Braidburn Valley Park, Edinburgh

We plan to hold our first clean-up of the year on  Sunday April 21st from 2 to 4pm.  We will provide rubbish-pickers, hoops and bags; but please bring your own gloves (and refreshments!) if you need them. We’ll meet in the usual place, in the middle of the park, down below the Rutterford Mural. All are welcome.  But please note that children under 16 must bring their own adult.

This year’s AGM will be held on Sunday February 25th at 2pm in Greenbank Church Hall. Tea and biscuits (and people to chat with) will be available from 1.45 pm. Papers for the meeting, including the Annual Report, are on the Meetings page. Please come if you can.

Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust and the City of Edinburgh Council are organising a scheme to encourage residents to plant trees in gardens. The trees are free! Youll find details here: https://www.tree-time.com/free-trees/

A big thank to the many who supported Tea in the Park – particularly the many volunteers without whom the day could not happen. FOBVP will have made over £1,000. We will make sure it is put it to good use! See the item “What your friends do” for a reminder of how FOBVP uses the money it raises.

So what’s next? Several parents have asked for play equipment. The council are going to provide some, in two places:

• by the theatre, for older children.
• by the willow structure, for toddlers

The Friends will provide a quality picnic table (they cost around £1,000) near the toddler play area.

As for the Rowan Tree bridge near the entrance, the council have made it safe with temporary boards, but they say that the main stringers below the bridge are rotting and it will need replacing sometime.

Note the date! Offers to help gratefully received by Claire Jellema: please email her at jellemafamily@hotmail.co.uk

Last summer we were all sorry to see that the plastic storage box, placed at the main gates of the park, that had been full of books for everyone to enjoy, ended up being kicked to bits.  Our Chairman, Paul Bailey, had seen more formal ‘community libraries’ on his travels in Edinburgh.  He did some research and found many examples from across the UK that he shared with the Committee.  Braidburn Valley Park needed something that wouldn’t succumb to the local vandals quite as easily as the plastic box had done!
A quick site visit to confirm measurements allowed the production of a plan which was approved by the Committee.  All the necessary permissions were sought from the Council and construction got underway.  Only time will tell if the design achieves all that it sets out to do.   Access must be easy for everyone but the weather must be kept out too.  Magnetic catches and simple hooks and eyes should mean that the doors stay closed unless the library is in use.  There is a layer of roofing felt between the lining and outer carcass and the wood is treated and, of course, painted which should mean it lasts well.
Alan Smith and Andrew Swann very much enjoyed making the library.  Andrew is delighted to have his workshop back now that the library is installed.  Praise is due to the Committee for supporting the vision and funding the build.  Please now enjoy the library, take a book when one catches your eye but keep it well stocked by donating books that are in good condition that you no longer want.  If you ever see one of the doors swinging in the breeze please push it closed and put the hook into the eye!
Andrew Swann

andrewmswann@tiscali.co.uk

We are organising volunteer activities on Sunday 5th March at 2pm.  It would be helpful to know numbers; so if possible can you let Alan Fleming (alanflemingzz@yahoo.co.uk) know if you would like to attend. Otherwise it is fine to just turn up.   It would also be helpful with organising tools if people could bring their own spade and / or a trowel. If you don’t have these there will be some of the Friends’ tools you can use.

The tasks to be undertaken include the following wildflower and tree related tasks;

In the wildflower meadows:
*Planting wildflower plugs.

*Screefing (scraping the ground) and sowing annual wildflower seeds.

*Finishing the dead wood piles using the wood that people collected in January.

*Raking the vegetation in the small wild flower meadow.

Around the fruit trees:

*Mulching with wood chips.
*Maintenance of tree guards if required.

*Planting some more of the wildflower plugs

Elsewhere in the park:

*Planting small trees

We hope to see you!
Alan Fleming

FOBVP Tree Warden

alanflemingzz@yahoo.co.uk

A reminder that our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Sunday February 26th at 2pm in Greenbank Church Hall. You’ll find the Agenda and the Annual Report here. There will be tea and biscuits, and (with a bit of luck!) a slide show to illustrate a year in the life of our park.  

We hope to see you there.

