DIARY of EVENTS
After almost three months of lockdown the Monday Working Group has now recommended working mornings from Monday 28 March (not Easter Monday!) under the new Covid-19 restrictions. Lockdowns imposed in November, and again in early January, had a considerable impact on the work BEG has been able to do, but once again a full range of repair and maintenance activities is now possible.
Up until 29th March no footpath or other work could be undertaken. There has been unprecedented use of the footpaths in our area resulting in some becoming very muddy and damaged in places. Also the need to keep socially distanced has led to trampling of the ground flora adjacent to the paths. A survey of all the footpaths in our area has been undertaken and any remedial work needed was identified. You will see from the Monday group reports that work on footpaths and other tasks has resumed.
Committee Meeting are now held at about six-week intervals on Zoom. the next meeting will be held on Wednesday 30 July. Please use the telephone numbers in the right hand column if there is an urgent local environmental issue you would like to have discussed as this can be handled by email. If you are interested in joining the Committee you could telephone these numbers as well..
Under normal circumstances the Monday Working Group meets every Monday morning (weather and public holidays permitting) at 9.30 am to undertake the majority of BEG’s planned practical work throughout the year. They usually meet at the Barns by Beauchief Abbey, and anyone wishing to join in can simply turn up there. Everyone is welcome, and the regulars will be glad to help you. Anyone not a member of BEG is also welcome on an ad hoc basis, but will be encouraged to join in order to be included in the Group’s insurance and receive the regular newsletters. If you are interested in joining this regular session please telephone 0114 236 9876 for details of the work planned on the following Monday.
Monday 11 March
In total there were twelve working this morning. Eight people turned out at the Barns and went to the Cobble path to continue clearing the path. Another was also out doing his usual litter picking. As the ground at Stone Cross Field was too soft after all the rain, the three bench builders decided to delay the start of the construction of the North bench,
An Urgent Request
The Beauchief Environment Group is very concerned about the Abbey barns, adjacent to Beauchief Abbey Farm. The barns form part of the Conservation Area which includes the Abbey itself, and are probably of 18th Century origin, although they were most likely built using stone from the Abbey. They are Grade 2 listed by English Heritage. Two of the barns are in a dilapidated state,
Monday 4 March
With seven of us meeting at the Barn and four on Stone Cross Field we had eleven today. Two of the bench builders went to Grindleford to collect the top slabs from Stoke Stoneworks whilst the other two mixed mortar and prepared the bed to receive them. The rest of the morning we spent aligning and levelling them. We can now report that the
Proposed constitution for the Group
CONSTITUTION BEAUCHIEF ENVIRONMENT GROUP Object of the BEG: To promote and encourage a sense in the local community of the importance of conservation and the improvement of the environment. Nature of BEG: BEG is a non-profit making voluntary group constituted for purposes and activities set out below: Purpose and Activities of the Group: To promote the importance of
Minutes of the Group AGM 2024
Minutes of BEG AGM held on Saturday 10th February 2024 at Greenhill Library Present 20 people were present. 1 Apologies for absence Joan Hobson 2 Minutes of AGM held Sat 4th March 2023 Read by Secretary Carol Behagg. Acceptance proposed by Caroline Hobart, seconded Jon Smith. 3 Chairman’s report Presented by Diana Holland, who gave an account of the activities
Monday 26 February
On a cold dry Morning, eleven members arrived for work. Two went to the ‘Westwick Steps’ and repaired two of them. The others went to the bottom pond in the Nature Park, to carry out the work identified by Angus, during his recent visit. We chopped down the self sets on the bank side and created a ‘rustic barrier’ to deter dogs from going
Monday 12 February
Nine members assembled today with two separate tasks Six of us met one of the Rangers on Little Wood Bank, and began clearing Holly. We used hand tools while he was very industrious with a chainsaw. The cuttings will be chipped next week. At Stone Cross Field, three of us levelled and mortared the cover band ready for the top slab then took a
Monday 5 February
Seventeen of us worked today in 3 distinct Groups. On a dry but windy day, seven of us met at Stone Cross Field to continue working on the first of the benches around the sycamore tree. We have now reached the coverband stage and are ready to add the top stones once they have been shaped with the stone grinder. Three people went to
Monday 29 January
Stone Cross Field was the place to be today, when nine of us congregated there. A team of three began the work of constructing the planned stone benches. The foundation was laid, and then some of the bigger stones were piled on top to stop any vandalism – just in case! A group of four worked with a ranger who had brought 25 Alder
Monday 15 January
Today is supposedly Blue Monday, but the eleven who worked today, were only blue from the cold. All but one went straight to the Gorse Patch and burned the Gorse, cut last week. The other member of the group collected quite a lot of litter from Beauchief Drive and around the Abbey Ponds. A Mercedes had been dumped and burnt-out in the Allotments Car
Monday 8 January
Our first Morning of 2024, saw twelve group members arrive at the Gorse Patch, where we were quick to get going due to the cold temperature. The pre-Christmas cutting was continued to completion, and we will burn this next week.
Monday 18 December
Seventeen members arrived for our final working morning of 2023. The gorse cut last week was burned. The fire was correctly reported to the FCC at 9:31 and cancelled at 15:07 after a final check by Jon. At 11.00 am we were joined by the Group Chair and Secretary, who joined in with our Christmas celebration.
Monday 11 December
The weather didn’t deter us today and thirteen of us made it up to the Gorse Patch, all bringing their own tools given the current situation with the Barn.
Sowing Yellow Rattle Seed
Three of our members went up to the Nature Park in mid November to sow the Yellow Rattle Seed which had been collected previously from Gulleys Wood Meadow where it is abundant. Areas of grass were raked to expose the soil beneath, then seeds scattered and tamped down. We managed to rake and sow lots of areas across the meadow and hopefully the seeds
Monday 27 November
No meeting was held today. The attached photograph of flooding on the path between the lower and middle Abbey Ponds, with rain still coming down, shows why we decided to cancel. The Gorse would have been soaking wet and the conditions underfoot very slippery. Neither conducive to safe working.
Monday 6 November
The ten workers that arrived today were treated to a beautiful clear morning with the Trees displaying their Autumn colours. We then split into small groups to work on the following tasks A litter pick of the immediate area was undertaken, but the pickings were slim after the recent bad weather; hopefully a good sign. Beauchief Abbey Lane was cleared of leaves & mud
Stone bench in memory of Tony Smith
The following small article was published by Greener Greenhill, built by members of the Monday Group to place a former wooden one. A further article Appeared in the November issue of Active 8 magazine, and is reproduced below.
Monday 30 October
Seven members of the group met on an inclement morning. Two completed earlier work on the stone wall in Gulley’s Meadow, in spite of running out of cope stones. They improvised by double-coping in the middle. Two others cleared the conduits from the middle pond to the lower pond whilst the remaining three began work on replacing two rotten steps on the path up
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