Category Archives: Environment

Queen’s Park in Bloom 2021

Environment, Learning, Local Community, Rose Garden, Well Being

Now is the time to brighten up your window boxes and front gardens as our judges will be  out and about in the last week of May/first week of June, looking for green fingered residents deserving of a certificate of commendation.

Winners will be able to claim their prize at the Queen’s Park Festival on 7th August.

If you want any help or advice with your garden why not pop by and meet your local community gardener Ulla Johnson, or join our weekly gardening sessions held in the Rose Garden every Thursday Morning 10- 12pm?  More info here.

HCGA                                                                         Queen’s Park Community Council

Online Houseplant Trouble Shooting 17th March 7 – 8pm

Community Gardening, Environment, Home, Local Community, Well Being

Please join our lovely friends at HCGA for a free online Houseplant Problems and How to Solve Them Workshop on Wednesday, 17 March from 7-8pm.  Participants need to BOOK A PLACE from here.

Bobby Ho has lots of top tips to help you get rid of any houseplant pests, diseases or disorders to help your houseplants survive and thrive and you can ask him a houseplant question too!

If you have a specific question, please email a photo of your houseplant problem in advance of the session and Bobby will try his best to help you to diagnose the problem and fix it; more info on this will be sent to you in your booking confirmation. Depending on time, we may only be able to answer one question per person.

Online Houseplant Care Workshop 10 March 7-8pm

Community Gardening, Environment, Learning, Well Being

Please join our lovely friends at HCGA for a free online Houseplant Care Workshop on Wednesday, 10 March from 7-8pm.  Participants need to BOOK A PLACE using this link.

HCGA recently ran a very informative Houseplant Workshop and are planning to repeat this for participants in our Westminster based projects.
Next week they will be running a trouble shooting houseplant session.

  

Bobby Ho will talk through the most important tips and tricks for caring for your houseplants and you can ask him a houseplant question too!

This online talk followed by a houseplant Q and A will provide lots of useful tips for beginner gardeners through to intermediate (and even some advanced areas).  Bring along one of your poorly houseplants to show us and get some help from Bobby Ho, a Hammersmith local and all-round plant nerd!

If you have a specific houseplant that you need Bobby’s help with, please email us a photo of the plant and Bobby will try his best to help you. Depending on the time, we may only be able to help you with one question each.

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch

Environment, Local Community, Queen's Park Gardens, Rose Garden, Well Being

Sadly, we don’t feel able to hold our usual counting session in the park this year but the HCGA and  QP Community Council have some ideas to help you join in.

They will be giving away bird feeding kits which contain everything you need to take part in the bird count, along with lots of resources to help you make your own bird feeder to feed the birds in your garden or neighbourhood.

 

End of Summer Plant Sale!

Allotments, Community Gardening, Environment, Local Community, Open Spaces, Well Being

Following the sell-out success of Ulla’s event in July QPCC & HCGA are delighted to announce their End-of-summer Queen’s Park Plant Sale (more details below image).

As part of the Play Streets Initiative, they will be holding a pop-up sale on Kilravock Street (Fifth Ave end) on Thursday 27 August from 3.30pm to 5pm. 

Here’s a sneak preview of some plants that will be available:

Herbs: lavender, rosemary, basil (purple, lemon), sage, lemon balm, fennel, lemon verbena

Fruit & Veg: beetroot, swiss chard, spinach, raspberry bush

Ornamental plants: sunflowers, cyclamen, day lilies, geraniums/pelargoniums, dianthus, range of indoor/house plants

Free gardening advice will be available.

We will be accepting cash – exact money only-and offering a card payment facility.

Please come along, bring your gardening queries and your reusable bags and pick up some plant bargains. 

Social distancing rules will be in operation. Please respect them..

Enjoy Our Park

Community Gardening, Environment, Local Community, Open Spaces, Playground, Queen's Park Gardens, Rose Garden, Triangular Bed, Well Being, Wildlife Area

Enjoy Our Local Park

We’re still not running official sessions, for safety reasons but you may notice some of our team quietly working away in the park.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the activities run by the QPCC this month. More events below:

The Secret Summer Festival –  Registration details are here.

The Queen’s Park Reality Show (14 – 16 yr olds) – 10th to 21st August 2020 from 11am to 3pm every weekday. Registration details are here.

  • Covid-19: Our park is still open at the moment but we’re not running official gardening until we feel it is safe for us to do so, as we work in public spaces.
  • If you use the Wildlife Area, please respect those who are seeking a quiet area, free from joggers and dogs.

