Grow Your Tenner November 25, 2013

 

A tranquil spot by the Paper bark maple

Donate to Martineau Gardens, via Local Giving

We’re not suggesting money grows on trees, but the Grow Your Tenner Match Fund campaign, organised by fundraising website, Local Giving, will match donations of up to £10 made to Martineau Gardens via their website, and make it grow. This means, if you give  £10 to Martineau Gardens, and it qualifies for Gift Aid, Martineau Gardens would receive £21.54.

Make it go further with Match Funds

Here’s how match funds work via Local Giving:

£10.00   Your donation

+ £10.00   Donation matched by Localgiving.com

+ £ 2.50    Gift Aid (For UK taxpayers)

= £22.50

After a small processing fee, your £10 single donation with Gift Aid means that Martinau Gardens receives £21.54. A £10 donation without Gift Aid means the charity receives £19.16.

For supporters setting up regular monthly giving, new monthly donations set up during the campaign will be matched up to £10 for six months. Local Giving has £500,000 to allocate to small local charities, like Martineau Gardens. Local Giving will match donations until the £500,000 has been claimed. Donations made to Martineau Gardens via the Localgiving.com website by our supporters will be matched pound-for pound up to £10 per donation. And if you qualify, gift aid can be claimed to add another 25%.

Please don’t delay, this regional campaign runs for a short period of time.

We are very grateful to those of you who already support us with regular monthly giving, if you don’t give regularly but have been considering it, giving on-line via Local Giving is a straightforward way and of enormous benefit to Martineau Gardens, regular donations help us plan the cash flow and make sure that essential needs are met.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Donate to Martineau Gardens, via Local Giving

Local Giving Logo



6/8 Kafe November 11, 2013

IMG_1383We’re delighted that 6 / 8 Kafe, on Temple Row, Birmingham has selected Martineau Gardens to be their chosen charity this month.

Not only is this an opportunity for us to promote ourselves in the city centre but we’re also running a Christmas stall and ‘operating’ a gardening surgery. Pop in for a coffee, come and say hello and don’t forget to bring your gardening queries. These are the days that Martineau Gardens will be taking a little bit of the ‘garden’ into town:

Mon 18 November, Wed 27 November and Fri  6 December

From 12nooon until 6pm we’ll be selling jams, chutneys, cards and plants and from 4– 6pm, Stewart and Rachael (our Social and Therapeutic Horticulturalists) will be running a special drop-in garden questions surgery especially for customers at 6 / 8 Kafe.

Find out more about 6 / 8 Kafe:

Located close to St Phillips Cathedral  and opposite House of Fraser, at 6/8 Temple Row, Birmingham, B2 5HG.

Website: http://www.sixeightkafe.co.uk/

6 / 8 Kafe customers – Martineau Gardens is a 30 minute walk from the cafe (or an 8 minute bus ride, Nos 61 & 63 from New Street station). To plan your walking journey, use this link at walkit.com.

Logo snipped from website



Outdoor Ed Skills Share 2 Nov October 24, 2013

Martineau Gardens is hosting the next Outdoor Education Skills Share on Saturday 2 November 2013, organised by Birmingham Forest OAKS. The day is aimed at anyone who has an interest in outdoor education, whether you have bags of experience or are new to the subject, this will be an opportunity to brush-up on skills, network with likeminded people and share tips and advice, plus biscuits!

Birmingham Forest OAKS runs skills shares quarterly and our November event is entitled Film making, firelighting and friendship. This will be an exciting opportunity to look at how you can capture the amazing stuff that you do using video and photography.  Depending on the weather, we’ll be firelighting, cooking and /or pond dipping, and of course, taking inspiration from the beautiful surroundings of Martineau Gardens.

We’re delighted that Rachel Gillies, Community Film Maker, is going to be running the film-making workshop for us. Rachel has worked with a wide range of organisations including youth groups, community projects, schools, residents’ groups and lobby groups. She’ll be teaching film and photography skills that are universal, but essential, whether you’re an occaisonal film maker or a Hollywood director!

Bring any equipment you have (though note this is an outdoor event) mobile phones with cameras are fine. It’s not a pre-requisite to have a camera, we may well have some additional equipment to work with, thanks to Rachel. 

