Tag: fbec; brandwood end cemetery

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annual clearance of Ivy underway…..

Every year  Friends of Brandwood End Committee turn out to try and keep the Ivy under control that takes over some of the most historic monuments in the cemetery.

 Following advice from the Conservation Officer and also the Wildlife Trust, who are working closely with us on our Hedgehog Project,  we try and restrict our activities to the month of February when the impact on insects and birds is at its lowest. Whilst removing the Ivy we did find one or two frogs and toads enjoying the sunshine in the damp undergrowth but we made sure they remained undisturbed (Apart from their photo call!)

 

I think you will agree that the improvement is quite striking and has exposed some of our most interesting and beautiful monuments.

 

 

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.

U3A, Local History Group Members enjoy Brandwood End.

FBEC member, Pat Franklin, gave up her time to lead a group of U3A (Local History Group) members on a walk through Brandwood End Cemetery.  During  Heritage Open Week, in September 2014, the Friends devised a Grave Walk highlighting a small number of War Graves in the cemetery and providing a short background to each of them.

img_4282u3aOur thanks to Alison Gove-Humphries for taking some lovely photographs at the event.

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The tour itself consisted of an introduction and overview, the formation and role of the Friends and then to the CWGC, their policy and philosophy. Next came a brief summary of the First World War, the burials elsewhere [unless stated] and the commemoration on family headstones on the walk.   Then on to the Cross of Sacrifice and the recent Commemoration. Thence, the Screen Walls and a walk to the more recent Tree Island Memorial, with tablet and benches. The group were particularly taken with the Poppy Cross  Field and its significance.

Our thanks again to Pat for leading this walk. We do occasionally get requests from individuals to attend a walk but unless Pat can get a group of 8 to 12 together it isn’t really worth while. With this in mind, if you would like to take our Grave Walk (Probably not until Spring 2017) can you e mail us on friendsofbec@gmail.com   and we will add you to this list then contact you with proposed dates when we have enough prospective participants.

Family event in Half Term

Just a reminder that our next family Hedgehog event will be happening in the cemetery next Tuesday 25th October 2-4pm. Meet by the Lodge. hedgehog2URGENT NOTE

Can we also make an appeal for donations of unopened cans of cat and dog food for the local Hedgehog Rescue Centre as they are running short of food!! Please bring them to the event.

Civilian Garden of Remembrance officially unveiled.

img_8436We all breathed a sigh of relief to see that the weather was dry this morning for the Friends to welcome over 20 people to the ‘official’ unveiling of our Civilian Garden of Remembrance. Our thanks to Councillor Eva Phillips who made a short speech about the uncertainties in the World today and the value of peace internationally. We all hope that we may see a time when there is no need for ‘civilian dead’ to be laid to rest following conflict.

img_8444Eva then cut the ribbon and declared that the garden refurbishment was now officially completed.

Our thanks to our anonymous donor, who meant that we were able to engage horticulturalist Darren Rudge with a team of his ‘Homebase’ students to complete the work. I am sure all our visitors today agree that the garden looks a picture!

img_8448img_1857Afterwards we all made our way to the Lodge and enjoyed a leisurely cup of tea and some excellent home made cake (thank you Coral!)

Well done Darren and his team!

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.

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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.

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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.