DOWNE @ 11 ACRES – CONQUERING THE PASSAGE OF TIME

Since our last update there’s been lots happening to let you know about!

In the last copy we gave you an update on some of the work that’s been happening through the Autumn. As we move into the New Year and dream of sunshine and spring, we turn now to what still needs to be done and thought it would be good to share with you some of the jobs we’re looking to complete in time for this year’s camping season beginning when the warmer weather should arrive.

You’ll see there’s lots to do and we’ll try to tackle it all. But many hands make light work and there’s lots of opportunity for you all and your groups to contribute too, we’d be happy for the help to get it all done quicker.

DEER

It is fabulous to see the deer on the site, the local herd migrate throughout the valley, and we regularly see Roe deer, Fallow Deer and Muntjac grazing in the field or wandering through the woodland. You may know that the Woodland Trust own and manage the section of the woods to our north. They recently conducted some infra-red surveys, and we’re told they indicated the densest population of deer on any Woodland Trust site!

The deer, whilst beautiful, do present us with some fairly obvious challenges, most obviously maintaining the perimeter fences. Which by all accounts is a fools errand!

We are building a strategy that will allow the deer to pass through the site without destroying our fences and establishing clear boundaries for safeguarding. To do this we are looking to erect some new fences with gaps at key points for the deer and possibly additional new fences around the field.

WOODLAND MANAGEMENT

We are so lucky that our district bought this site with the help of Greenwich Rotary club.

The ancient woodland that occupies the slopes of the site is predominantly Beech, Ash and Yew. We recently gained consent from the Forestry Commission to fell trees effected by Ash Dieback, and to thin out the Yews.

We have tree surgeons and an ecologist on board and started work in January on removing the worst effected Ash trees. It is quite widespread, and the work will leave some parts of the wood far more exposed than we’re used to. This will have the positive effect of opening up the woodland floor to sunlight and a whole new array of plants and growth for the future.

The permission to thin out the Yews may not quite provide the canopy opening opportunity the Ash does but will help to some extent and will keep the woodland healthy and allow the remaining Yews to thrive.

If there are any groups planning to camp this year that would like to take part in the tree work as a campsite service or an element of one of your badge programme we’d be pleased to set up an opportunity for you.

WOODLAND ACCESS

In years gone by our predecessors have created steps in the hillside to gain safer access to the woodlands, that was a while ago and many of the steps have rotted away, leaving the natural slope to negotiate. There are several sets of steps, far more than are needed.

We can clear away those no longer in service and in time create new steps to selected routes with handrails, this could be a great project for a work weekend or a family camp!

CAR PARK

This winter the car park seems to be worse than ever…we can’t keep ignoring this and to do it properly, once and for all, we need to find some tokens to spend on materials. In the meantime, we are looking for a short-term solution so we can maximise use of the car park and cut the need to take vehicles onto the field and eliminate the damage that’s doing to the ground.

This is our front door, first impressions of the site count and being greeted by a quagmire rightly puts some of us off using the site and deters some outside bookings that help us pay for the upkeep of the site.

The short term solution will likely involve some regrading and spreading fabric and stone over the area, which again is something we can do without having to pay for contractors and labour, and we can do it quicker with more hands, and get some of the other jobs done too!

BROWNSEA HUT

Is currently little more than a shell in need of a rethink and overhaul, which will go on the to do list for a project in the future. In the meantime, we want to get it back into proper use as the hub of the campsite with a bright new interior and working kitchen for use by youth groups of all ages and types.

But to do so we need to deal with the elephant in the room, or more specifically the ceilings on each of the rooms. It’ll take a specialist contractor to remove the existing ceilings that extend outside, but once that’s done, we will need to get a new ceiling, lighting and get the place decorated to a crisp finish, PRETTY QUICKLY!

SHOWER BLOCK

We’ve already kicked off works in the shower block, with repairs to locks replacing the door and repairing the cubicle locks. We will start on the tiling repairs now and finish them with a thorough clean. The walls and woodwork have been cleaned down ready for some extensive filling and then decorating.

This is the kind of work that many people can contribute to and have the skills too.

OPPORTUNITIES

As we said last month, volunteers are welcome, we have a presence there most weekends to get through everything in time for Camping being available from the Easter Holidays.

If you’d like to structure a workday for parents from your group We’re looking to use every second weekend in Jan, Feb Mar and Apr for working weekends.

Feel free to plan to use one of these dates and let Andy (andystanley.ml@gmail.com) know numbers, so we can work out and have resources available for some targeted activities. If you’d like to do a different weekend, then there’s every chance we can accommodate that too.

There’s a lot to do, and it would be good to get it done whilst we have momentum where we can.

With your help it will take less time and commitment from our volunteer team and get done a great deal sooner.

ROME WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY