Dawson Hill Nature Reserve

[fl0wer]

Dear ED friends & neighbours,

on your walks through from Mount Adon Park, a reminder to take in the beautiful sight and scent of Winter Heliotrope, currently blooming in abundance by the footpath. So welcome at this time of year and many thanks to whoever planted it originally.

http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af46/fl0wer7/IMG_0358_zpscbcb7004.jpg

Please join me in an effort to litter pick wherever possible as the rest of the reserve is looking fairly exposed. Wintertime when branches and wildflowers have died back, we can see where this cleanup work needs doing. I am reluctant to ask the Council to help as they might tidy up too much. It is better for the wildlife if humans are gentle.

Does anyone know who is still active in the original Trust whose details appear on the 2004 web page? Could you PM me, if you are up to date with the caretaking this site receives usually?

[DulwichFox]

I lived on Dunstans Rd. from 1980 - 1996 on the brow of the hill right opposite Dawson Heights.

At some time the council proposed to build a Council Tax Office on the site.

There was a guy 3-4 doors away from me (Cannot remember his name) who campaigned relentlessly

to protect the site. Local residents formed an action group and we stormed a meeting at Southwark

Town hall Havil street.

After months of campaigning the project was rejected. It was proved an impossible task.

Supposedly:-

When they built The 2 Battle Ships on the hill they had to pour Thousands of tons of concrete

on to the hill to stabilize it making building on the site impossible.

The Friends of Dawsons Heights (Hill) was formed.

Many of the Hill's trees were destroyed in the 1987 Storm.

I drove passed recently.. I was amazed how much Nature had reclaimed the Hill.

The view of the Battle Ships from my old ground floor flat completely obscured by new trees..

Proud to of been part of establishing Dawson Hill as a protected area..

DulwichFox

[fl0wer]

Yes, rightly so, and thankyou to all who joined in the effort.

Have written to the London Wildlife Trust and to Southwark Parks department about the quantity of litter up at the top of the hill inside the gate to Dawson Heights. I will let you know when they reply.

Each day when we walk we can pick up a few cans and bottles, but the waste in the hedgerow is too hazardous and it needs sorting out before the birds start making their territories, i.e. very soon, not once Spring is under way when humans would disturb them.

http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af46/fl0wer7/f7735bf0-4710-407a-b235-0ba59433bade_zpsc733e335.jpg

As we now know owls are hunting across ED, the value of this site as an unmown, unspoilt wild grassland reserve is doubly important for keeping its small bird & mammal population healthy.

I would like the council to clean this up pronto and have also written to fixmystreet.com.

[fl0wer]

In case anyone joins me in feeling nervous that the future of this site is in question,

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jan/27/david-cameron-green-regulations

[mynamehere]

I just heard Cameron on Radio 4 talk about ripping up regulation. To add to stories, in the early 2000's there was talk of "digging" into / under Dawson Heights on the Dunstan's side to build a school! It is endlessly exhausting that "government" has no firm moral compass that all victories to save green land exhaust volunteers and are in danger as soon as the volunteers grow old and look away

rus in urbe, phr.

[? The creation of an illusion of the countryside in a city; an urban building, garden, prospect, etc., which suggests the countryside. Also attrib.?]

Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌruːs ɪn ˈəːbeɪ/, /ˌruːs ɪn ˈʊəbeɪ/, U.S. /ˌrus ɪn ˈərbi/, /ˌrus ɪn ˈərbeɪ/

Etymology: < classical Latin rūs in urbe country in city (Martial 12. 57. 18) < rūs country (see rural adj.) + in in prep.2 + urbe, ablative of urbs city (see urban adj.).

The creation of an illusion of the countryside in a city; an urban building, garden, prospect, etc., which suggests the countryside. Also attrib.

1728 J. Oldmixon Bouhours' Arts Logick & Rhetorick iii. 284 He [sc. Tasso] never went out of the Woods in his Aminta: But we shall see presently 'twas Rus in Urbe.

1795 tr. C. P. Moritz Trav. Eng. 68 In Grosvenor-square..there is a little circular wood, intended, no doubt, to give one the idea of rus in urbe.

1841 Thackeray in Fraser's Mag. 24 393/2 A very handsome country place..a first-rate rus in urbe, as the great auctioneer called it when he hammered it down.

1873 A. J. Munby Diary 21 May in D. Hudson Munby (1972) 330 P. A. Taylor is going to sell this charming rus in urbe; ample widespreading old country house, with timbered lawns, and acres of garden.

1939 ?N. Blake? Smiler with Knife ii. 33 This..is a remarkably non-committal room. Not so much rus in urbe as surburbia in rure.

1968 Times 15 Oct. 7/1 It is a natural progression of the rus in urbe feeling of fashion this autumn.

2000 A. Sayle Barcelona Plates 132 Katherine though had not chosen the house for its rus in urbe charms but rather for its proximity to the Law Courts.

Derivatives

rus-in-ˈurbe-ish adj.

1759 T. Gray Let. 24 July in Corr. (1971) II. 631, I am now settled in my new territories commanding Bedford gardens, and all the fields as far as Highgate and Hampstead..so rus-in-urbe-ish, that I believe I shall stay here.

1793 E. D. Clarke Tour S. Eng. iii. 144 There is, to use an expression of Gray's, something so rus-in-urbe-ish in the whole of it [sc. the Crescent], that I would chuse a house in that edifice, when compared with one in the Circus.

1850 Southey's Common-place Bk. 3rd ser. 86/2 Gray's rus-in-urbe-ish situation near the Museum.

1936 London Topographical Rec. 17 63 The rus-in-urbe-ish character of Bloomsbury.

[fl0wer]

Although there are historical links, for which many thanks, mynamehere,

the main reason I would like to draw attention to the current state of Dawson Hill is as a biodiversity reserve.

Without left-alone bits of land, BOTH in city & countryside, a million small creatures and unusual plants get "tidied up" as humankind pursues its goals without thought of the Silent Spring ahead.

Farmers and village dwellers are as guilty of wrecking the chances for wildlife as developers; it is often the case that they will obstruct a proper survey of what lives there, for fear someone will find a rare plant or animal which might hold up the rush to profiteering.

The NERC list [q.v.] is the place to start with this. http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/biodiversity/protectandmanage/habsandspeciesimportance.aspx

Furthermore I would like ED residents to be aware that this land belongs to you, it is within your domain and deserves to become a place of delight and safe play for children once more. By ignoring the rubbish, some people on the Council edge closer to a claim that ED does not value this amenity; in some local memories it's nicknamed The Tip. Then it's a short stop to saying it has no financial value "to us", whereas it would be enormously lucrative if it was opened up for building sites.....not to us, any longer, but to someone with a funny handshake mebbe.

[malcolmchurch]

People interested in Dawson Hill might also like to look at this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN2JSYIjboQ

[elizocha]

Would he have been Storm Pohrun?

[elizocha]

Yes, Storm Poorun http://greenparty.org.uk/people/261.html

[jacqui t]

I actually lived in a house in Overhill Road which backed onto Dawsons Hill,I had my wedding reception at home,then I believe the houses were all knocked down,we had moved to Northcroft Estate opposite golf course,then I migrated to Australia 1969 am still here, but did visit the area on a trip back,i think there should be as many green areas kept for wildlife,better than concrete jungles.

[fl0wer]

an update, from Jon Best (Southwark Council's Biodiversity Officer)

as follows:

I can confirm that the litter has been cleared from the top of the site.

For information we will be creating some areas of wildflower planting on the hill. small meadows will be going up the sides of the new zig zag path and a large area that once had Japanese knotweed growing on it has been selected. If any local people would like to be involved in the sowing of the meadows please let me know and I will try to arrange.

For information the best people to contact regarding Dawson's Hill are Paul Highman the manager or, Robert Roach the Contracts and services Officer.

>

Paul Highman

Dulwich Area Contract and Services Manager

Francis Peek Centre

Dulwich Park

College Road

London SE21 7BQ

Tel :020 8693 0614

Mob :07944 558 312

Fax :020 8693 5737

Robert Roach

Contracts & Services Officer - Dulwich Area

Francis Peek Centre, Dulwich Park,

College Road, London

SE21 7BQ.

Tel: 020 8693 8635

Mob: 07950 763 151

Fax: 020 8693 5737

http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af46/fl0wer7/Screenshot2014-02-03at152603_zps8479531a.png

[fl0wer]

Just back from a walk around.

The top area was tidied up quite well, but I am sorry to say that plastic bottles and dead Christmas trees have appeared again here already,

and soiled nappies + great, disgusting pile of fly tipping lurk inside the fence on to Mount Adon Park.

They encroach upon the beautiful flowering patch I began this thread with. What mindset can someone have, to treat it thus?

Paper and plastic litter is still accumulating along the Dunstan's Rd verge. Would it take much effort really, to care a bit more for the green space here?

[Nigello]

Can litter accumulate in such a short space of time, or has the council not been as thorough as you, fl0wer? Perhaps the council was not aware of all the grot-spots.

As for people's attitudes to their surroundings, the best you can do is hope for the best, do it yourself and try to spread the word via forums like this.

