Ep 50 – Balancing needs of nature and people in a cemetery park

Interview with Kenneth Greenway about balancing the needs of people and nature in a historic cemetery park.

• Find out more about Tower Hamlet Cemetery park from Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park

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  The park continues to look after the graves on the site, which includes several listed monuments.

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  The site is managed to be a mosaic of habitats, with an emphasis of keeping a feeling of openness.

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  Community groups have contributed to spring bulb planting across the site.

Managing ‘anti-social behaviour’

• Created open feeling by thinning trees and removing ivy from some trees
• Allowed 24 hour access to the site via pedestrian gates (also stopped damage to fencing from forced entry)
• Staff informally greet and speak with all visitors to the site so their presence is felt
• Relationships built up with regular visitors who report anti-social behaviour or illicit commercial foragers
• Anti-social behaviours are dealt with initially by respectful reminders that it is a public space
• Frequent interruption b friendly chats seems to prevent anti-social behaviour because people know they will be interrupted

Managing picking of plants and flowers

• Borough has bylaws against picking any plants from council property
• Tower Hamlets offers the least green space per capita of any similar area in Europe, staff respond to this situation by allowing reasonable use of the site by the community
• Foraging for personal use is generally allowed
• Lockdown led to a huge increase in foraging on the site and staff now request that people let them know first.
• Children won’t be yelled at for picking a flower here or there, but anyone picking bunches of flowers will be spoken to about it being a communal space so the flowers should be left for the community to enjoy.

Foraging

• Reconnects people into the seasons so they can plan ahead
• Personal use value of the site for foraging is a way for people to develop appreciation for the site
• Hopefully people eventually develop a desire to learn more about plants outside of foraging

• Foraging walks
  • Much more take-up for foraging than general botany walks
  • Emphasise responsible foraging behaviour so that it is sustainable
  • Emphasise that foraging requires dedication to learn about the plants and how to ID them

• Useful books
  • Nettle Cookbook – Natural History Museum
  • Food for Free – Richard Fortey

Batwalks

• Using the site at night seems to be a draw
• People book online to limit numbers
• People seem to enjoy the evening regardless of seeing any bats

• Walk logistics
  • Begin by learning about bat ecology, break down preconceptions and myths
  • Get to see a dead bat and handle bat poo
  • Learn how to use bat detectors before setting out
  • Slowly move around the site