Author Archives: leafshade
Bloomsbury Gardens and coronavirus
In the new world of the coronavirus outbreak, Camden Council made an early decision to leave all their gardens open 24/7 to ease the burden on staff having to lock and unlock. In last week’s sunny weather, locals understandably headed for the gardens for exercise and fresh air. Family groups with children were playing in […]
Water, water everywhere
Last summer we were desperate for rain. Be careful what you wish for – this winter/spring we have more than enough. The lawns are soggy in all the squares, even the paths have been impassable in places, from the strength of the downpours. Woburn Square is not the only square to have suffered.(see photos, courtesy […]
Friends of St George’s Gardens AGM and talk, 6 March
You are warmly invited to the FoSGG AGM on Friday 6 March, 7-9pm, at the Marchmont Street Community Centre (WC1N 1AB). This is an opportunity to hear what we’ve been doing in the past year and influence plans for the coming year. Please do come along and support the Friends. After a short business meeting […]
Big Garden Bird Watch, Bloomsbury squares, 24 January
Join us on a bird walk around Gordon and Russell Squares. We will meet at noon at the main entrance to Gordon Square gardens (near the café) on Friday 24th January 2020, 12 noon. There will be a 5 minute briefing and then we will walk around Gordon Square, through Woburn Square, finishing in Russell […]
Season’s Greetings
Season’s greetings to Bloomsbury from the Friends groups of Bloomsbury’s squares and gardens. Last Saturday Friends of St. George’s Gardens welcomed passers-by to carols, mulled wine and mincepies and made a collection for St Mungo’s work for homeless people and the foodbank.
Good Parks for London report
In the Good Parks Report 2019, Camden parks are scored in the second half of the London boroughs over ten criteria, at 28.5 (lowest is Newham at 16.5 and highest is Southwark at 44). Quality (e.g. Green Flag awards) and Nature (e.g biodiversity plans) scores are low. See the full table in the report. […]
Singalong Christmas Carols in St George’s Gardens, 14 Dec, 12-1 pm
Friends of St George’s Gardens invite you to join them in the gardens for carols with mince pies and mulled wine on Saturday 14 December 12 noon -1 pm. There will be a collection in aid of St Mungo’s work for homeless people or give to their food bank collection. And you might also like […]
Spend two hours a week in nature for health and wellbeing
Spending at least two hours a week in natural surroundings may be one factor in good health and wellbeing. Even visiting urban parks and gardens seems to count. Research led by the University of Exeter found that people who spend at least 120 minutes in natural settings such as town parks, woodlands, country parks and beaches […]
Filthy air in London parks
More than one quarter of London’s parks, playgrounds, and open spaces exceed international safety limits for air quality, according to a recent analysis by Imperial College and the University of Leicester. In response to the findings, the team has launched an interactive website which lets people put in their postcode to check their local green spaces to […]
National Trust Parks Challenge
The National Trust Parks Challenge team visited the Association of Bloomsbury Squares and Gardens sites today, to collect information on the use of space and local involvement. They saw many of the gardens in the group and talked with some of the people who volunteer in the gardens through Friends groups. We hope they […]
Bloomsbury Squares & Gardens 