Covid-19 May 2020

Community Gardening, Environment, Local Community, Queen's Park Gardens, Wildlife Area
  • Covid-19: Our park is still open at the moment but no group community gardening is currently taking place.
  • If you use the Wildlife Area, please respect those who are seeking a quiet area, free from joggers and dogs.

STAY ALERT

Read the Prime Minister’s address for the latest information and this document for clarification about what you can and can’t do (correct at time of blogging).

  • Stay at home as much as possible but if you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times.
  • Work from home if you can.
  • Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds as soon as you get home & regularly thereafter.
  • Limit contact with other people.
  • You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.
  • You can remain infectious for a period after you seem to have recovered.
  • You may not be immune if you have had the virus. We are waiting for conclusive research.

Self-isolate if you or anyone in your household has symptoms.

Cover your face if you’re in enclosed places like the supermarket.

There are still many unknowns about this virus. Seek out the provenance of advice you hear or read. Try to stick to first hand, substantiated facts.

In line with the most recent government directives regarding the Coronavirus, we will review our plans with regard to community gardening when the appropriate stage is reached. Please watch for updates.

Whilst our activities could be regarded as the allowed, we do not want to risk endangering the health of our wonderful, dedicated band of long-standing volunteers and we must protect the lives of the NHS carers upon whom we depend by promoting, encouraging and exercising social-distancing.

We are doing what we can to control the spread of COVID-19 and we hope you will join us.

Luckily, our park has remained open but do not attempt to use the outdoor gym.

Stay safe. Go out if you must, but be careful and mindful of others.

More information is available from Queen’s Park Community Council’s webpage.  The official government pages, including all the press conference transcripts, are here.

Staying Safe Outside your Home (click).

Staying Alert and Safe (click).

The Westminster City Council’s Residents newsletter (subscribe here) is another great way to stay up-to-date with the latest news, offers and events. These updates used to be weekly but are much more frequent at the moment. For more regular updates on their services and activities, follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

More options are here.

The work of the Queen’s Park Gardens Community and Sports Hub is dear to our hearts. They are currently assisting the most vulnerable and shielded residents in our community with hot food (from supplies provided by The Felix Project and meals created by Ida) and care package support. If you feel you can contribute to the great work they are doing, please visit their Just Giving page to make a small donation (they’ll accept a large one too!).

Just Living

Environment, Local Community, Queen's Park Gardens, Wildlife Area
  • Covid-19: Our park is still open at the moment but no group community gardening is taking place.
  • If you use the Wildlife Area, please respect those who are seeking a quiet area, free from joggers and dogs. Read our notes here.
  • Stay at home
  • Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (if you can’t work from home).
  • If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times.
  • Wash your hands for 20 seconds as soon as you get home.
  • Do not meet others, even friends or family.
  • You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.
  • You can remain infectious for a period after you seem to have recovered.
  • There are many unknowns about this virus. Seek out the provenance of advice and try to stick to substantiated facts.

Our park has so many treasures during April and May. The trees are enjoying their new leaves and blossoms. Wild flowers are blooming and birds are caring for their hungry chicks.

Be kind to your neighbours and community. We are all dealing with varied and difficult challenges.



Some familiar faces are doing remarkable things to keep everyone going.

The work of the Queen’s Park Gardens Community and Sports Hub is dear to our hearts. They are currently assisting the most vulnerable and shielded residents in our community with hot meals (from food provided by The Felix Project and meals created by Ida) and care package support. If you feel you can contribute to the great work they are doing, please visit their Just Giving page to make a small donation (they’ll accept a large one too!).

You might also like to investigate some of the uplifting personal tales being told by customers and staff on Ida’s Instagram account, a beloved restaurant in our community.

Bird Count Results

Environment, Open Spaces, Queen's Park Gardens, Rose Garden, Well Being, Wildlife Area
  • Covid-19: Our park is still open at the moment but no community gardening is taking place. If you use the Wildlife Area, please respect those who are seeking a quiet area, free from joggers and dogs. Read our notes here.

__________________________________________________________________

At the end of January, we joined in the nation’s Garden Birdwatch, counting the birds in our park with Andrew from the RSPB.

You can read more here.

The data has been crunched and once again, the sparrow has come out on top. Read more at the RSPB website.

How do these results compare to our count?

UK Bird QPG
1st House Sparrow 3rd
2nd Starling none
3rd Blue Tit Joint 5th
4th Woodpigeon 2nd
5th Blackbird 4th
6th Goldfinch Joint 6th
7th Great Tit Joint 5th
8th Robin Joint 5th
9th Long-tailed Tit none
10th Magpie Joint 6th
15th Feral Pigeon 1st
19th Wren Joint 6th
52nd ! Mistle Thrush Joint 6th