Our Duke of Edinburgh volunteers continue to help us with tasks in the park. They’ll shortly been helping with the pruning of our willow dome. Yesterday they were working to grit some of the paths:

Each year the council assess the quality of their 134 parks and grade each park from A – E. Braidburn Valley Park has continually achieved a positive B grade; but this year, for the first time we’ve been upgraded to an A ! Only seven parks have achieved this grade; we are the 5th equal best park in Edinburgh. Congratulations and thanks to the very many people who have contributed to this success!

You can find the full story in the council’s quality assessment report:

Park Quality Assessment 2022

Our  next park cleanup will be held on Sunday October 23rd from 2 to 4pm.  We will provide rubbish-pickers, hoops and bags; but please bring your own gloves (and refreshments!) if you need them. We’ll meet in our usual place, in the middle of the park. All are welcome.  But please note that  children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. 

We are pleased to have the services of a group of 8 young men who are volunteering for their Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards over the next 6 months. Initially they are working on edging the tarmac paths but they will be moving on to other tasks during their time. Please do encourage them if you pass them walking in the park!

Brian Smith

FOBVP Volunteering Coordinator

We’re looking for volunteers to help tidy up some of the paths in the park at 18.30 on Wednesday 14th September. No skills or tools required. Just enthusiasm. If you can give the Park a couple of hours of your time please confirm to Brian Smith at volunteering@braidburnvalleypark.org.uk

Try your hand at an easy traditional skill and benefit the Park! If you would like to help scythe the park’s wildflower meadow we would be grateful for your help.  Wildflower meadows require at least annual cutting to maintain diversity. Scything is a low impact and fun way to do that.

Date and time:   Sunday 18th September, 14:00, Braidburn Valley Park, wildflower meadow, south end of park.

Please confirm availability by email to volunteering@braidburnvalleypark.org.uk

A reminder that our Tea in the Park family fun day returns this coming Saturday (September 3rd) from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. The offerings will include face painting, coconut shy, ice cream and home baking stalls and, naturally, a duck race. Offers of help (and home baking) to Claire Jellema jellemafamily@hotmail.co.uk

Our long-promised cherry trees have finally arrived, after many covid-related delays. Some of the original trees  (of the 400 planted in 1935) were culled last week; and their replacements (15 of them) were planted in the last few days. They have been selected to give greater variety and an extended blossoming season. We are grateful to AEB Charitable Trust for a substantial grant which, along with donations from Friends, made this possible. Many of the original 400 are still with us; so this is an ongoing project!

Some good news! After consultation with the Council, the FOBVP committee has agreed that the time has finally come to resume our park-cleanups. It will be held on Sunday April 24th from 2 to 4pm. We will provide rubbish-pickers, hoops and bags; but please bring your own gloves (and refreshments!) if you need them. And please continue to observe social distancing. We’ll meet in our “usual” place, in the middle of the park. All are welcome. But please note that children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Members who enjoy the hands-on experience of park-cleanups may like to explore other park-related volunteering opportunities. If so, take a look at this account of some of the things the Friends do at present and look out for further announcements as we seek to extend our programme of volunteering work.

We plan to hold a short official “opening” for the Park’s Mural Project on Saturday April 2nd at 11 AM. Artist Chris Rutterford will be present and will say a little about his work and how this project has unfolded. Our Parks Officer asks us to maintain a cautiously healthy distance: there should be plenty of room on the hillside! And, at this point, it looks as if we can expect some sunshine. A reminder (in case you have not been in the park for a while) that the place to go to is the old electricity substation, at the end of the Fly Walk that runs down to the Park from Greenbank Crescent, starting opposite the end of Greenbank Park. Or you can walk through the Park looking up the hillside on the west side. You’ll find a map here .

Those visiting the park in the last day or two will have seen the culmination of our Mural Project, transforming the electricity substation on the western hillside with the artwork of Chris Rutterford, aided by the pupils of Firrhill High School. An official opening, including a contribution by Chris, is planned sometime soon: more information in due course.

Another recent arrival is our third picnic table. This one is  wheelchair-accessible.  It has taken the place of one of the two standard (full-bench) tables at the north end. And the latter has been moved to a new site, further south into the park.  Well-timed to match these summery days!

