including Beech Bottom Dyke and Sandridge Road Wastes
FOBH Tree Warden, Roger Miles, has spent years tending Bernards Heath and the Sandridge Road Wastes (SRW), including a multi-year effort to rescue a pear tree. Before 2017, he spotted an ornamental pear on the eastern side of the SRW which was growing at a jaunty angle.
His careful work over the last seven years has resulted in a vigorous and upright tree which is now a credit to the area.
Our thanks to Roger for his continuous, and often under noticed, work conserving our local flora.
The Friends are happy to take questions about, and report incidents regarding, the heath, dyke and wastes to the council. Residents can now also report incidents directly to the council when logged ino the their account on the SADC website.
FoBH chair, David Pearce, noted that this is a useful tool as “local can check to see whether the incident has already been reported by someone else or to obtain an update”.
In April last year a cherry tree dropped a large branch in Sandridge Road. Now another cherry tree has dropped a smaller branch about 50m away, as shown below.
FoBH Tree Warden Roger Miles says that ‘the original ornamental cherries on Sandridge Road have once again demonstrated that they are at the safe end of their lives’.
Continue reading “Another cherry tree drops branch in Sandridge Road”
Many people will have noticed that new boards have appeared describing the Heath and Sandridge Road Wastes. The old Bernards Heath boards have been updated and smart new metal frames used instead of wood frames which rotted out. These are formally described as interpretation boards, and they provide a concise account of historical events and industries which once existed on the Heath. Click here for a larger version of the Bernards Heath interpretation boards.
Three boards describe Bernards Heath and three Sandridge Road Wastes (the latter being green areas alongside Sandridge Road). Beech Bottom Dyke is a huge ditch 1 mile long partially hidden behind trees alongside Beech Road and Firbank Road 7 – 10. The map below shows where boards are located.
Click here for a larger version of Sandridge Road Wastes. There is a small notice board alongside board 6 which is dated 1955 pointing out that parking is not allowed on the Wastes.
Beech Bottom Dyke has four interpretation boards (7-10). The Friends of Bernards Heath have done much (see here , here and here) to make paths alongside and at the bottom of the ditch more accessible.
Click here for a bigger version of the board.
Many thanks to members of the Friends of Bernards Heath, especially RM and PB for their work on the preparation of artwork and content. The Friends of Bernards Heath paid for the artwork and the St Albans City Council the metal boards and their installation.
The Sandridge Road Wastes are the grassed areas on both sides of this road designated as Common Land. Parking is a major problem on the road, especially between Boundary Road and Bernards Heath Infants School, the area marked in blue in the map below.
