New equipment bought with Community Assembly money from 2021.
We have four new little microscopes, which are easy to use and great for looking at minibeasts and flowers. We also have 2 bat detectors, which we will be using next year to look for bats. Our new laptop is going to be really useful for finding graves, rather than trying to track them down in the alphabetical lists in the books.
1,000 litre water containers are being installed at the front of the building to catch rainwater. This will make watering much easier. We also have a 110 litre water barrow to transport the water around the site.
We have invested also in some new tools, including very sharp Japanese pruning saws, so come along and try them out.
Friends of East Ham Nature Reserve
This is a new group for people who are interested in finding out about the nature reserve, but not necessarily joining our work groups. There will be a newsletter each month with information about what is going on, such as plans for the management of the nature reserve. There will also be notes about plants and animals.
Friends will be welcome to join a walk and talk at 2pm on the last Saturday of each month. The talks will mainly be about plants, animals and local history, but could include other topics. There will be tea/coffee and biscuits, maybe even cake, after the walk!
Contact Penny [email protected] to join the group, or for more information.
The group will run as part of Newham Green Gym, so it will be covered by our insurance.
New gate
There is a lovely new gate in Norman Road with cut-outs of animals and a flower for the latch. Also wonderful cut-outs on the grills covering the windows. With the artwork on the wall as well it makes the place look so much more inviting.
New seats
We now have six new seats around the site. They are proper metal benches with backs and arms and they are very comfortable. It should make it easier for people who are less able to walk to visit the site, now that they can sit down for a rest part of the way round. Also great places to sit quietly and appreciate being out in nature.
Finding graves
On the 18th May we managed to find the grave of Charles Henry Chipperfield who died on 19th May 1938 at the age of 1 year 4 months. It was an emotional moment for Claire who came looking for him after researching her family history and joined us in the search. We found him in ‘The Wilderness’ where the graves are all covered in ivy. He had no headstone, just a kerb, which meant it was quite a a challenge and took three weeks and a lot of detective work to find him. Claire really enjoyed yomping through and clearing the ivy and working out the grave numbers, which is very frustrating at times. She has now joined our group and is coming every Wednesday.
If you would like help in finding your family graves, please don’t ask the church. Contact Penny [email protected] We have lists of most of the graves and can usually locate them. The lists are not complete and where there are no grave markers they are very difficult to find, but we like a challenge and are always willing to try.
The old nature trail is being reinstated!
We have had an artist on site painting animals on the wall of the building and he has made a new notice board for the front. There are beautiful oak posts to mark the trail, which will be put in soon. There will also be blackboards so we can update what to look out for near the entrance and around the site.
The whole site is looking cared for with resurfaced paths, although some are a bit soft until we have some rain to make them go hard. Two men from Parks have been clearing areas of the site and have installed planters near the entrance. It means the volunteers are free to do interesting tasks instead of spending the whole summer just keeping paths open.