Once again (we hope it will be the last time!)  this year’s AGM  will be online, courtesy of Zoom. The meeting is scheduled for Sunday 27th February at 2pm. It will include short presentations on the park’s on-going Mural Project, and Tree planning.  FOBVP members should find an invitation with a Zoom link in their Inbox (or possibly spam folder!). Please join us if you can.

The Winter edition of Valley Voice is now on the website. You will find it here. There is word of our forthcoming AGM (Zoom again); and many interesting things…

The summer edition of Valley Voice is hot off the press and now on the website. You will find it here:
http://www.braidburnvalleypark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Valley-Voice-42.pdf

It has updates on cherry trees, picnic tables and more…

One of the park’s best known features is its splendid array of cherry trees in the south-east corner. The original trees were planted in November 1935 by 5000 Guides, Rangers and Brownies, for the Silver Jubilee of King George V. They were planted in a trefoil shape, the emblem of the Guide movement. The trefoil-shape is fairly clear if you take a birds-eye view with the aid of Google Earth….

The trees are approaching the end of their days and a replacement programme (under the supervison of the Council’s tree officer) has been going on since 2008. Over the last year or two we have had a number of donations from members wanting to contribute to this programme. And  we have recently had confirmation of a successful application to the AEB Charitable Trust which will bring £5000 for this purpose. We are now in a position to fund 18-20 new trees. (The  cost per tree may seem steep: but it covers the cost of the planting and the necessary care and attention that the council supplies over the first years). The Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust will help with the planning and planting. And we expect to see some new trees in the ground by the late Autumn.

This short clip of the park otter was captured a few weeks ago by Daniel Campbell:

Our AGM duly zoomed a couple of Sundays ago (you’ll find the minutes in the Meetings section of the website). And the committee has met once since then. These meetings covered two matters worth highlighting:

1. Picnic tables In partnership with the Greenbank Brownies we have secured funding (through contributions from the Council and Tesco) for three picnic tables. We hope they will arrive in the park before long…soon enough to enjoy during the beautiful summer that we are surely entitled to expect.

2. Park activities. We are reconciled to the fact that organised park activities must remain on hold for the time being. But members are encouraged to incorporate an occasional mini clean up into their regular park walking. We do not envisage the return of Tea in the Park this year. But we are open to the possibility of some smaller-scale venture, which can be planned on a shorter timescale. Perhaps ducks will get to race down the Braidburn again. Saturday September 4th has been pencilled in –as much in hope as expectation.

I’ve added a few pictures to the Wildlife gallery on the website. Our otter is there now; along with a tree-creeper and a dipper.

Our 2021 AGM is scheduled for Sunday Feb 28th at 2pm. This year (guess why!) we’ll be meeting on line, courtesy of Zoom. If you are a member, and your email address is registered with us, you’ll get a Zoom invitation in your email a few days before.

Claire Jellema was lucky enough to see this otter in the park a few days ago….swimming and hunting (successfuly) for fish.

Here are some photos taken in the park over these last sunny weeks…

Here are some pictures taken over the last few days, showing the park coming reassuringly to life…

Here are a few pictures taken in the park over the last few days….

Stay safe….stay cheerful!

Best wishes to all

Alastair and Margaret Bruce

Our Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday 23rd February. If the weather is tolerable we will meet at the main park gates (north end) at 2 pm for a short walk through the park to highlight things done in the last year or planned for the next. If the weather is unkind we shall retreat to Greenbank Church hall, where the AGM will begin around 3 pm.

We are still in search of a couple of members willing to join the committee to help keep our activities going. If you think that might be you please email membership@braidburnvalleypark.org.uk…or speak to one of the committee on Sunday.

There will be tea and biscuits and a warm welcome to all.

Here is the latest episode in the story of the cherry tree trefoil…

Elspeth Brown, the daughter of one of the Guides who planted the 400 cherry trees in 1935, joined us in April this year to help plant the replacement trees. Her mother took such pleasure in hearing about this, that Elspeth and her sisters, Morag and Sheila, decided to give her a cherry tree in the park for her 96th birthday. 
Elspeth and Sheila helped plant the tree yesterday, adding a small plaque with their mother’s name.

We sincerely thank them for this lovely idea, which gives pleasure all round! Thanks also to Ross and Scott of Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust, who helped with the organisation and the hard work.

