n LYDE GREEN OPEN SPACE Coping with weird summer weather

WHAT a weird and wonderful month of July we’ve had - plenty of sun at the start followed by plenty of rain in the middle and more sunshine and showers at the end.

It is sometimes hard to predict the weather in early summer and this year, once again, has been a challenge.

As an environmental group, weather is important to us as we look at organising watering schedules and monitor the impact the weather has on our plants and wildlife, for future project planning.

Knowing the seasons can be a benefit, so we can adapt to change year-on-year.

Another issue you may see with the wetter weather in the summer is a higher chance of finding ticks.

It’s important, if you are walking around the common and other grassy or wooded areas of Lyde or Emersons Green with your families or pets, to try and get in the habit of checking more frequently, as ticks can be dangerous if they are undetected.

We carry a tick card with us when we are out and about, which can be a real asset, as it will help remove the ticks safely - use an upwards motion (as close to the skin as possible) and try making sure you wash the area with warm soapy water when you can, or use some sanitiser in the affected area.

We had a wonderful time in July as we had our annual assessments for the Royal Horticultural Society ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ awards.

We enter the assessment as it provides some invaluable advice and keeps us focused on doing the right things for you, the residents, and the wildlife around us. Results will be published in early October.

We also had a great day in July showcasing our community garden to the Metro Mayor, Dan Norris. This was an accumulation of a road safety day at the school, which involved the local school children and our friends from ALD helping plant up some of the planters in Willowherb Road and placing some road safety design plaques on the planter fronts.

We are so proud to showcase our collaborative efforts to all in the communitythe children had a great time.

As always, we are looking for volunteers to help behind the scenes with our group, and we will be looking at doing more online videos to show you what we do as a group, to have a taste of our life in Lyde.

If you love nature, and want to know more about it or learn more about what is all around you, please do get in touch. We are all volunteers, and have learned so much over the last few years just by volunteering!

If you have any questions about our group or want to get involved, please email lgopenspace@gmail.com or find us on Facebook @lydegreenopenspace.

Laurence Binks Chair, Lyde Green OpenSpace Group