[andrew-lynch]

There is also a Traditional Orchard BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) Priority Habitat located on the north of the site beside the Donkey Alley entrance. This is listed on Defra's Magic website: http://tinyurl.com/k2vt6tb The area is quite scrubbed up but there is massive potential for a restoration project, imaging restoring a traditional orchard.

[fl0wer]

Last summer the cherries grown alongside Dunstan Rd were being assiduously harvested by a local cook.

Crossing Donkey Alley is a fence-side path, a short cut through to Overhill Road, which is overgrown with brambles, & they are valuable as habitat too. After a couple of decades there will be young trees growing up through and "winning" over the blackberries.

I would be in favour of orchards and fruit trees being planted in back/front gardens rather than in nature reserves, unless they become part of hedgerows and varieties are chosen to be specially friendly to wildlife.

The fruit trees in a central region look a bit - well, shall we say, lived-in. Or dumped-under, as in muck from people's yards piled up beneath.

It is difficult to persuade random pickers to leave fruit like apples on the trees long enough to ripen. From a Protected Site viewpoint however, the designation of 'traditional orchard' counts quite highly in planning departments. Old orchards can really thrive with bird and insect life, so long as the sprays and obsessive mowers are banished.

This brings me to the topic of using the site for teaching purposes. Time for the Council to find ways to publicise what biodiversity is, to aim to include local children and their parents.

Since WWII hardly any room was allocated in junior school for natural history education. The result is ... a generation in need of rekindling.

I don't find hope is the salient thing here. I think the important part is getting humankind, at the right age when our youngsters wake up to the world around them, genuinely protective of green landscape anywhere close by.

Teachers will welcome some imaginative help with "Key Stages" in the National Curriculum, which is boosted with practical, outdoor learning.

Perhaps this marks a change of attitude. Places like cemeteries & parks are often passively viewed by townspeople, to be maintained through the rates.

Whereas wildlife-rich areas can be something a bit different, places where multiple layers of life forms get safety and can be carefully studied.

[andrew-lynch]

Oh yes, traditional orchards are fantastic spaces for nature, and sadly much in decline. As long as they are managed with traditional methods and dead wood is left on site. They are valuable not just for heritage but also provide habitat and food for birds, insects, mammals, fungi etc. And make great outdoor classrooms! They have a variety of micro habitats with different temperatures and niches. Open areas give heat for basking butterflies and habitat for crickets - great hunting ground for birds too.

I agree, brambles provide lots of good food and shelter, but in some cases they shade out the species-rich ground flora. Open areas are essential for providing sunny sheltered places for flowering plants and shrubs which produce the nectar and pollen which attract invertebrates.

As a BAP habitat traditional orchards are the most threatened and require immediate conservation action. It is important to protect the most valuable habitat, something which is rare and unique to Dawsons Hill. Apple and cherry trees live between 80 and 120 years. Pear trees can live for up to 300 years, so this is well worth investigating. A restoration project is not something the council has the resources to get behind, in fact the 2010 Management Plan for Dawsons Hill makes no mention of the traditional orchard, possibly it was not recognised as it has fallen into secondary woodland and scrub, but a friends of group could make a real difference with workdays and guidance from The London Orchard Project etc. Making space for nature and visitors.

[fl0wer]

Morning all, have heard back from James Barber who says that some ?1,000 of council money was allocated for more trees and he is interested in helping us further with this site.

He suggests a facebook page for the moment, & in time people could formalise a Friends Group.

I think this would be excellent, because it would offer a window onto the Dawson Hill reserve which anyone could access eg from a classroom.

Am not doing facebook myself but can offer digital pics and if you PM me I can put enthusiasts in touch with each other. Correspondence I've had with each person so far has been about contacting council personnel.

What kind of publicity would you be comfortable with? Is anyone keen to update a facebook 'diary' on a regular basis? Over a few seasons these can provide a colourful record & encouragement to others to join in.

If you like, we could invite the manager Paul Highman to temporarily be the central point of reference, with whom we arrange a day for a meeting and walk together round the site. SOON. Even though it is wintry this seems the right moment to assess what work does and doesn't need doing, and where volunteers could offer particular skills.

[fitch]

We have been planting native British trees up there over the last fifteen years or so, in a guerilla-ish sort of way, including fruit trees on the lower right side, viewed from Dunstans Road. In fact it's a fair way to becoming a mini arboretum.

As I suppose we should expect, some have been ripped out or vandalised, but there is now a very wide variety In fact there are probably examples of most British trees, including a disease resistant Elm, some Wild Service trees, and a very rare native, a True Service tree. There is no Alder as far as we can see, although we have planted two over the years, but both died. Maybe it's too dry for them, though the willows seem okay.

