On 30th December, the Sustainable Merton team were joined by volunteers of all ages to help plant 1,000 spring bulbs (daffodils, tulips and irises) in front on the Lavender Children’s Centre, Mitcham.
Being our last workday of 2014, it was great to have so many people join us on this sunny morning, including 3 Cub Scouts and a few other new faces too!
Below, Cyndy from the North Mitcham Friends Parks Friends & Heritage Group thanks those who came along and talks more about the success of the day…
“When Tom first emailed me a couple of weeks ago to suggest we would be planting 1,000 bulbs that he had bid for, and had won as a donation from Spalding’s on the 30th December I thought he was crackers. Christmas, cold, frosty hard ground, no way and I laughed to myself. I know I didn’t let on any of that when I was appealing to you all to work off your Christmas dinner and come and help us to plant them, sorry. I just knew we would need lots of help doing the job.
Well I arrived at the Children’s Centre about 10-45 with 2 pairs of socks on, thick warm jacket, scarf, very warm gloves, and my camera, ready to have to go home again as the ground was too hard to dig, or hardly anyone turned up. There wasn’t a soul there, plenty of eager beavers going in to tend their allotment, but NO ONE mad enough to plant bulbs. Then a lady arrived we smiled at each other and I asked her if she was as mad as me and had come to plant bulbs, we introduced ourselves she was Rosemary from Morden, and yes she was there to plant bulbs. Next a gentleman arrived, just before Tom came with all the garden gloves, bulbs and spades, THEN THE SUN SHONE REALLY BRIGHTLY JUST WHERE WE WERE GOING TO PUT THE BULBS.
More people arrived, I think in the end there were about 17 adults from all over the place, and three VERY SWEET Cub’s doing their Environment Badge, their group leader Nigel was working hard as well. Everyone was lovely, came from all round to help in response from Tom and his Substainable Merton group, the three lads really got stuck in, at first just popping the bulbs in holes others had dug, but then they got the bug and were doing it all. I hope they got their badge!
We were all organised by Tom who had brought rope to mark out where the bulbs were all to go in, everyone worked SO WELL together just getting on and doing what needed to be done, there was such a friendly atmosphere there, and by about 12-30 much to my surprise all 1,000 bulbs were planted, it was amazing. Even Tom said he didn’t know how many people would turn up, and he fully expected to be going back tomorrow to finish the planting by himself. I can’t wait for them to come up and reap the benefits from our not such hard work.
Next Tom produced 4 or 5 flasks of lovely hot Coffee, homemade Chocolate and Date and Cinnamon cake all which went down very well.
Thank you to all the people that came to help and thank you to whoever arranged the nice weather, but mostly Tom who had set it all up, you weren’t so mad after all Tom, sorry for thinking it”.
Thank you very much to Cyndy for this wonderful review of the day and we look forward to many more workday events to come this year!
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