Issue 99 Spring 2019 MAGPIE The newsletter of the Friends of Mitcham Common Working to protect the Common and its wildlife Editor: Alasdair McCall Website: www.friendsofmitchamcommon.com Secretary: Melanie Nunzet Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchamCommonF Telephone: 07944 833 605 WhatsApp: Email/txt msg request to join Email: [email protected] “From you have I been absent in the spring, When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim, Hath put a spirit of youth in everything” Introduction Welcome to this Spring edition of the Magpie put together by a new committee member, Alasdair. Since our desperate call for help in last December’s newsletter we are pleased to inform you that we have new hands on deck. So it’s business as usual which is great news. We are holding regular Magpie Meets on the first Thursday of every month in the bar of Miller & Carter. Please note that the May session will not take place as we are holding our … Friends’ Annual Meeting This will be held on Thursday 9 May, 7.30 pm, in the Ecology Centre. Martin Boyle will talk about the MCC maintenance budget and answer any questions. There will be a talk by Hannah Shimko about the Canons HLF project where works are due to start this September. We will also deal with the elections of the committee and look at two years’ worth of accounts as we did not have a meeting last year. We do hope you will be able to join us for all the above and refreshments! If you would like to join the Friends the cost is £10 for 5 years (you will receive a free copy of “A History of Mitcham Common” by Janet Morris). Or £2.50 – 1 year, £5 – 2 years. Please send payment to: Membership Secretary, Melanie Nunzet, 24 Walsingham Road, Mitcham CR4 4LN. Cheques should be made payable to Friends of Mitcham Common. BACS: Barclays Bank, 20-57-76, 33109585. Please remember to put your name as the reference. Page 1 Magpie issue 99 Spring 2019 Fish Destocking The question of whether to destock and rehouse the fish out of Seven Islands and One Islands Ponds was again raised during the Conservators Meeting this March. The Friends have held the opinion that destocking the fish would lead to less anglers using the pond. Hopefully reducing the amount of litter left behind by these “fishermen” as well as undesirable behaviour on the Common. The Conservators were against destocking the pond. Their view was based on the cost of doing so, in addition its effectiveness since anglers are likely to reintroduce new fish in order to continue fishing. The issue was further muddied by the fact that an environmental report suggested that the fish were infected with at least two non-native parasites. This meant that the fish would be destroyed rather than rehoused. It was proposed to get a group decision from the Friends. A poll was sent out via email, with the results showing 33 against destocking with 15 in favour. This was relayed back to Martin Boyle and the Conservators who cancelled the destocking operation. Thank you to all those who wrote in. Your varied and thoughtful opinions were wonderful to read. It is heartening to see how much people care about the Common and what thought they put into it. Litter PickUp We have had two successful litter picks so far this year in March and April. The first was in front of the Meadows, resulting in several black bags of rubbish. Including some car parts. The second one was organised to clean up the paths and bushes along Cranmer Green. In a mid morning session we managed to collect 23 blacks bags of rubbish. Including a 10 litre bucket of emulsion paint! Those attending the two picks include Melanie, Michael, Margaret, Lynn, Jackie, David, Lesley, Isobel, Sofia (aged 4), Alasdair and Bill (aged 83). A great result for the Common. There are two more litter picks planned so please make a note in your diaries. The first one is on Saturday, 18 May, at 2.30 pm when we will be clearing the verges of Commonside East. Meet at the junction of Watneys Road and CSE. For the second litter pick we have been asked by a resident of Wingate Crescent to help local residents and the Council to clear their corner of the Common. Meet 10.30 am on Saturday 29 June outside 62 Wingate Crescent, Croydon CR0 3AL. All equipment provided as usual. The picks generally last 1 ½ to 2 hrs but even if you come along for just Page 2 Magpie issue 99 Spring 2019 half an hour it would be great to see you. Also please see below for an excerpt from the Merton Green Party's website for details of regular litter picks at Colliers Wood and St Helier. Our litter-picking sessions take place in Colliers Wood on the last Sunday of every month from 11am, come rain or shine. The group usually meets at Colliers Wood tube. Please contact [email protected] for more information or call him on the day on 07821 882380. We would welcome help from anyone interested, regardless of political affiliation. We have also started litter-picking in St Helier ward on the second Saturday of the month at 11am. Please contact [email protected] or ring her on 07939 816296 for details. Diary Events 2nd June - Big Lunch (12 - 4 pm) Please mark off the date for the Friends’ Big Lunch. Meet in the area to the left of the Ecology Centre and behind the Meadows for some fun! Bring food and games to share. 15 June - Mitcham Carnival (12 - 5 pm) Come and say hello and if you’d like to help out for an hour during the day please let us know. We will have books for sale, our new badges and stickers will be available and there is a new quiz for children, so please bring the family along. Geese Unfortunately we have the distressing news that two geese were killed on the Common on the 30th of March. A dog walker reported seeing two men targeting the geese with catapults. This was reported immediately to the police. On later inspection we found two of our lovely geese had died. This is terribly sad news. A police case has been opened and we will keep the Friends informed. We must not let the senseless actions of a tiny minority overshadow the beauty of the Common and we shall turn this tragedy into a learning exercise. A small positive to come out was how quickly the new The Friends’ WhatsApp group was in responding to the incident, identify what was happening and, the grim task, of recording the two deaths. See our contact details on page 1 to be part of this group. IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN Below is some understanding we gained from this experience. • Firstly, if you are witnessing this, please do be careful approaching such people. Our first instinct is to protect the Common but anti-social behaviour is exactly that, anti-social. • Make sure there are other people about before confronting them. Page 3 Magpie issue 99 Spring 2019 • If possible use your smartphone to record a video or photos of the incident. • If you know how tweet @metcc to contact the Met Police. This is the quickest way to report this kind of crime. • Otherwise, dial 111 to phone the police. • Contact the Friends of Mitcham Common via our WhatsApp group. If you have any information regarding the geese killings, please send us an email and we’ll pass it on to the investigating officer. Subscriptions This is to inform you that the Friends’ Committee have recently decided to ask their existing honorary and life members if they would like to contribute to the group’s funds by becoming paid- up Friends. So far we have asked those Friends who are on email and there has been a good response. We hope you all understand that our funds are for the championing of the vital open space which is Mitcham Common. Regular expenses which the Friends incur are for example, insurance, website registration, postage and our stand at Mitcham Carnival. Last year we purchased a new banner and litter-pickers/gloves which are all being put to good use as you will see from the reports earlier in this newsletter. This year we would like to order a reprint of Janet’s most recent book, “The History of the Friends of Mitcham Common”, ready for Mitcham Carnival in June as there are only a few copies left. We will also be ordering some badges and stickers to hand out to children at future events. We are promoting the five year membership for new Friends as it makes the administration much easier. We hope you agree that £2 a year is a small price to pay for enabling you to continue to be part of an exceptional community. You will continue to be privy to great communication, have access to great walks that benefit physical and mental well being, take part in improving the local environment, be involved in decision and policy making about the local environment, enjoy the chance to make friends and meet people, take part in local get togethers and gain access to a quarterly, well edited write up and many other advantages. Miscellaneous Have you noticed the straw floating in Seven Islands and One Island ponds? We asked the warden about this and it is barley straw put there deliberately.