local pupils to create yet another hedged area to surround a small section of War Graves that we felt needed to be defined. The majority of our 300+ War Graves are scattered throughout the cemetery.

The original project took place in early 2014 so barely 3 years later and the hedge is now well established.

 

Whilst we were in the cemetery with our shears we also removed stragglers from this hedge.

Both these hedges were planted in define areas but also to increase habitat for birds, insects and especially Hedgehogs within Brandwood End.

Three years on…… a well established hedge.

Great day at St Albans.

Year 5 pupils at St Albans RC Primary were one of our many partners in the making of our Hedgehog film and completion of our Hedgehog Project. Today they viewed their efforts and we shared a few gifts to remind them of their work.

Well done St Albans and we look forward to working with you on our next project.

Pupils and parents get to see ‘their’ Hedgehog film.

Last week members of the FBEC committee and Rachel Gillies (our Community Film Maker)  joined parents , teachers and pupils at Woodthorpe Junior and Infants school for a showing of the ‘Help for Hedgehogs’ film. This film was made entirely by pupils of Woodthorpe Primary and St Albans RC Primary under Rachel’s direction.

Rachel reported lots of giggles and prods between pupils, lots of good comments from teachers and the Headteacher is very keen to share the film on Social Media and in the school newsletter once it is available.

Several members of FBEC have worked alongside Rachel on her visits to both schools and marveled at the enthusiasm and knowledge shown by all the pupils.

Have a look at Rachel’s own site, where she gives our project a great write up!! http://www.community-film-maker.org.uk/

Our thanks go to the Heritage Lottery for funding what has turned out to be a wonderful project. Just a couple of months left and St Albans get their chance to see their input!

Part of the ‘Unremembered Project’.

The Department of communities and Local Government (DCLG), have funded an inclusive and thought-provoking programme to invite communities to commemorate the sacrifices of the Labour Corps and their contribution to the First World War.

On July 14th between 9.20am and 10.40am pupils from Swanshurst School will be in Brandwood End Cemetery, where they will recite monologues to highlight Labour Corps members commemorated on the screen walls at the Cross of Sacrifice on the main drive.

This event will be filmed for the School’s Youtube channel. Members of FBEC Committee will also be attending.

http://www.bigideascompany.org/project/the-unremembered/

Litter pick in June sunshine.

Five FBEC supporters and 11 members of the 148th Birmingham St. Dunstan’s Scouts cleared 17 bags of litter this morning on their summer morning litter pick.

Our thanks go to our regular supporters and also to the Scouts, who try to turn out at least once a year to help. This time the pickers were packed away just in time to beat a downpour!

June Litter Pick.

Final reminder to everyone that FBEC will be holding our ‘Start of Summer‘ Litter Pick on Sunday June 4th- 10am till 11.30am – meet at the Lodge on the Main Drive. Litter pickers and bags provided, but we advise you wear stout footwear and gloves as well. This is your chance to enjoy a stroll around this amazing green urban space whilst helping to keep it litter free. The staff work hard to clear any litter but our efforts always produce more, as we have the time to search ! Most litter is flower paper. Can we ask you again to remove papers from flowers left graveside, as when the blooms die the wind blows them and their wrappers around the cemetery.

Hedgehog film showing.

This is the final reminder that there will be a chance to view the Help for Hedgehogs film that was made with assistance from local pupils. The film follows the year long project undertaken by FBEC, The Wildlife Trust (Birmingham and Black Country) and the Park Ranger Service to survey the cemetery for Hedgehog activity and increase awareness of Hedgehog requirements if we wish to stop their rapid decline.

7-8pm at Park House in Kings Heath Park  Monday 5th June. Please visit this link to register if you think you will be coming along as space is limited. More details can be seen here.

This is a family event and suitable for children but those under 16 should be accompanied by an adult. There will also be a showing for pupils and parents in both local schools involved.  (St Albans RC Primary, Woodthorpe Primary) Contact your school for dates.