The tree is a Prunus Shimidsu Sakura, which has large blossoms turning from pink to white. We look forward to seeing it flower next Spring!

Our Autumn Clean Up is due this coming weekend, on Sunday September 29th from 2 to 4pm. As usual we will provide rubbish-picker-uppers, protective gloves and waders…and refreshments will be available. Meet in the usual place, in the middle of the park. All are welcome.  But please note that  children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult!

Coming soon to a Park near you! It’s a little earlier than usual this year: Saturday August 31, 1.30 to 4.30pm. See the poster for further details!

Did you know that out of the 71 Green Flag awards for the whole of Scotland, more than half – 34 – are in Edinburgh? Including, of course, Braidburn Valley Park, which has held the Green Flag since 2007, when it was the first in Scotland to gain the award.
A good news story about the combined efforts of the Council with support from Friends organisations!

The latest edition of Valley Voice is now available here, packed with news of what’s been going on in the park. Note that Tea in the Park is coming into view, a little earlier than usual…

On Sunday June 23rd there will be an opportunity in the park for fun, games and fitness activities. All ages welcome! More details in this poster .

On Friday 5th April, Guides past and present joined to help plant new cherry trees in the Park.

The original trees were planted in November 1935 by 5000 Guides, Rangers and Brownies, for the Silver Jubilee of King George V. They were planted in a trefoil shape, the emblem of the Guide movement.

In 2002 some of the original planters returned to help plant new trees and daffodils, and were made life members of the Friends. Then, in 2008, cherry trees were planted by some of them and present Guides, Brownies, Rangers and Rainbows for the centenary of the Guide movement.

This time around, we were able to contact Anne Morham, who as a Brownie Leader helped children from her pack at Douglas House to plant a tree on that cold day in 1935, and Elspeth Brown, whose mother assisted back then. Elspeth has herself been involved in guiding all her life; blind from birth, she is a leader with the guides at the Royal Blind School.

They were joined by present day guides, including Eilidh Nelson Davidson. (Left to right: Elspeth, Eilidh and Anne.) One break with tradition: it was a warm, sunny day, unlike previous occasions with snow on the ground!

We thank Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust for their support: they sourced the trees, accessed funding from Transpennine, and indeed did all the hard work, as well as being so helpful in organising the planting of two trees by our Guides!

The next park clean up is scheduled for Sunday April 28th, from 2 to 4 pm. As usual we will provide rubbish-picker-uppers, protective gloves and waders…and refreshments will be available. We will meet at the usual place, around half way along the main path. All are welcome. It looks as if we can expect a sunny day!

A couple of times a year, we publish a mini magazine updating everyone about the latest events and plans in Braidburn Valley Park. So here is our latest edition of The Valley Voice – January 2019! Read all about…

• Tea in the Park – another successful fun day
• New outdoor gym – get fit in 2019
• Dianne‟s Garden – new growth in our park
• Heritage craft projects – spring workshops
• Save the date – Annual General Meeting and park walk – Main gate, 2pm on Sunday 24th February 2019

It’s all colourful with plenty of pictures, thanks to its new Editor-in-Chief, Ian.

Happy reading :)

On the last day of November a few stalwart Friends ignored the dire weather forecast and gathered at Dianne’s Garden for some bulb planting. There were some 5000 bulbs.. fortunately mostly happy to share their holes with 10 or more others. So it took not much more than an hour. And the rain held off too. Look out for the green shoots in the spring!

Here it is folks – news about all the various projects in the park…

Valley voice July 2018: Obituary—Dianne Savage, a true friend of the park, sadly missed  Garden planting project at main entrance  Outdoor Exercise equipment update  Tea in the Park 2018 – save the date  The General Data Protection Regulations

Join us for our annual family fun day! It’s FREE, so come along and bring your friends and family, and cross your fingers for a nice sunny day. Here’s the Facebook event. As well as the obligatory DUCK RACE in the burn, the assorted fun will include:

Slime making | Den building | Ceilidh dancing | Junk raft building | Story telling | Arts and crafts | Vikings | Home baking | Pizza and Bar | Fire shows | Obstacle course | Dance performances | Face painting | Orienteering | Pocket money games | Dr Bike

Here’s the Tea in the Park POSTER for the full line up! It’s entirely run by volunteers, and aims to bring our local community together to enjoy a nice afternoon, larking around together in our park. Any proceeds go to projects to improve Braidburn Valley Park. Spread the word!

