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Putting Martineau on the Map
Martineau Gardens is to be featured on BBC Radio 4's Gardeners’ Question Time (GQT), on Friday 5 March at 3pm. Stewart Holmes and some of the volunteers
did a terrific interview about the benefits of therapeutic horticulture.
Also, a group of us went to the GQT recording: listen out for questions from Caroline and Jean Fletcher.
The Gardens are hosting a series of one-day environmental courses this year - see the the right hand side of this page for dates
Perhaps you might like to take a course yourself? Just think, by the end of the summer you could be in your garden sitting under your new willow arbour,
smoking your fish and eggs whilst cooking pizza on your hand-made cob-oven. To find out more about the courses or to make a booking, log onto
www.lowimpact.org or telephone the Low Impact Living Initiative (LILI) on 01296 714184.
Stop press! The Herbal Medicine course (26 June) will now take place at Martineau Gardens (not Centre of the Earth).
Alys Fowler
We're delighted to announce that Alys Fowler is joining Mollie Martineau by becoming a patron of Martineau Gardens. Alys will be lending her support in many ways including attending some events and presenting the Gardens on our forthcoming promotional DVD.
Bird Bonanza This winter has been remarkable for bird watching at the Gardens, with no less than four new species being seen. Rare to Birmingham, the magnificent Red Kite was spotted recently by Stewart Holmes and several volunteers, perched on top of the ship's mast in the meadow. Two of the other species new to the Gardens, Peregrine Falcon and Cormorant, were reported by volunteer Dave Morley. The fourth newcomer was a Willow Tit, a rapidly declining species found by me in our bird-feeding area. Our Bird List now totals 58 species.
Brian Perry, Wildlife Recorder
Staff News
Our funding application to Be Birmingham, the Local Strategic Partnership has been successful. The grant that they have awarded has enabled us to employ a marketing professional (Sarah Hill-Daniel) who is working with us three days a week.Maruf Ahmed is our new administrator taking over from Barbara Staples who retired last year. Charlotte Anderson (our social work student) has completed her assignment and is returning to her studies at Birmingham University.
Watering cans, bonfires and mud pie birthday cake
A group of parents and children are meeting every Thursday morning from 11am - 1pm for unstructured outdoor play. If you would like to join us, please call Fran on 0798 414 3873. Warm clothes and waterproofs are essential. Please bring lunch to share and £1 contribution per family to Martineau Gardens. Children must be accompanied and remain the responsibility of their own carer throughout.
Volunteers Wanted!
Could you spare a half-day on a Saturday or Sunday to welcome visitors to the Gardens? You need excellent social skills and to be very reliable. There would always be two volunteers on site and between them they should be able to carry bags of logs, sell plants and produce, make visitors welcome, sell drinks and snacks and keep everything clean and tidy. Contact Caroline Hutton on 0121 440 7430.
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Produce for sale
- Kiwi fruit £1 for 4
- Leeks £3 per kg
- Parsnips £1 per kg
- Salad leaves £1 per 100g
- Jam & Chutney £2.50 per jar
- Care compost £2 per bag
- Potting compost £5 per bag
- Chopped logs £6 including £1 returnable deposit for bag
- Whole logs £2 each
- Fresh or composted chippings £2
Wanted
- A4 Brown envelopes
- Carrier bags
- Clean, de-labelled jam jars with lids
For further details about items for sale or wanted,
please contact Caroline on 0121 440 7430 |
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Dates for your diary in 2010
May 23rd Spring Event
September 26th Autumn Event
Thursday mornings, 11 - 1 Outdoor Stay and Play
Gardeners Question Time Fri 5 & Sun 7 March
Saturday 6 March, 10.30 - 12 Biodiversity Meeting
3 April Easter Egg Hunt Sat , 10am - 1pm
Courses
- April 10th Food smoking
- April 24th Permaculture gardening
- May 8th Keeping chickens
- May 15th Bee-keeping
- June 5th Urban / small space gardening
- June 10th Building an earth oven
- July 17th Cultivating edible mushrooms
- July 31st Clay rendering
- August 1st Lime rendering
- November 27th Living willow structures
All courses are based at the gardens, from 10am to 5pm
Details of all these courses can be found at www.lowimpact.org
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