Standish Guerilla Gardeners

OK - I own up it was me on the BBC so a while but it wasn’t me who puled the plug on the audio!!

One interesting thing is that they approached me, so for anyone who is thinking of doing a bit just do it as Nike would say!

Sooner rather than later someone will take note and appreciate your efforts it just seems that for some bizzare reason I have more people than I ever imagined taking note and appreciating it.

Anyway on a good news front I am being given my own wheelie bin so I can litter pick along the full mile stretch - donated by Wigan Council.  To be fair to Wigan Council they do have there hands tied somewhat with this path simply because of the fact that it isn’t a recongnised and legal footpath so can’t really do anything.  So the donation of a wheelie bin is wicked - rest assured it’s a bigger deal than most would imagine and better than a wheel barrow for picking litter.

And some more good news  I have seedlins coming up already - which is normal for wild flower seeds, they all seems to have taken quite nicely so hopefully next year there will be a bountiful amount of wildflowers.

And finally - the path has been battered with rain since it was laid but I can report that it has remained passable and relatively puddle free - more importantly it drains really really well.

BTW those who want to see the complete story that was aired on North West Tonight you can watch it again at - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7605282.stm 

TTFN

Dave

28th August 2008 can now go down in history as the day the mile long Standish Line was resurfaced from top to bottom.

With the kind assistance of many, the pathway is now ready to be used by the communities of Standish and Shevington Moor a like.

Some may say I was the inspiration for this project to be completed - but to be fair I was only the initial catalyst.  Many had dreams of making this happen for many many years, all I did was dedicate manpower and a sure foot in the right direction to make my own personal community project dream come true.

Now with the path resurfaced in sandstone from top to toe and 1 kilo of wild flower seeds already sprouting the Standish Line can be enjoyed by many thousands of people over the coming years.

But…

In my mind this is just the start, we can all be Guerilla Gardeners, we can propagate a shrub, buy a new plant or scatter a few seeds to help make the Line not only a practical path but a beautiful path!  One which could become an oasis of flora and fauna a like.  Indeed we can all pick up a little litter as we meander our way.

In the past 12 months I have seen an increased incidence of butterflies, bees, frogs and indeed wildflower all down to encouraging the habitiat to grow.

So why not do your bit now - plant a tree, shrub or even spread some seeds.  And if you can’t do that why not give a donation large or small to the Standish Community Forum one things for sure they do a great job and obviously help make a difference.  The Community Forum are always looking for volunteers and forum members - it’s your forum so why not use it!  Meetings are held at Standish Community Centre every month.

And on a final note if anyone does want to join me in keeping things tidy and encouraging wild life - then drop me a line, you can do it on your own but if you would like a bit of direction get in touch.

Sometimes when people set out on these type of tasks you expect that mother nature will at least play fair - but sometimes she doesn’t.

When the Romans came to England if during there first summer they’d have experienced the weather we have had over the last few months they would have issued one order - GO HOME!!!

I visited the bottom of the track today to see a few desconsolate blokes sat having lunch in what could only be described as a mud bath. The rain we have had over night has flooded all that they did yesterday and made the job a whole bunch harder. The decision has was taken though to work with the water problem and lay a 5ft track through the middle, that way the water would be able to run off and the centre section remain dry.

So with a broken bike now with a buttled wheel due to sinking in a rather deep muddy puddle (I know I don’t have much luck with bikes!!) I returned to show everyone the pictures of a rather sorry, wet and muddy Standish Line.

So only 5 or 6 hours from when I last posted the digger was parked up and I went out to see what they had managed to do - erm quite a lot!!

So tomorrow 200 tones of Sandstone arrive and away we go - more pictures and a perfect path over the next few days!!

Watch this space.

Ok so the work begins today - 20/08/08

These pictures show the extent of the mile long stretch, to be fair I never thought I’d get them taken at all. As the path is so bad it’s essential to use a mountain bike to get down, go to the garage my bike has a flat tyre, so I hop on my daughters smaller mountain bike, get half way down the line and the chain snaps. Suffice to say we Guerilla Gardeners have to fight on so I did and these are the pictures.

To any locals looking at the pictures, I have taken some reverse shots on my way from Almond Brook to Somerfield just to show the extent of the land in this area, and in some ways to show what it looked like before some more dastardly housing developers move in to cut the green belt down some more.