Read all about it! Here is The Valley Voice issue 35. Here’s what’s in it…

• Work has started on our new community garden
• The AGM is on Sunday 25th February 2018 – meeting at 2pm at the main park gates for a park stroll and then 2:30pm at Greenbank Church Hall for the meeting itself
• Wildlife camera
• New bridge names
• Remembering Jim Lavin
• Help needed to organise Tea in the Park

Happy reading :)

Come and join us for the Annual General Meeting, on Sunday 25th February 2018. The meeting itself is at Greenbank Church, starting at 2:30pm. But as in previous years, we’ll meet at 2pm at the main park gates opposite the church, for a stroll around the park together. If the weather is really terrible, we’ll just head straight for the church for a 2:30pm start. 

Tea and biscuits provided! Come and hear what has been going on, what plans are afoot for the coming year, and how you might get involved. It’s a nice way to meet your neighbours.

By way of a preview of the agenda, we are in need of an organiser for Tea in the Park 2018. If nobody comes forward then it simply won’t happen… Please email info@braidburnvalleypark.org.uk if you fancy getting involved.

We are also on the look out for 2+ new members of the Committee. It involves coming along to 4 meetings a year, and we are a friendly bunch.

We hope to see everyone on 25th February! :)

A date for your diaries – (You’ll be having your) Tea in the Park will take place as usual on the first Saturday in September – this year Saturday 2nd from 2 to 4.30.

This year’s attractions include the Edinburgh Bootcamp which comes with Obstacle Course and children’s games. The Vikings of Din Eidyn will be out in strength this year with a full battle force as well as other Viking pursuits. Pulse of the Place, Magic Ian, Auld Spice Ceilidh Band and Angela Watson – School of Dance will entertain. Plus all the usual fun Crafts and activities, raft building and racing. Not to forget the Famous and Original Duck Race.

See you there!

The Annual General Meeting took place on Sunday 8th March.  Thanks to all members who attended and to those interested people who came along and joined at the meeting.

AGM Minutes 2015

Dawn Redwood leaves

Have you noticed the new trees that have been planted in the Park in the last few weeks?

Dawn Redwood in winter

The City of Edinburgh Council have planted over 30 new trees mostly along the burn side. Two of these are Dawn Redwood  (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) and are located near the middle bridge. These trees are unusual in that they are the only living species in their genus and were only known from fossil records until the 1940s. In 1941 a Mr Chan discovered the trees growing in a village in central China and in 1944 other trees were discovered and seed collected. These seeds were grown at the Arnold arboretum in the USA and the resulting trees planted out. The trees are easily propagated and quick growing so they soon became popular as an ornamental tree and were planted throughout Europe and the USA. Although a conifer they are deciduous and so shed their needles in winter like a larch which creates a striking winter profile.

The other trees that have been planted are hazel bushes, again along the burn side, which will produce lovely catkins (‘lambs tails’) in the spring. They are small native trees which are good for wildlife.

Replacement trees have been provided for some of the new cherry trees that failed in the last couple of years. Most of these died due to vandalism but a few also succumbed to the weather Some of these are the native Gean (Prunus avium), and some are ornamental Japanese cultivars.
The final species planted is Swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum) along the burn side near the stage area. This is another deciduous conifer that grows well by water and is native in the southern USA, particularly the Everglades. They will give good shelter for wildlife but hopefully not alligators!

The Friends group recently planted a new tree  at the south end of the Park between the bridge and the end of Fly walk. This replaces a Sweet Chestnut which died last year probably due to the wet conditions in this area. The new tree is a Caucasian Wingnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia) which is a spreading tree with a short trunk. It has catkin-like flowers that go on to form tassels of small winged nuts in the autumn. The tree was chosen as it is hardy and likes moist conditions, so should be at home in this damp, windy section of the Park.

Thanks to all those who helped take out the old tree and plant the new one. Many hands made light work to plant this large tree complete with stakes and protective cage.

The tree was supplied by Damhead Nursery (http://www.damheadnursery.co.uk/)