Winter/Spring Newsletter 2026

Happy new year all walkers of the common.  I’m not going to be so bold as to claim winter is anywhere near done yet – the Beast from the East in March 2018 taught us that – but with some warmer days and the arrival of the early snowdrops on the common, the signs of the new growing year boost our spirits.   This newsletter brings some updates about what’s going on, both on the common and behind the scenes too.

You may have already spotted the beauty that is snowdrops in full bloom; others are just poking their noses out of the ground. We’re trying some of the techniques they use at Heartwood Forest, to guide walkers around plants they are trying to give some help to thrive. We’re trying to do the same, with a patch of snowdrops adjacent to the main pathway in the woodland.  You may notice we’ve dragged some logs to cordon off where some snowdrops are growing and to encourage walkers to give them a wide berth. We’d be so pleased if you could help us to help the snowdrops to blossom.

In time we’ll also be popping out the signs we used last year to denote where bluebells are coming through.

I’m sure many of you will also have observed our very active mole population turning over the soil.  They’re popping up all over the place. The existence of moles suggests the land is a fertile ground and full of worms.  The rabbit population is also busy digging out new warrens. If you’re walking early, you will see many rabbits on the grass.  These natural disturbances of the soil are all part of the life of the land.

We do appear, however, to have some human digging too.  All over the common we’ve spotted small holes being dug, and turf lifted; we assume by someone with a metal detector.  We’d rather this didn’t happen, and anyone doing this should seek consent from the charity first.  In wet times of year, the pathways can become increasingly muddy and uneven, and even more soil disturbance isn’t ideal.  If you spot someone using their metal detector, we’d be very grateful if you could encourage them to contact us so we can have a chat.

Turning to longer term planning, we’re delighted to share that a significant piece of work undertaken by trustees has been completed. We now have a ten-year land operations plan for the common. Working in partnership with the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, and being steered by their expertise, the aim of the plan is to ensure the common is well maintained and ideally improved further.  We all regularly read about how species are routinely declining; our aim is to reverse that decline.  If we were to fast forward to 2035, what would we see?  Our gentle ambition is that the common would look much as it does today, but if you lifted the lid to see all the species of flora and fauna that lived here, there would be a greater biodiversity.

A copy of this plan can be found on the website www.kinsbournegreencommon.org.uk/resources. 

And finally, we’re delighted and very grateful to have another Duke of Edinburgh volunteer doing a weekly litter pick. If you are interested in joining the community litter pick for all the streets around Kinsbourne Green, then we invite you to join forces with St Mary’s Church volunteers. They are meeting at the church on Saturday 7th March at 10.30am. Litter picking equipment is provided, but feel free to bring your own.   It’s amazing how much litter is collected over the space of just a few hours, making the place in and around where we live look so much nicer.

As ever, if you have ideas or feedback for the common, please email them to us. If you see something happening that doesn’t look right, please let us know, and if serious please call 999 too.

If you wish to report fly tipping in the area, we highly recommend downloading the ‘fix my street’ app on your phone. It is the quickest, easiest and most effective way of reporting a range of issues from rubbish to potholes.

Best wishes to all

Sue Archer

Chair of Trustees