Oh and for those real nature buffs, if you look at the ponds half way up this is a little nature reserve for Great Crested Newts picture on the right, and to quote the BBC -

Great crested newts are Britain’s largest newt species. Although now afforded some legal protection in the UK, populations have declined over recent years as a result of the destruction and fragmentation of their habitat.

I reckon another reason why the Standish Line should have a little more protection - any chance of making it a proper footpath with a nice sign and some protection ???

The last few pictures show the path that I did on the last part of the project but as you get to the very end of the images you will see the place where the stone ran out, with a bit of luck this area will be widened and for sure new stone.

So there you go - I’ll do another tour as work progresses!!!!

20th August 2008 is the day that the Standish Mineral Line Guerilla Gardening/Community Action project comes of age.

Today will see the start of what will be a mile long transformation of the entire path from Almond Brook Hotel to Somerfield, making a new footpath without puddles and mud!!!

With 200 tonnes of crush and run sandstone being delivered over the next few days, a good handful of mechanical diggers and dumpers, not to mention a band of merry men, a new footpath with be laid on the entire length of the Standish Line.

This next stage in the phoenix like rise of the Standish Line has been brought about by the collaboration of -

• me the Guerilla Gardener
• the Community Forum
• A gentleman that relishes the opportunity to make a difference but would prefer to remain anonymous
• Two great councillors who have given at very least their moral support

From humble Guerilla Gardener beginnings with secateurs, spade and a rake not to mention a passion to make something better, the project has now become a consolidated community action to regenerate not only a piece of heritage, but breath life into a path that we hope will become a vital pedestrian artery through the village.

Over the next few days I hope to show pictures of progress as the new track is laid and over the next few months show the planting on 2000 Quick thorn bushes, the sowing of 1 kilo of wildflower seeds and of course the growth and development of the new Standish Line.

To think the next time Google maps updates it’s imagery instead of seeing a black scar that is being slowly eaten up by decay, we will see a cream sandstone path cutting right through the heart of Standish - then we will be able to point to the map and say “look you can see Standish and the Line”

Just goes to show - if you have enough passion and determination to do something anyone can make a difference. The trick is do it, just because you can and expect nothing else other than the warm glow of knowing at very least have made a small but positive mark on the environment. Pick one piece of litter up, plant one small shrub, think before dropping dog poo and you yourself can say for that split second or so - ‘I made a difference’ - try it it’s easy!

What a strange summer!

We’ve had rain, sun, rain, rain and sun (not in that order but it’s been an odd one)

Anyway, not a lot goes on in the summer because everything is growing and stuff, but if you’ve taken a walk down the line recently you may have noticed some super wildflowers - cornflower, corn poppy, corn cockle and wild marigold have been popping up all summer long. I’m not putting pictures up you’ll have to come have a look for yourself!

I have to say on my patrols up and down I was expecting a few more than there has been, but considering the summer we’ve had I reckon they’ve done well.

Some of the new trees have suffered though - ironically those that where planted with the digger have come off worse, but they were bigger than the others, so much more chance of damage I suppose. But out of 30 or so trees planted we have about 15 living and hopefully they’ll really go from strength to strength over the next few years.

In the Autumn I have about 15 or so small trees to plant cedar and stuff which I’ll do once I have done a complete brush cutting mission up and down. I hope that we get a few more wild flower seed over the next few months as I would like to develop the area around the trees into more of a wild flower area instead of grasses.

Come back soon to read about some potentially great news about The Standish Line.

And while I remember WN6 Creative who kindly provide this site for free have also added the following address to the site - www.standishline.co.uk so if you forget the usual address then simple type the new one and of course type ’standish line’ into Google and we are at the top of the first page.

Catch ya soon

D

Ok so Guerilla Gardening is now fashionable - at last and thanks to everyone’s efforts including Richard at Guerilla Gardening.

Recently with the launch of Richards book On Guerilla Gardening there has been a flurry of press attention on the subject.  Ok so my plot got covered in the Standish Life Magazine and the Wigan Courier - but getting a line in the Daily Mirror and now a great article in the Wigan Evening Post just proves that sooner rather than later the hard work generates enough interest to hopefully get even more people digging and planting.

On a plant type note the 20-30 trees we planted have been coming in to leaf - phew.  It looks like and it’s still a little early that we may have lost only two or three.  All we need now is a flurry of wild flowers and it will look amazing.

