Friends of Preston Park

Brighton & Hove residents were once again invited this week to join elm tree expert, Peter Bourne while he explained the varieties of the city’s huge elm tree collection.

The city’s collection is significant because it can boast to be the largest collection of elms in the country. This is in part because it has not yet succumbed to the ravages of elm disease that has destroyed other areas of the country.

Peter not only entertained the crowd with his arboreal knowledge, but also his witty stories of how Sussex came to be called so, as well as the historical confusion of scientifically naming the different varieties of ‘ulmus’. O

n a serious note, Peter also explained how the beetle transfers the tiny spores on its body, that kill the elms. We would like to reiterate the warning that elm wood should not be brought into Brighton & Hove as infected wood on the back of a truck will be contaminating healthy trees as it travels through the city! It is that deadly! 

Peter Bourne will be giving further talks, including one for St Peter’s church in Preston Park.

The next FoPP walk will be the Bird Walk by Simeon Elliott on 14 July. To sign up, please go to our website to find the link to Eventbrite. The walk should be accessible for all, but please bear in mind it is a walk around the park and surfaces may be uneven. Donations will be requested at the end.

It has been proposed to close the Presto Park train station ticket office. If you would like to oppose this, please leave comments at this email address: ticketoffice.GTR@transportfocus.org.uk

Simeon Elliot has a huge wealth of knowledge in relation to birds and their habitats. As Brighton & Hove’s largest park, you would think Preston Park should have a huge array of bird species. So why not join us and find out what the park has to offer? Donations will be requested at the end of the walk.

The walk will take place on Friday 14 July at 9.00-10.30am. Click here to sign up on Eventbrite.

Renowned elm tree expert Peter Bourne is available once again to provide an insight into our huge elm collection.

The walk will take place on Sunday 9th July at 11.00 – 12.30 starting at the Chalet Café.

Sign up on our Eventbrite page here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/elm-tree-walk-with-peter-bourne-tickets-660450002737?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Visitors to the Rose Garden may have noticed that there is now a fence at the northern and southern ends of the garden. This is to try and protect the roses that have been crushed by people making paths through the rose beds and letting their dogs run through them.

The Friends of Preston Park (FoPP) have been crowdfunding for new roses to fill these gaps and people have generously donated money towards this. Therefore, we have been working with CityParks to find a solution so that the new roses would stand more of a chance of survival.

Reusing panelling from other areas of the park, we have found a cheaper solution to try and protect the garden. We are grateful to Cityparks and particularly manager, James Harding for help in making this happen. The fence will be painted in due course.

Whilst the fence doesn’t cut the roses off to the public, it is hoped that those who only want to walk through, will now be channelled to the paths. Those who still wish to smell the roses, can still do so. The new roses will be planted at a later stage and signage explaining the various rose types will also be placed near the fenced areas.

We hope everyone will enjoy the revamp and that dog walkers will respectfully continue to put their dogs on leads whilst walking though the Rose Garden area.

The Brighton & Hove Food Partnership are crowdfunding to replace and repair old wooden structures in the much-loved community garden in Preston Park. For further details including how to donate, visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/preston-park-community-garden-crowdfund

Please see details below if you are interested in joining The International Elm Society

Head Gardener, Andy Jeavons gave yet another of his spectacular walks in The Rockery this week.

Having worked for CityParks for the last twenty-three years, and having trained as an apprentice at Stanmer Park, yonks ago, Andy has a wealth of plant knowledge to share with anyone who wants to listen.

Leading the walk around The Rockery, Andy not only explained about the planting, but gave a simple history lesson on how The Rockery came into being including how those huge rocks got there! It was a beautiful evening and I think the fish and the lone terrapin enjoyed an extra feed.

Thank you to everyone who came and for your generous donations.

Our next walk will be the elm tree walk with Peter Bourne on 9 July. Anyone wishing to attend, please sign up on Eventbrite through the Friends of Preston Park website. 

Volunteers are needed for a one-off gardening session in the Rose Garden on Saturday, 15 July, 12.00 until 15.00.

Meet at The Rockery, gardener’s shed to collect tools. Please bring your own gloves and snacks.

Please contact us at info@friendsofprestonpark.org if you need further information. 

The Friends of Preston Park (FoPP) enjoyed another informative and fabulous history walk in the park this week given by former FoPP Chair, Sue Shepherd. Sue has great knowledge of the park and of what was in this area before, including the Romans! Sue has thoroughly researched the Preston area and has collated some very interesting and often at times, odd and funny facts; the underground square of land identified as a pond to test tanks in during World War II for one, and that during a baseball match between Canadian soldiers and Brits, the entire stock of chewing gum in the country was said to be bought up for the occasion! The Rockery once had possible Roman slave quarters and did you know, the large rocks that currently form the garden were rolled off a train from the railway at the top and a man was installed at the bottom to stop them crashing into traffic on the Preston Road! Poor man! 

Thank you to all those people who came to listen and to those who donated money towards FoPP funds. Don’t forget our next event is on 29 June, 18.00 – 19.30. Andy Jeavons will be giving one of his amazing talk and walks around The Rockery. If you are interested, please sign up through our Eventbrite app on the website.