We welcomed a visit from Birmingham's RSVP (Rape and Sexual Violence Project). The group had a tour of the garden and were especially interested in our herbs and our rhubarb! We then enjoyed a hot drink in the mature garden and spent time creating mandalas with natural materials.
We were very grateful to have Natalie, a local ecologist, who came and did a torching survey in each of our ponds. She counted 44 male smooth newts spread across the freshwater sites in our garden, who have recently arrived in the ponds ahead of the females. The females will be making their way over the next few weeks and we spotted three of them already in a small pool in our mature garden! Natalie will record these findings in EcoRecord, which collects information about the wildlife, wildlife sites and habitats of Birmingham and the Black Country.
As part of Lottery Open Week, we welcomed lottery players into our gardens at Thrive Birmingham to say a big "thank you!" We loved getting the opportunity to show people the huge impact that the revitalisation of the gardens has made, and to share the stories of our engagement work with the community.
Students from St Michael's CE High School in Sandwell joined us for the day and got busy investigating pond life, feeding the birds and making us some new amphibian homes for the garden. The group of students, who are part of the school's gardening club, also propagated some ceanothus and replanted some mint to take back with them to school. A fab team of gardeners!