Guess what you can’t do right for doing wrong - the majority of people love it but well….and I won’t use her name… read this…

Message: hello Dave,
I e-mailed neil whittingham last night to express my
concern about the material used on the mineral line.It is totally
unsuitable, unsafe for all users as the material is full of glass and
broken tile. The pieces are large enough to cause serious injury to
all users whether human or animal.
I asked Neil to provide me with answers to several questions,
which he has not yet done. The main question from myself is do you
have public liability insurance should injuries be sustained and also
have you aquired permission to implement this work from the
landowner?
I think it would have been better if you had contacted other
user groups to discuss improvements rather than cover the path with
this totally unsuitable, dangerous material.
I await your response as to your liability.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  my reply

thanks for your kind words of encouragement and obvious community spirited nature.

If you had taken time to read my extensive project diary (www.standishline.co.uk) you will understand that I have taken many hours to protect fellow users and indeed animals from the copious amounts of broken bottles, razor wire and indeed the odd USED drugs needle - all of which I’m sure you’ll agree pose a greater hazard to other users and indeed my children.

Talking of children, being a father I appreciate the efforts of the guys who donated the material and indeed laid it - I personally feel as a father and a pet owner the material is as suitable a surface as any, indeed walking down any street or track you will find greater hazards than the odd shard of tile or worn down glass.

Further more may I point out that this voluntary project was carried out under my own steam after extensive conversations with the councillors who didn’t have any idea what they could do about it other than let it go to rack and ruin.  So my time and energy have been put in to this project and have been recognised as a valiant effort by the community forum and many members of the general public who have read about the work and seen my blog indeed the global Guerrilla Gardener Community have commended me on my work.

So as I have stated in my blog, I did not put the aggregate down I only suggested that some material should be found which was donated to the Standish Community at large it was laid by a third party.

And as a member of the general public have no liability for any injury just in the same way as I did have any liability for the state it was in prior. Litigation isn’t my bag it is the rot of the nation and breeds a class of people only in it for themselves.

Having worked in the media for some time I have come across some diverse points of view, many of which, as a philosophical person have empathy with, personally I have never read or heard such a mean spirited response to what effectively was an attempt to improve the surrounds and ecology of Standish.  I am afraid to say if there was more people prepared to just do something the country wouldn’t be in such a state.  This project has been known about for 18 months and I have worked on the project alone, it wasn’t until the last 3 months I gained proper assistance, I notice you hadn’t taken the time to email me in the past to point out that the historic cinders I had exposed contained bituminous chemical and all manner of solvents and mining residue including very sharp shards of flint.

Pauline I’m afraid to say your point of view stinks and isn’t one shared by what I know to be the majority of people in the community, what’s more as I had to work very hard to achieve this path I would like to hand the baton to you now to give up your spare time and energy into making a much better job.

I would be delighted to hear your reply - as I explained at the beginning of my email if you where happy to walk though 2 foot of mud, be snagged by brambles, avoid broken glass and enjoy the smell of dog poo hanging in bags from the trees, not to mention the hanging razor wire and needles then - I am sure the youths of Standish will in time make it so, because I’m sure nobody else will care less. In time my work will all be undone and nobody will care to look after it so it will return to it’s former mire for you to enjoy again.

Personally I find people with your opinions objectional and down right mean spirited.

But I know we reap what we sow in life and I have only tried to sow good along with a few other public spirited individuals, can I ask when did you last attend the community forum meetings, you seem very interested?

Once again thanks for your support!

Dave

ANYONE WANT TO COMMENT PLEASE FEEL FREE COMMENTS ARE NOW OPEN!

There you go - 14 months on the original mission (armed with a spade, rake, barrow and a few Uncle Joes Mint Balls - to keep it real) and my stretch is complete! You can now walk from A to B without getting muddy and in Summer the whole path should be filled with wild flowers!

Job done - litter pickers are on their way and I’m attending the Standish Commiunity Forum Annual Achievement Awards, because I’ve been nominated.

Looks like this Guerilla Gardener may be getting civilised - I don’t think

If you want to help in anyway, simple make sure litter is kept at bay, dispose of dog poo properly!!!! and well try simply planting something, if only you enjoy the fact that you can take a short cut to the shops then cool - just remember who and why I did it

1. Because I could
2. Because nobody else would

Simple as that a little effort goes a long way - enjoy.

No doubt I’ll be back on here sometime soon to give an update on the progress for the rest of the line another phew 2 as far in the other direction - in the meantime that’s me taking a little while out.