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BARN HILL CONSERVATION GROUP
(Registered Charity No.1085476)
Annual report: 1 April 2009 – 31 March 2010  

The Group has had another successful year, with an (almost) unbroken run of work sessions in the Walled Garden and Fryent Country Park, despite the wet summer and severe winter weather.  

The Walled Garden was awarded a Green Pennant for the 5th consecutive year. Six children’s events were held together with the regular couple of Open Days. A successful Moth & Bat Night was held in August. RGWG was entered in the Community Garden category for London in Bloom, and the judges were impressed by our outreach activities.

We made good use of the long winter to clear out storage areas, especially the barn, and to restore a large hand cart and other historically interesting items. The results can be seen in an enlarged display area in the barn, and a new outside display area against the workshop wall. We are continuing to attract new visitors to the Garden, many of whom are amazed to find a haven of quiet so near to the noisy bustle of Kingsbury Road. Our hardworking volunteers put in some 714 workdays this year.  

The Country Park has been spared any serious threat this year, so we have been able to concentrate on management work. We planted 276 trees this year, including 87 alder buckthorns (to attract more brimstone butterflies) and 20 mulberries. A further 140 alder buckthorns were distributed to local organisations. Many hedgerows are overrun by blackthorn, and we have started to cut down whole trees, rather than just doing light trimming as in the past. We are concentrating on places where trees such as oak and maple will benefit from more space to develop as standards. Acid grassland is a scarce habitat in Brent, so we are clearing bramble and scrub from such areas to encourage it to spread. Debbie Pledge has started moth trapping in her garden on the edge of the Park and has already added several new species to the existing list. A group of volunteers from the Pentland company put in a hard day’s work in the Lombardy poplar avenue. Our own workers put in 199 workdays over the year.  

We have been active outside the Park and Garden this year. We had a marquee at the Brent Countryside Day in September, with pole lathe demonstrations outside. In December, several of us attended the launch of Brent’s Climate Change Strategy, and our stall attracted some interest. Debbie Pledge represented the Group at the National Biodiversity Conference in November.  

Many thanks to all those who gave up their time to support the Group’s activities over the past year.  

John Barrington (Chairman)