Welcome to the Friends of Dyke Road Park Blog. If you’d like to join us in improving and enjoying the park please do, all welcome!
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Here is the result of the wildflower planting on the bank at the back of the Brighton Open Air Theatre. Thanks again to the Sussex Wildlife Trust youth rangers for their efforts!
Sussex Wildlife Trust youth rangers planting wildflowers on the bank behind the Brighton Open Theatre in March – a project initiated by Gail Greaves, a member of the Friends group. The plants are growing well. Photos of flowers to follow in due course!
The Gardening Group is now meeting on the second Thursday of the month, from 1.30pm to 3.00pm. We undertake light gardening tasks, such as weeding, deadheading, pruning and ivy removal. Anyone is welcome to join in. Meet us at the café, or find us in the park.
Last summer we created a ‘bug hotel’ – somewhere for insects to over-winter – out of old pallets stuffed with wood chip, pine cones and twigs. This summer, with the help of our Park Ranger, Emma Keane, we have added to the ‘filler’ and covered the whole thing with roofing felt. We are going to have the snuggest bugs in the city!
The table tennis table has at last been put in position and is being enjoyed whenever the weather allows. Hopefully, the Council will soon attach it firmly to the ground and also supply the promised bats and balls, to be kept in the Café.
The Brighton Open Air Theatre team has at last been granted permission by the Council Planning Committee for the construction of a small amphitheatre on the site of the ex-bowling green. This will be available for use by touring theatre groups, and by local groups.
The group still needs to raise more money to be able to fund the full project. You can get in touch with them via their Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/BrightonOpenAirTheatre
Revised plans are now being drawn up for dedicated cycle lanes on both sides of Dyke Road, between the Tesco junction, and the Old Shoreham Road junction.
Following pressure by the Friends group and others, earlier plans to replace the pelican crossings with zebras were dropped. Similarly, earlier plans to remove the guard rails from outside Windlesham School and the top of Crocodile Walk were also ditched.
Consultations at the Friends group September meeting also led to the revised plans being further revised to remove any ‘shared areas’ whereby cyclists would be permitted to mount the pavements around bus stops and crossings.
So, all in all, we feel very pleased that the Transport Planners were happy to listen to our views (in which we hope we represented the majority of park users) and to adjust their intentions accordingly.
Many thanks to Ryan Greaves and his colleague from Sussex Wildlife Trust, who provided the equipment and knowledge…
that enabled a swarm of youngsters to swish around with nets on the ex-bowling green…
and look through a magnifying glass at the mini-beasts they had caught.
And while they awaited their turn, Gail Greaves helped them to colour a lovely animal mask!
Thank to Park Ranger Emma Keane, who provided the basic framework, a very smart ‘bug hotel’ has been built by willing volunteers, who collected pine cones, sticks, dried grass and other materials and placed them between the slats of the palettes. The whole structure has been wrapped in chicken wire in the hope that this will keep it safe. It will provide a wonderful habitat in which insects of all kinds can over-winter.
Plans are taking shape for the ‘bring and share’ community picnic, from midday onwards on 20 July, taking place next to the Community Garden by the tennis courts.
As well as the serious business of eating and drinking, there will be games, and fun activities for all ages, with a focus on wildlife. We will be going on a bug hunt to find out what insects live in the park, and building a ‘bug hotel’ in which they can hibernate.
So if you would like to know more – or are able to help in any way – please email Jannet on jannetking [at sign] sfep.net or phone on 509653.
