Friends of Crabtree Fields

Tag: wildlife

  • Pergola repairs and spring wildlife at Crabtree Fields

    Wisteria in bloom.

    Contractors working for Camden Council completed repairs to the pergola at Crabtree Fields earlier this month, in time for the main bird nesting season and before the wisteria (pictured) came into bloom. The Friends group had pressed Camden’s parks department for the past few years to make the repairs after the volunteers had had to […]

  • Tree planting December 2021 at Crabtree Fields

    This December we planted around a hundred trees to restore the hedges at Crabtree Fields. Saplings of hawthorn, rowan, blackthorn, silver birch, hazel, and common oak were added to the park to increase greenery, improve biodiversity, provide a habitat for wildlife and enhance the appearance for the public park. The trees were provided free by […]

  • Autumn maintenance and planting at Crabtree Fields

    Now that the main nesting season is over we can start our programme of autumn maintenance and preparation for planting of trees at Crabtree Fields. The beech hedge has already been trimmed and the other hedges are due to be cut over the next few months. Camden’s contractor idverde is expected to trim the hedge […]

  • Autumn and winter maintenance and planting at Crabtree Fields

    The Friends group and Camden’s contractor idverde have completed the first stage of the autumn and winter pruning of hedges at Crabtree Fields in readiness for planting of new trees and shrubs. The autumn trim will make it easier to sweep the hard surface areas. The vines on the pergola have been cut back so […]

  • Ten beech trees planted in Crabtree Fields this autumn

    The Friends group have planted ten beech trees at Crabtree Fields public open space, to restore the hedge that surrounds the eastern border of the park. The beech saplings, which are about five years old, were all planted by volunteers in November. They were bought from a nursery in Kent and paid for by a […]

  • Repairs and maintenance at Crabtree Fields this autumn and winter

    The Friends group have asked Camden parks’ department to make a repair to the pergola at Crabtree Fields after a section of timber broke on Friday 11 October. The Friends group fenced off the area under the pergola and alerted Camden to carry out an urgent repair. The Friends have identified further repairs where sections […]

  • This is why park hedges should not be cut in the spring and summer months

    Farmers are not allowed to cut hedges between 1 March and 31 August to protect the habitat of nesting birds. The same guidance should be applied to public parks in our cities, yet all too often it is ignored. Using machinery such as hedge trimmers and leaf blowers can disrupt the habitat, disturbing nests. Birds […]

  • Oaks and hornbeams make a return in Whitfield Gardens and Crabtree Fields

    “By the time London was first colonised by people, it would have been covered by oak and hornbeam woodland,” says the London Wildlife Trust. Yet there are no oaks or hornbeams in Fitzrovia’s public open spaces… until this month. Now the Friends have planted saplings of English oak and hornbeam along with other native trees […]