The Skills Share will be preceded by the AGM, from 10am until 10.30am.

The Skills Share runs from 11am until 3pm.

How to Book for the Skills Share

Places are limited, booking is essential. Registration is £5, per participant, please book direct withBirmingham Forest OAKS (not Martineau Gardens). Contact Sharon on 0121 323 5388 or sharon@eeles.info

Getting to the Skills Share

Martineau Gardens is at 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UG

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Martineau Gardens is well served by buses. The nearest bus routes are  1, 45, 47, 61, 63, X64. To plan your journey by public transport, visit TransportDirect and use the postcode search – Martineau Gardens postcode is B5 7UG.

About Birmingham Forest OAKS

The skills share is organised by members of Birmingham Forest OAKS (Outdoor Activities and Knowledge Sharing), a voluntary group, formally know as the Birmingham FEI Group. November Skill Sharing and AGM. The group aims to:

  • Provide safe opportunities to learn and play in a stimulating natural environment
  • Develop understanding of and care for the environment
  • Provide training, skill sharing and the promotion of outdoor learning to facilitate this
  • Members support  these aims by volunteering time, space and resources

 

 



Winners of Recycling Award October 3, 2013

It’s official – Martineau Gardens is one of Birmingham’s recycling champions! At the Birmingham Recycling Awards Ceremony (Tuesday 1 October 2013), Martineau Gardens was awarded Winner in the best community & neighborhood project category.

If you’d like to find out more about how we recycle at Martineau Gardens, click here.



Peter has run again – please donate October 2, 2013

News Update (26 November 2013) – A big thank you to Peter and a big thank you to all of you who sponsored him, the grand total is £2,130.

News Update (23 October 2013) – a whopping £1, 465 raised so far – help Peter get to his target of £2,000 by 20 November, 2013.

News Update (21 October 2013): He did it! And without too many blisters we hear … it’s not too late to sponsor Peter – at the bottom of this page are details of how you can contribute.

Peter Arnold, Chair of Trustees ran for Martineau Gardens in the Great Birmingham Run on Sunday 20 October, 2013. This is the third time that Peter has donned his running shoes for us. This is no mean feat, Peter is 64, works full time as a barrister and … has an allotment to maintain (and we all know how demanding that can be). There is a huge commitment of time, effort and mental determination for anyone who decides to participate in a long-distance run, such as the Great Run.

Peter Arnold Sept 2013

Pictured here, Peter explains why he is doing this for Martineau Gardens:

” So why am I doing this? Martineau Gardens is a vital resource for our community – I live nearby. It’s close to the city and yet it provides a place where you can go to get a breath of fresh air and forget about the hussle and bustle of life’s demands.

When I’ve had a busy day, I like to unwind at my allotment, dig up a potato or two or pick an apple but for many of the volunteers who take part in the Therapautic Horticulture project at Martineau Gardens, gardening is much more than a hobby, in fact gardening at Martineau Gardens gives them a reason not to give up, when the going gets tough. The Gardens are a place where vulnerable people feel valued. So please dig deep, and give generously.”

 

 How You Can Sponsor Peter:

1) By donating online through MyDonate which is totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to Martineau Gardens and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. To donate on-line, please go to my fundraising page: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/peterrunsagain

2) By posting a cheque to Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UG

(Please make cheques payable to ‘Martineau Gardens’)

If you would like to know more about how Martineau Gardens helps vulnerable people and others, watch our film: https://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk/about-us/what-is-a-community-garden/

 Your support would make such a difference



7 October 2013 October 1, 2013

Wildife Report just in: Brian has just returned from his weekly survey of the Gardens.

Red-Green Carpet Moth, identified on a Moth Trapping Survey

Red-Green Carpet Moth, identified on a Moth Trapping Survey

Weather: Mild, still some insects around including tree bumble bee, common carder bee and dock bug

Some plants still in flower like the Deptford pink (this is scarce), hemp agrimony, borage, sedum and the brightly orange fox and cubs plant. In the pond, watermint is in flower.

Fungi – looking out, not yet

Birds: buzzard soaring overhead, heard bullfinch, nuthatch and longtail tits.

