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Friends of Gladstone Park – Friends of Gladstone Park

Nestbox Week 14-20 February

The week commencing Monday 14th February is Nestbox Week! Use the guide below to build your own (download it from here), and read along to find out why nestboxes are not only important for birds but also very good for us too.

Nest-Box-instructions-2

Why do nestboxes matter?

Extract from the excellent Nestbox Week website.

British birds are short of nesting holes, and there are plenty of reasons why.

​Our gardens, parks and woodland are neater and tidier than they used to be, depriving birds of natural holes to find a home. And to make matters worse there are fewer handy nooks and crannies in modern buildings. The populations of many bird species are down as a result of this housing shortage.

​The good news is that everyone can do their bit to help… and your own garden’s a great place to start. 

​The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) reckons that if all the gardens in Britain were rolled up into one giant plot, it would be a huge area bigger than Suffolk.

​Just imagine how our wild birds would benefit if each one of those gardens contained a nestbox or two, plus plants and insects to provide food. Alongside common visitors – like Blue Tits, Great Tits, House Sparrows, Robins and Starlings – putting up a box will also boost your chance of attracting rarer species into the bargain. 

​Don’t forget that nestboxes are good for us too. Spending time in the garden, building your own box and watching birds make themselves at home are all great stress-busters.

Bangabandhu Centenary Peace Grove 100 trees bringing Spring & Autumn Colour

 The Bangladesh High Commission, supported by members of the local community have provided 100 new trees being planted in the south west corner of the park.  They are to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Bangabandhu “The Friend of Bengal”, the founding President of Bangladesh, as well as 50 years of the independence of Bangladesh. 

Bangabandhu-Park-Peace-Grove-Western-side-Revision-B


The trees have been chosen to elongate the seasons providing spring interest with magnolia, cherry, crabapple and amelanchier blossom, golden summer flowers from the tulip and golden rain trees, brilliantly coloured autumn leaves from liquidambars, parrotias and nyssas along with winter bark interest from the birches and cherries.


And the British natives, bird cherry and wild service trees add even more blossom and fruit.  The bees and birds will not go hungry.
Walkers in the park will no doubt be enjoying the blossom already blooming with much more to come.

Bangabandhu-Park-Peace-Grove-Plan-Revision-B


Thank you Councillor Parvez Ahmed for being the inspiration behind this colourful and exciting project. 

Gladstone Park Woodland Project

Gladstone Park Woodland Project

Members of the Gladstone Gardening Group’s woodland workers are coming to the end of the working season reducing all activity whilst the birds begin their nesting season.  They have had a very hard working season erecting and repairing dead hedging, completing the central pathway and planting a host of wildflowers.

Now, it is time to let it grow back stronger and even more lovely than before! New signs have been put up to inform park users of the need to let the flowers seeded there get established and will be taken down by May.

We must all ensure to keep off this area for now to protect the wild flower planting and improve the ground cover essential for the regeneration of the woodland.  The wait will be worth your wile and soon, we will all enjoy some wonderful flowers!

Wildflowers | Friends of Gladstone Park

Bin full? Please take your litter home!

Bin full? Please take your litter home!

The volunteer group Friends of Gladstone Park (FoGP), with the full support of Brent Council, launched a new local anti-litter campaign today.

An eye catching red sticker with an image of a fox enjoying a feast of picnic rubbish has been placed on every bin in the park to discourage people from leaving bags of litter NEXT to the bins when they are full.

The Friends of Gladstone Park anti-litter campaign stickers.

“We hope that these stickers will enhance awareness and encourage people to take their rubbish home or to an empty bin. It’s a small step towards keeping our beautiful park free of litter.” said Francine Lawrence, Deputy Chair, FoGP. “If you can carry your picnic to the park – you are capable of taking the rubbish away!”

The sticker campaign is in addition to the regular Gladstone Park Litter Picks organised by FoGP.

Sunny weather and easing of lockdown have encouraged more of us to visit local parks and enjoy a snack or a (socially distanced) picnic.

However, it seems that many people are able to carry their full pizza boxes, polystyrene food containers, plastic bags, paper towels, wet wipes, bottles and crisp packets to the park but unable to take the empty packaging away.

FoGP want to highlight the misconception that dumping bags of picnic rubbish next to a tree or a bin, when the bin is full, is helpful. Bags of food packaging, however neatly stacked, encourage foxes and vermin to chew through the bags and spread the rubbish over a wider area.

Chicken bones, glass, cans and rotting food are hazards to children and pets.


Bags of food packaging, however neatly stacked, encourage foxes and vermin to chew through the bags and spread the rubbish over a wider area.

“Larger, more plentiful, fox-proof bins can help, but will not eradicate the problem. In the end it is humans who leave rubbish in inappropriate places.” Said Tariq Dar, Brent Councillor. “We must love where we live!”

FoGP hope that the Red Fox Sticker Campaign will be the beginning of a Brent-wide anti-litter campaign.

Together we can help keep our beautiful park free of litter.

If your park or open space group would like some of these eye catching stickers you can buy 50 large stickers for £30 from FoGP. The vinyl sticks firmly on metal and wood. No nasty peeling up or fading. Guaranteed colour fast for 5 years. Do email us to enquire.

Good News: 100 Cherry Trees for Gladstone Park

Gladstone Park has been chosen by Brent Council to receive 100 of the 6,500 Sakura cherry trees donated by the Japan-British Society though the
the Sakura Cherry Tree Project to celebrate the friendship between Japan and Britain.  The first trees planted were in Regent’s Park in late November 2019 at a ceremony much heralded by local BBC news.

