Quetta Kaye
(Chair, Environment Committee) provided information for this report.
Are
you concerned about the environment — globally, nationally, locally? If so, you
should join the Forest Hill Society!
Think globally
On the
global front, the Society organised a public meeting in June when local author,
Dr David Cotton, alerted us to the dangers of climate change (as published in
his recent book, ‘Climate Change — A Wake Up Call’). Some of the questions that
he has been researching for the last eight years and posed in his presentation
were: What role has the human race played in climate changes? What will happen
if we continue burning fossil fuels? Will we be able to produce enough
renewable energy in the future?
...but
plant locally
Locally,
our work on improving the environment in Forest Hill’s town centre has
continued with the planted areas in the forecourt and on the platforms of
Forest Hill station, and with the tubs of trees and flowers for the Edible High
Road project. These planted areas attract lots of attention and many pleasing
comments from passersby and commuters, but they need volunteers to keep them
looking healthy, attractive and ‘doing their bit’ to freshen the air that we
breathe. Watering plants during the summer months is one of those tasks that
needs to be done regularly. Following the Climate Change meeting, Dr Cotton and
his wife, Gail, volunteered for mid-week watering of the station’s planters —
which they continue to do. You, too, could contribute by pouring water from
your bottle onto a different planter each time you pass by — or by contacting
the Forest Hill Society with an offer of help.
Despite
the vagaries of the British summer, the efforts of our very dedicated (but
small) group of volunteers have succeeded in bringing colour and greenery to
Forest Hill’s town centre. The station and street planters have looked really
good with different combinations of colourful plants, which included sunflowers
generously donated by Horniman Gardens. This idea seems to have worked well
and, with any luck, a good proportion of the plants should survive to bloom
again next year. The Edible High Road tubs, too, should last through the winter
and beyond. We will learn the decision of the Royal Horticultural Society’s
‘London In Bloom’ judges on 15th September. [We were awarded 'Outstanding' -Ed]
However,
it never fails to amaze me that — while many people stop to tell us how pleased
they are with the work we do, and how the flowers brighten their way to work
and shop — other people think the planters are really rubbish bins or the
plants are there for the taking rather than community enjoyment. In the spring
I actually saw someone pulling some bulbs out and popping them into a shopping
trolley!
For
those of you interested in volunteering, a work afternoon at Forest Hill
station is being organised for Saturday 19th September (meeting at 2.30pm) for
trimming the station’s lavender bushes, and generally cutting back and tidying
up the planted areas. Please look at the Forest Hill Society’s website for more
details on how you can help with this or, if you see people snipping away,
please don’t be shy, join in — if only for half an hour. If you have them,
trowels, secateurs, gardening or other protective gloves — along with a spare
plastic bag — would be very useful to bring along. Without volunteers, we are
not able to try and make Forest Hill a brighter place in which to live and
work, and to do our bit to protect our natural environment.
...and
brew locally!
After
distributing hop kits for Forest Hill Society’s Community Beer Project in the
spring, we decided that Platform 1 of the station was not a suitable place to
grow hops as originally thought; instead, a number of individuals have been
nurturing hop plants in their gardens. We hope to harvest everyone’s hops this
autumn and brew our very own ‘Forest Hill Pint’, and will soon know how
successful this venture has been.
