Tag: Flooding

Pam and Anita reminisce about Paradise

Pam

Reading an article about the reclaiming of a toxic waste dump*, I recalled that when we moved to Owlstone Rd in 1972, the open area at the end of the road  was referred to as The Dump. It was commonly used by the neighbourhood for dumping unwanted garden waste, including autumn leaves, weeds, Christmas trees, prunings, dead shrubs, wood, stones, and unfortunately also  things like bricks, old gates, bikes, pots and any old garden rubbish. It was an unsightly mess, though nothing like the toxic dump described in this article. Gradually it was rescued and transformed to join the wild beauty enjoyed by the rest of Paradise Nature Reserve. In this, it was greatly helped by Lisbet Gershewitch from No. 54 (I think she planted the snowdrops) and other environmentally minded neighbours. She and Margaret Knight from No. 52 had campaigned earlier on against building development.

Anita

As I understand it ‘Paradise’ got its name for being the exact opposite, someone’s sarcastic nickname for the area. I don’t know how far back the name goes, but it did used to be a quite unsavoury place… not just the boggy stinking land, but the activities and waste that was left behind… Only the front path by the river was regularly used by nature loving mortals and dog walkers. It was such a narrow exciting path, with a mystery around every corner, the cow parsley bent over and brushed your legs as you went along, we jumped over the nettles or pushed them out of the way with sticks. We stayed away from the back path and hidden middle bit.

Pam

The area became a beautiful entrance to the reserve and it’s why we were outraged when bulldozers and diggers ravaged it and deposited a deep layer of silt from the cut a few years ago, just before Friends of Paradise was set up. Nature has recovered and the snowdrops are returning. The little tree glade had 8 tiny doors during December, 2020, which entranced many small children as they wandered the paths there. It’s an area where Vic Smith is keen to increase plant biodiversity and where the donated Black Poplar tree is due to be planted in February.

Anita

So a lot has changed, the mystery exists in only a few tucked away places, but the back path with the duckboards has made the area significantly less appealing to those who are not there for a walk, or for the nature… it has opened up the accessibility, in all but the most severe flooding. Regrettably the river path has become the ‘motorway route’ to Grantchester and the Meadows and unless you are wearing stout waterproof boots, it is currently totally impassable due to mud.

 I think once social distancing is over, we should close the river path for an extended period to give it time to recover. The path is now as wide as the gaps between the trees, and some… or maybe lay some of that rigid plastic ‘grass-stabilising grid’, to re-establish a metre wide path and gently fence off the edges, a bit like the efforts near ‘Skaters Meadow’s to help the vegetation recover.

‘Paradise’ now aptly named, will never be as it was before, there is good and bad in that, but all its areas should be considered an evolving environment, that can be improved or degraded depending on how it is treated. We need to work to maintain improvements.

Pam

With best wishes for the future of our local Paradise and for you all in 2021.

*The lesson I learned at my local dump? There are beautiful times up ahead
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/05/the-lesson-i-learned-at-my-local-dump-there-are-beautiful-times-up-ahead?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other