The park’s trees will arrive in autumn 2020 and will be planted along the path from the children’s playground down towards the railway line.  Planting is to be a community effort and it is hoped that people will turn up to help.

Sakura | Friends of Gladstone Park

In Japan the cherry tree blossom is called Sakura.  Apparently businesses vary their trading hours to give staff the time to enjoy and picnic under the blossoms.  Spiritually it is a symbol of the shortness and beauty of life, a sentiment tied to the Buddhist roots of Japan.

The trees are being planted all over the UK from Guernsey to Orkney.  Our trees are being grown in the UK and will be 2-3  years old when they arrive.

Donate a rose to Gladstone Park

Donate a rose for Gladstone Park.

The Friends of Gladstone Park have chosen roses to plant in the rose beds by the walled garden. The selection of roses was made with the help of experts from Peter Beales Roses. All are known for their long flowering period and will be planted over the winter by the Gladstone Gardening Group and Veolia. Here are the roses chosen.

Cost of each rose: £16

Donations can be made until 15th January 2020.

A donation of £16 for each rose can be made using the following methods. Bank transfers and cheques to be made to Friends of Gladstone Park.

Buy a rose as a gift or in memory of a loved one

You can buy a rose as a gift or in memory of a loved one. To proceed, pay as detailed below. Then, please choose one of the following options:
– As a gift, please email Gladstone Flowers with your address and a gift card will be sent for you to give to your recipient.
– In Memoriam: Email Gladstone Flowers if you wish to include the name of the loved one on any information published by FOGP.

  • Paypal

  • Bank transfer to 25079268 sort code: 30-94-81
  • Cheque to The Treasurer, please email for details.

All those who have bought a rose will be invited to a thank you ceremony with the Mayor at the walled garden in the Spring. Invitations will be sent out by email so make sure you provide it when donating by bank transfer or cheque.

Thank you.  

Any queries, please contact gladstoneflowersNW @ gmail . com.

Safeguarding in the park

A guick guide over who to contact in case of issues arising in our park.

Mopeds

Mopeds are not allowed to drive through the park. If you see one, please:

  • Email or Tweet your ward, either Dollis Hill, Dudden Hill or Mapesbury Safer Neighbourhood Team, (SNT), as below.
  • Do not put yourself at risk by taking photographs of people, but make a note of registration numbers, descriptions, time and location.
  • Remember that the SNT can only follow up messages when they are on a working shift, so they should not be contacted about urgent issues.

DOLLIS HILL: E:  DollisHill.SNT@met.police.uk   Tweet:  @MPSDollisHill
Web: www.met.police.uk/your-area/brent/dollis-hill/
DUDDEN HILL:  E: DuddenHill.SNT@met.police.uk   Tweet:  @MPSDuddenHill
Web:  www.met.police.uk/your-area/brent/dudden-hill/
MAPESBURY:  E: Mapesbury.SNT@met.police.uk   Tweet:  @MPSMapesbury

If you are unsure which ward you are in, enter your postcode in the ‘find your area’ box on the Metropolitan Police Service website: Met Police

Map showing the parts of Gladstone Park in each of the three wards: Dollis Hill, Dudden Hill and Mapesbury

The black lines show the ward boundaries.

Map showing the parts of Gladstone Park in each of the three wards: Dollis Hill, Dudden Hill and Mapesbury

The black lines show the ward boundaries.

Criminal Activity

If the crime is happening in front of you or if you find a suspicious or illegal item phone 999.

For any other criminal activities:

  • phone 101,
  • use the MPS website www.met.police.uk
  • tweet @MetCC
  • go to Wembley police station counter.

You can also contact the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111or www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Sleeping Rough and Homelessness

If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough in the park, send an alert to StreetLink by visiting www.streetlink.org.uk, via the mobile app, available for Apple and Android devices, or by calling 0300 500 0914.  

The details provided by a member of the public are sent to the local authority or outreach team concerned, so they can help connect the person to local services and support.

Bee Corridor Across Brent


Declining biodiversity and the need for everyone to take responsibility prompt Brent Council into action.

Serpentine curves in flower.  Residents have been thrilled all summer with the colourful flowers sown to attract pollinators.  And Brent have said more is to come next year!

Bee Corridor | Friends of Gladstone Park

Helen from Gladstone Park Wildlife, explains what they are: “Brent Council organised Veolia to rotavate the grass and scatter a seed mix of around 20% annuals including garden plants such as phacelia, shown in the photo above being visited by a bumblebee, and cosmos, as well as British natives like poppies and cornflowers to make a splash of colour during the first year, and 80% perennials for flowers that will bloom each year.

The nectar and pollen from flowers is essential for pollinating insects such as butterflies, bees, dragonflies and moths to thrive. Our eco-system relies on a healthy population of such insects and initiatives like these hope to reverse the decline observed in the past 40 years.

Find out more about these on the Brent Council website.

Litter Picks

Locals turned out with enthusiasm to pick litter every month this year starting in April and finishing in September.   We had the usual odd finds like a stereo system, a broken tennis racket and a satellite dish as well as endless cans, plastic bottles and dog poo bags. THANK YOU to all who participated.

We are grateful to the regulars who have bought their own litter pickers. Keep an eye on the calendar as we’ll start up again in April 2023.

Pickers and bags are provided. Safety instructions given. Please bring your gloves and wear sensible shoes.