Spring is here

By Maria Tarrant
Southbank Sustainability Group

We are certainly experiencing the change of season; the days are warming up and getting longer with more sunlight. It has been lovely to see so many Southbankers making the most of the green spaces around the Boyd Community Hub as spring starts.

People, young and old, are walking, sitting in the sun, exercising, enjoying the playground, picnicking, gardening and harvesting some of the edibles in the community vegetable and herb beds at the front and back of Boyd.

The Southbank Sustainability Group (SSG) takes care of the garden beds and we are always keen to talk to locals about what they would like to see in the garden. In response to community suggestions, we have recently added quite a few indigenous plants to the beds. Over time they will offer wind protection and attract native insects and bees.

The SSG meets every second Saturday morning at 10am to do some gardening and catch up with other Southbankers who are interested in living more sustainably. The October dates for these meet ups are October 8 and 22. Everyone is welcome to come to get their hands dirty or share their thoughts and ideas.

Visit our Facebook page if you are looking for information on how to live more sustainably. There are guides on subjects as diverse as sustainable travel, reducing the impacts of your pets on the environment, volunteering and food composting.

And we hope to run some more workshops, given the success of our workshops on balcony gardening, building bee hotels and making at home cleaning products that do minimal environmental damage.

We are busy planning spring and summer plantings so we would love to get your suggestions about what you would like to see in the gardens over the next six months. Email us your suggestions.

We love to see Southbankers enjoying the herbs, greens and other vegetables in the garden beds for their personal use. Quite a few people are dropping by to harvest the greens they need for the lunchtime sandwich or the handful of herbs they want for a salad. At the moment there is plenty of endive in the front garden and cress in the back garden ready to eat.

Southbank Sustainability Group is keen to hear from anyone wanting to volunteer to support our education, communication, events and gardening efforts – simply email us at [email protected] •