Happy May from the Green Meadows Team!

We are getting some sun through the clouds, flowers are blooming and trees are green. The busy bees at Green Meadows have been busier than ever! With planting, celebrations, and education for all ages, there will be more to come as the year progresses.

To find out more about the last month continue reading.

Fly-tipping or butterflies, which do you prefer?

Over the past month, a group of neighbours from Osier Rd and Humber Cl has been working together to transform a footpath near their house from a dumping ground into a colourful butterfly garden.

On Monday 22nd of April, they cleared the overgrown grass, litter-picked 2 bags worth of plastic, and filled a van with fly-tipped items.

That same week, a couple of residents were invited to Woodthorpe Nursery where they selected a wonderful variety of plants that will entice pollinators like bees and butterflies. The plants included wonderfully smelling herbs, like mint and thyme, plants with colourful flowers like lupins and geraniums, and nectar-rich sedum, a feast for pollinators.

Finally, on Saturday 27th we planted them. Thanks to neighbours Amin, Raj, Alex, Bryson, Jane and Colleen for all your hard work. We planted over 40 plants and added a sign to help butterfly identification.

Butterfly season starts now! Head to the footpath between Osier Rd and Humber Cl, NG2 2NL and spot common UK butterflies. The ones depicted on the sign are Red Admiral, Tortoise Shell, Peacock, Ringlet, and Comma butterflies.

Is there an area near you you would like to transform? Get in touch!

The Knowledge Bank is Officially 1 Year Old!

Celebrations have happened in the last month for the Knowledge Bank’s Birthday! We have been publishing a wide range of content over the last year, all focused on the climate and sustainability.

Some of our favourite recent blog posts and resources are ‘The Real Cost of Fast Fashion’, ‘Low Energy Cooking’, ‘Eco Renovation Home’, and ‘Hydroponics’.

As the Knowledge Bank continues to grow, our aim to become a ‘one-stop-shop’ for climate-related information is becoming a reality.

We are now wanting to extend our invitation to you, if you have a topic you are really passionate about, or information you feel we are missing, get in touch! We would love to collaborate and get our experts to develop articles based on your ideas!

Please send any ideas to comms@greenmeadows.uk

As well as providing articles, we also provide free resources on the Knowledge Bank which is a perfect way to keep little or big hands busy. There are guides on how to make a bee hotel, gift bows, paper windmills and more!

Click here to see the activity booklets we have available.

Friends of Meadows Library Planting Event

Meadows Library with Friends of Meadows Library organised a planting day on the of April.

Green Meadows provided a seed sculpture activity to encourage guerrilla gardening in the Meadows area and helped people to sow seeds, some to take home and some to plant in the library's garden.

This involved mixing earth clay, wildflower seeds, soil, and water, and then people visiting the library made wonderful slugs, snails, and butterflies!

The sculptures were then taken home to place in gardens or parks.

When left outside the rain will wash away the clay and wildflowers will grow in its place to attract pollinators that help the wildlife in the meadows.

FREE DIY Workshops and Toolshare Continue to be a Hit

With the bank holidays coming up and warmer weather well and truly here, the Toolshare is BOOMING! We’ve had lots of people borrowing our tools in the last month and many more to come. If you want to do some DIY on your weekends, or the upcoming bank holidays, make sure you reserve your tools early to avoid disappointment!

We have also hosted a wide range of free DIY workshops including an online Q&A, DIY insulating your attic room, and DIY skirting boards and draft proofing. These workshops are perfect if you are new to DIY or want some tailored advice. The workshops are developed in such a way that supports whoever is attending, giving you the ability to learn, grow your confidence, and ask specific questions about your projects.

To see our upcoming DIY workshops, click here or to learn more about why we are passionate about people learning DIY skills please click here.

Women in Tandem Join us For an Eat and Learn Workshop

At April's Eat & Learn workshop with Women in Tandem (WIT) we learned some basic bike repairs including how to do safety checks before a ride and how to repair a puncture on the go. Emily and Charlotte, the facilitators from WIT, gave us some great tips for quick repairs and preventing damage.

After a lunch made in a low-energy slow cooker, WIT took us for a ride along the Embankment.

All attendees went home with a free puncture kit and basic tools, so they can continue learning on their next bike rides.

“The workshop was absolutely brilliant: informative, interesting, inspiring. The women in tandem were so helpful and polite. We can't imagine better. Except - we would like more advanced workshops. We are so grateful. Thank you!!!” - Attendee

Women in Tandem is a wonderful not-for-profit community bike collective that empowers people to ride and repair their bikes, we are very proud to have partnered with them for this event. If you would like to learn more about Women in Tandem please click here. We are planning on hosting more events partnered with them since this was such a hit so keep your eyes peeled for the updates with new dates if you missed this one.