Hi everyone, Katie here from the Wild Bunch. At our last Wild Bunch gathering we met at the tiny forest at Egford Park. It’s an area the size of a tennis court that has been closely planted with a huge variety of native tree and shrub species. The area has grown considerably in the three years since it was planted and provides homes for a variety of life: there were certainly a variety of birds singing in the area during our visit. Whilst few of us have the space for a tiny forest in our gardens, wildlife still benefits from any trees or shrubs that we can fit in, and a hedge with some native species in it, however small, can offer a great deal to our wildlife. Flowers for pollinators, fruit for a variety of creatures, nesting sites for birds and a route or nest site for hedgehogs – you might even see a slow worm.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a garden, but Frome is lucky to have several community gardens, which offer spaces for growing food and flowers, relaxation and community events and room for wildlife. After our visit to Egford Park, we walked to Broadway Community Gardens (accessed from Oakfield Road), a garden that I have been involved with for the past 18 months. This year, thanks to Frome Town Council, access to the space for buggies and wheelchair users is much better. Through the gates are our growing beds with flowers and vegetables and a variety of fruit bushes and trees. There’s also a large area of brambles, bindweed and nettles! Whilst some of this will be left for wildlife, there is plenty to clear, especially if we want to add a small community orchard. We have a hot bin compost for local food waste (there is a blue lidded bin by the composter for leaving your food waste in) and conventional garden compost bins. We collect rainwater from various roof surfaces and have spaces for sitting and relaxing. There are plans for a wildlife pond and we already have areas planted with wildflowers to attract a variety of pollinators. Hedgehogs, frogs, slow worms and a wide variety of birds and invertebrates have been seen at the gardens and, during the Frome bat count in August, 4 species of bat were recorded on site.
So please do visit our garden, either just to enjoy the space or better still to come to one of our gatherings to help with planting, weeding and harvesting on a Wednesday afternoon or Sunday morning! There is still a great deal to do.
The next Wild Bunch Gathering will be on hedgehogs on 17th October at 1.30 at the Town Hall. Book a free place at https://bit.ly/hedgehogs-oct24. Find out more about the Wild Bunch at https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/our-community/community/wild-bunch.