Two or three years ago there was some nutter up there chopping some of the cherry trees with a machete. I think the police nabbed him, but since that time those trees seem to have sprouted loads of suckers which are a devil to get rid of without harming the parent tree. Anyone got any ideas?

We have had talks with Paul Highman and Jon Best, and chatted about their plans for wild flower meadows, which sound great, and I hope they succeed, except that the smaller of the two is planned for where the fruit trees are planted. Maybe they can coexist.

They also say that the area up there is a registered park, and is protected against anyone developing on the site.

Because it has to be one of the best views of London, they even mentioned putting up one of those 'what you can see from here' diagram things, but realised that the skyline is changing so fast it would need to be updated every month or so!

Anyone interested in the trees there, let us know.

[fl0wer]

So relieved to read this fitch. Well done for the rewilding efforts over the years.

The cherry tree suckers might stop coming to the surface if you cover the treeroots more deeply. Perhaps they regrow where a mower/strimmer has scraped at the main roots in the past.

Having said that, as you probably know already, nursery-garden fruit-trees /ornamentals are often grafted onto a different rootstock to give them more vigor. The suckers won't make more trees which resemble your cherry, their top growth will be from this [wilder] species.

In wild situations blackthorn always increases as its roots extend widthways - ideal to anchor soil and create hedging in former times. Instead of barbed wire, boundary thorn thickets = great for small birds and mammals. Worth considering this to help reduce streetside vandalism here?

Fixmystreet got back in touch with me for a follow-up comment, as they usually do after 1 month. Walked around this week.

Heartfelt thanks, Council for attending to the litter, and to anyone else who has been helping. An unpleasant job but how wonderful if it helps bring the beautiful hillside nature reserve back into everyday appreciation.

FUTURE VIGILANCE.

Who actually does the flytipping? A guess that unprofessional landlords/maintenance staff in adjacent apartment blocks are responsible. Do they know Southwark's policy of collecting bulk waste furniture free of charge? Do they let their tenants know?

For concerned residents & groundsmen, ongoing alertness to this problem will reap rewards.

As soon as one person dumps waste it attracts more, as every wildlife trust officer in the city discovers. It's time to publicise again this simple care for green spaces, teaching children, & if we see petty offending. Take pics if someone is unloading household waste, - especially vehicle registration plate.

[Penguin68]

Who actually does the flytipping? A guess that unprofessional landlords/maintenance staff in adjacent apartment blocks are responsible

Whist fly-tipping may be local, it is possibly more likely to come from other boroughs which do not have the same helpful attitude to bulky item wase disposal that Southwark has.

Fly tippers tend, in my experience, to travel some distance from their own patches to fly tip. And re-use sites which have worked before for them.

[Nigello]

The council will collect fly-tipped items, so ring the relevant department on 020 7525 5000 as soon as you see anything that's been dumped. In my experience, the council takes it seriously, acting quickly to remove offending items.

As for the Heights, I'm going to look around for the service tree, which I've never heard of before. If I see any cans or bottles I'll pick them up and put them in a bin: I recommend it to everyone!

[fitch]

Nigello,

The True Service tree is on the left hand end of the site, viewed from Dunstans Road. It is below where Donkey Alley comes out, next to those Field Maples on the right as you start to walk down. It has a white irrigation pipe, and is about 5' tall at the minute.

The foliage is rather similar to a Rowan, with bigger leaves, and when it is more mature should have fruit that resemble small pears.

Like the other Service Trees, and the Rowan, it is a member of the Sorbus family, and was found quite recently growing on the crags of the Avon Gorge. I believe that there was, or maybe still is, a very old one in the Forest of Dean. There must be others, but I don't know about them. Apparently they are more common in Ireland - maybe they like the milder climate.

Until a few years ago, it was thought to be an imported tree, bit like the Beech, but now the wisdom is that it is a true native.

[fluffy]

The apartment blocks have onsite skips for residents and groundsperson use. So presume flytipping is coming from other more unscrupulous avenues.

[fl0wer]

fluffy you are probably referring to rubbish facilities up at Dawson Heights?

I've been looking at several other "mansion" blocks of flats, these are dotted around, along Dunstan's Rd and Upland. One or two look like they are getting very run-down.

[fl0wer]

More fly tipped waste at the footpath's lowest exit into Dunstan Rd.

Have just reported it to the Council.

I wish we could catch the offender.

It's the 4th time this spot got chosen, and the type of litter is always the same - junk left behind in temporary accommodation, clothes and broken furniture scrap.