Bensham Releaf Force
2 Goodgymers helped their local community in Newcastle
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Monday 23rd June
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We ventured slightly further afield than usual tonight, running the 1.8 miles from One Strawberry Lane to Bensham Grove Tiny Forest. Meeting several members of the community there, the main task tonight was to document, through photographs, the plants and animals present.
Unusually for a GoodGym Newcastle group run, we powered across the Redheugh Bridge towards Bensham. On getting there, after a brief lesson on bumblebees, moths and butterflies we set to work documenting the Tiny Forest, spread over only 208 square metres. Apparently some local had been complaining about it, thinking it was overgrown compared to the surrounding lawns with short grass, but it turned out there was quite an array of plants and animals, as is the intention.
All of the photographs were to be uploaded to the Earthwatch website. Adding them here too might have set the record for most photographs attached to a GoodGym Newcastle report.
Before leaving, we were invited back, likely on a Saturday morning, so please look out for that.
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A Tiny Forest is a dense, fast-growing native woodland, about the size of a tennis court. These forests are not only great homes for butterflies, birds, bees and other wildlife but also a place for people to connect with, and learn about, nature. Each forest is a unique public asset – planted and cared for by the local community. These super tiny, super powerful forests aim to mimic natural forests but in a small space. They include a mix of native trees which, over time, will create a wildlife-rich woodland. Tiny Forests don’t require much space and they can be planted anywhere that land is available – in a park, school or on a brownfield site. Earthwatch Europe is pioneering Tiny Forest in the UK and is part of the global Tiny Forest Network, working in partnership with IVN Natuureducatie.
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