When you’re next at the Gardens, why not pick up a Nature Trail leaflet or pop into the bird hide to see our weekly record and you can always borrow binoculars from the office or browse our wildlife library in the Visitor Room.

 



Honey Show – Great Success September 24, 2013

Thank you to everyone who came to visit Martineau Gardens at the Birmingham Honey Show, plus of course the Birmingham and Distrcit Bee Keepers who organised the Show. In case you missed it, here’s a review of the Show, by Phil Brown at Edgbaston and Harborne News:

Honey Show - Review



Autumn Event Sun 29 Sept September 18, 2013

Autumn Event Pictures

Live music from local musicians, the launch of Gallery in the Trees, wildlife activities for children, a herbal walk, apple pressing and story fun are some of the treats in store for visitors to Martineau Gardens’ annual Autumn Event on Sunday 29 September 2013 from 11am – 3pm. Our family friendly ‘green’ fete will celebrate the Autumn harvest and provide an  afternoon of family fun.  Admission fee for the Autumn Event is non-members £3, concessions £1, families £6 and free to members.For more details of what’s planned, click here.



Bat Box Checks September 12, 2013

Surveying the bat boxes at Martineau Gardens copyright Morgan Bowers

Surveying the bat boxes at Martineau Gardens
copyright Morgan Bowers

On a bright September morning, BrumBats came in to survey the bat boxes of Martineau Gardens. They were looking for evidence of bats roosting and collecting data about age and species. In woodland that’s carefully managed, as Martineau Gardens is, there are of course plenty of natural places for bats to roost, so there was a certain amount of excitement and trepidation as to whether they would actually find a bat roosting.

Morgan Bowers (our former Biodiversity Officer) put the bat boxes up  seven years ago: the boxes have remained undisturbed since then. Bats are protected by law – you need to hold a license (as Morgan does) to inspect a bat box and handle bats. Morgan was accompanied by two trainee Bat Surveyors, Rachel and Sam. Morgan and the team examined 20 bat boxes but it was not until the final three were inspected that they found what they were looking for. To our joy and surprise, four bats were found in the most surprising of places. Seven years ago, three bat boxes were located high up on the mast of the ‘shipwreck’, more as a talking to raise awareness with visitors rather than a place for bats to roost. Bats prefer shaded, protected areas.  One sleeping bat was carefully lifted from the box, inspected, weighed and its species identified. Morgan has been able to confirm that this is a female, Soprano pipistrelle bat, that has raised a baby bat (pup) this year. Though one of the UK’s most common bats, they are a protected species and their population is in decline. We’re very glad that the bats continue to find a home at Martineau Gardens, just 2 miles from the city centre.

Surveying a Sporano pipistrelle bat at Martineau Gardens

Surveying a Sporano pipistrelle bat at Martineau Gardens. Copyright Morgan Bowers

Do you have a bat box?

Enjoy watching the bats fly in and out in the summer months, look for droppings below, but, you mustn’t disturb them unless you hold a license (and that includes a shining a torch at them). Join BrumBats for bat walks, talks and to find out about training opportunities. http://brumbats.wordpress.com/

Bat Facts:

Did you know: a single pipsitrelle can eat up to 3,000 insects per night!

Baby bats are called “pups”.

The females usually give birth to just one baby a year (occasionally twins).

Soprano pipistrelles are so called because they echolocate higher than common pipistrelles.

Echolation – A sensory system in certain animals, such as bats and dolphins, in which usually high-pitched sounds are emitted and their echoes interpreted to determine the direction and distance of objects.

 Evening Guided Bat Walk – Wed 16 April, 2014 – click here for details



Birmingham Honey Show Sat 14 & 15 Sept September 11, 2013

 

snip of honey banner of pics
 Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September, 10am until 4pm

Organised by Birmingham & District Beekeepers Association

FREE ENTRY

The marquees are going up for the Birmingham Honey Show, which returns to Martineau Gardens this weekend, for its third year. We’re looking forward to a great event, in the company of those friendly folk at the Birmingham and District Beekeepers Association. Find out what’s planned for the event and how to get to Martineau Gardens, by clicking here.