Kelsey Park is situated in Beckenham, in the London borough of Bromley
Today, the Friends of Kelsey Park have a membership of around 600 households and they provide the busy groups of volunteers, some of whom manage the Information Centre at weekends, others become involved in conservation work, particularly in the woodland areas. They help with the monthly “bird count” of native and migrating species each month. When it becomes necessary they liaise with the local wildlife rescue centres when injured birds or small animals are brought to their notice. They organise various activities in the park for children, the Easter Egg Hunt and the Bat Walks and for families and adults, the Dawn Chorus Walk and an occasional musical concert.7 GoodGymers have supported Friends of Kelsey Park with 7 tasks.
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Previous sessions
Sprucing up Kelsey Park
Sunday 7th December
Written by Bromley runner
A big welcome to Sabrina and Marina, first time GoodGymers for today's task at Kelsey Park! 👋
Thankfully the rain had just about finished by the time we arrived and stayed away for the morning, enabling us and the Friends group to clear some brambles along the path by the waterside in the beds between benches. We managed to get some roots, but it was too soggy to try for some deeply embedded ones, and others were buried in amongst fir-like shrubs with needle leaves that were prickly to go between, so we had to settle for cutting other brambles back as far as we could.
We filled several wheelbarrows full, making a real difference to the beds that so many people walk by every day.
Great work, team!
Weaving branches, busting brambles
Sunday 9th November
Written by Bromley runner
Sunday's task with the Friends of Kelsey Park was to tend to a woven fence of branches by the tennis courts. The plants whose stems are woven into the fence had grown tall and were ready to be harvested and top up the fence.
While we were there, we worked on some highly established brambles to stop them smothering the plants used for fence.
I was joined at this task by Georgina - welcome to GoodGym!
Back battling brambles
Sunday 19th October
Written by Bromley runner
My first good deed in a long while was a relaxing Sunday morning with the Friends of Kelsey Park. The group planned to weed near the top of the park by Beckenham High Street, and armed with a fork and secateurs, I got to work removing brambles that had grown huge since we tackled them last year.
My quarry included a huge 5m length and a bulb lodged deep inside another plant that was the base of many bramble branches - result!
Next meet is on Sunday 9th November :)
For SAW we put in a TREE-mendous effort
Sunday 16th February
Written by Hounslow runner
Three Goodgymmers joined the friends of Kelsey park for a nice refreshing outdoor morning.
There were two tasks today 1. Clearing some bramble 2. Cutting up a fallen tree
We split into two teams and got stuck in!
The bramble clearing was completed and left in a nice pile for the park gardeners to collect.
The fallen tree looked a monumental task at first but after a bit of brute force and team work the tree was soon broken cut up. -We then move the wood to a small clearing making a semi-artistic sculpture.
Then it was onwards to some well deserved coffee and late breakfast…
Ssshhh…… It’s a secret “Compost Pile”
Sunday 19th January
Written by Hounslow runner
Goodgym’s joined the Friends of Kelsey Park for their regular weekend session that takes place every 3 or 4 weeks.
The Park opened on 31st May 1913, and the local volunteer group the Friends of Kelsey Park have been putting in their time and muscle help with the conservation and maintenance of the park since 1996.
Today Goodgym assisted with two tasks - [ ] Moving chopped up tree stumps - [ ] Cutting back overgrown bushes & bramble
The tree stumps were wheeled across the park to be part of a new seating area.
The overgrown bushes and bramble were cut down and moved to a hidden spot to to make the start of a new compost pile.