Meet outside the Pilot Pub at 7pm

The walk is an opportunity to tread in the footsteps of past peninsula gardeners – the allotment holders of the 20th centaury and the market gardeners of the 19th centaury.

Meeting outside the Pilot, we will make our way to past allotment gardens (hopefully in the company of Greenwich residents who one worked the land and produced food for their families – if this is possible, they can tell us what they grew, and how the peninsula was during those times, and what they felt the benefits of growing your own were – outside, exercise, escapism, health and well being, etc)
From the allotments we will walk to what was Combe Farm land – the market garden that produced fruit and vegetables for Covent Garden Market, and the inspiration for 100 cauliflowers. Kerry will talk about the farm, its history, and the produce grown.

From Combe farm site, we will head back to the Pilot via the ecology park to experience the abundance of wildlife there, talk about biodiversity, and the importance of ecology parks and wild spaces (brownfields and verges) in urban environments (hopefully Tony or Joanne will be able to do this)

Back at the Pilot, everyone will have the opportunity to discuss the local environment, growing spaces, nature, and slow food.

The walk is an opportunity for people to exchange thoughts about local issues, connect the past to the present, and think about future landscapes.

“Only a century ago 98% of the UK’s population lived in rural areas, closely connected to and knowledgeable about nature, land and local food production. Now 98% live in urban areas, increasingly separated from their rural heritage and the traditional, household food growing and cooking skills of previous generations.”

http://www.aridlands.co.uk/ar-learning.htm

There are 3 people I really have to thank for the dawning of 100 cauliflowers

Rich Sylvester, a storyteller based in Greenwich (creator of the “Journey Through Time” Greenwich story walks)

Mary Mills, Labour Party Councillor for the Greenwich Ward, and local historian. It was Mary that put me in contact with historian Barbara Ludlow

Barbara Ludlow, who pointed me in the direction of the Coombe Farm diaries

On my first visit to Greenwich I popped in to see Rich Sylvester. Rich had also helped Lottie Child with the development of Accidental Holiday

We drank cups of tea in his house – and outside in his back yard was an array of bird feeding receptacles and lots of empty coconut shells. He told me the story of the coconuts – as he had told Lottie when they were walking and talking down by the waterfront…

http://malinky.org/wikka.php?wakka=WalkWithRichSylvester

 Rich and I talked a lot about the Peninsula of the past. How, less then 40 years ago, much of the land was used for allotment gardening, and prior to that, in the 19^th centaury, a swathe of the land was a market garden farm.

He recounted a brief tale he’d heard about the farm that went something like this…

 Back in the 19^th centaury there was a market farm on the Peninsula.

It produced fruit and vegetables for the people of London – freighted up river to be sold at Covent Garden Market

The farm was best known for its rhubarb

But there is a story recorded of an early morning vegetable heist

One spring morning, the garden labourers set about harvesting and stacking 1000 cauliflowers ready for taking to market.

Their task complete, the gardeners went off for a well-earned breakfast

Upon their return they were alarmed to discover that the fruits of their labour had disappeared

Stolen by a gang of cauliflower rustlers.

 That tale conjured up a comic image

Had the munch bunch been casing the joint – vegetable surveillance to identify ripe opportunities?

Were they lying in wait?

And why on earth would anyone want to rustle cauliflowers?

Cauliflowers… not really a desirable or sexy veg of today… I can’t even remember the last time I ate one, or even a floret.

 Rich gave me an indication of where the farm was, and where the allotments were. He didn’t know the exact locations, but Mary Mills was able to give a clearer indication for the allotments.

I met with Mary, and we took a stroll over the Peninsula footbridge – a blue metal construction that links folks from one side of the A102 to the other; the longstanding Greenwich community to regenerated Peninsula. Judging by the abundance of abandoned shopping trolleys, it appears that this bridge is commonly used for grocery trips…

As we walked Mary told me that the retail site where the multiplex cinema, B&Q and Sainsbury’s are, (amongst other retail and food outlets) was once allotments, and that the car park (that holds 500 cars) was not so long ago, the local recreation ground, a vast grassed area with a football pitch and cricket ground.

Today, the recreation of the past is replaced with the recreational past time of shopping, DIY, and American style popcorn popping picture watching.

We stood on the bridge looking down at the vast car park…

How ironic that an eco supermarket stands on land that produced zero carbon footprint food: sown, cultivated, harvested, and eaten by the local community.

And that this land was perhaps the only area of land on the Peninsula that was not contaminated by the gas works.

As Mary pointed out…

“The irony hasn’t gone unnoticed by some!”

The [retail] project formed part of the development strategy for the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula. The masterplan for the area had identified a retail site…

…Sainsburys’ innovative stance for the Greenwich Peninsula store accorded with the vision for this part of London, to pioneer a forward-looking approach with relevance to the 21st century. The store’s design drew on a three-year research programme, involving an examination of energy use in typical supermarkets and tests of low energy technologies that could be used as alternatives. Sainsbury’s aim was for the store to be up to 50% more efficient than a standard supermarket, and to experiment with innovative design features that could become future standards if these proved relevant

http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=251&aspectid=6

So it’s the build that makes this Sainsbury’s an eco supermarket – not necessarily the content.

For more information on the build from Sainsbury’s perspective visit

www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?PageID=322& subsection=news_releases&Year=1999&NewsID=99

I was hoping that Mary might be able to give me a greater insight to the allotments, but this wasn’t here area of expertise. She thought that when the gas works were built in 1887, areas of land were dedicated to allotment gardening for the gas works employees. The Victorian wealthy often displayed philanthropic acts aimed to enhance the quality of life for the less well off.

She suggested that I contact the local heritage centre, and for more information about the farm, Mary suggested I contact Barbara Ludlow.

My first visit to Greenwich was for 3 days

During those few days, along with meeting people I also spent many hours wandering around the area, soaking up the atmosphere, orientating myself, looking, experiencing, and formulating ideas based on what I observed, what I’d heard, and what I’d read.

I found myself concentrating more and more on the Peninsula

It is a bizarre and fascinating environment

Diverse habitats

A dichotomy

And rich ground for an inquisitive artist

Under development as it is – it lacks cohesion

Fenced off Brownfield sites with their scrubby vegetation lay next to manicured parkland and multicoloured apartment blocks edged with brushed stainless steel armatures – The Millennium Village

Greenwich Millennium Village is set to become a model for urban living, successfully encompassing the key issues of social cohesiveness, transport and communication and ecology, technology and innovation. As the first phase of plans for development across the whole of Greenwich Peninsula, the Village is part of the largest single regeneration project in London.

http://www.greenwich-village.co.uk/

it’s worth taking a look at the web site as it’s full of images designed to sell the master plan image.

I met with a lady living in one of these blocks – Rachel.

She lives here with her son in a ground floor apartment

Sat in her lounge she talked freely about what it’s like for her and her son living in the Millenium Village

She’s happy to be here – it’s an improvement on her last home

I didn’t ask why she had moved, but she did tell me that she’s one of the social housing tenants – the Village is a split of social and private housing.

We talked about all kinds of things – from the quality of the buildings to personal relationships

But the overwhelming thing I came away with was the amount of worries Rachel has that are linked to the environment, the ground beneath her feet, the Peninsula flora and fauna, and climate change issues.

From the Thames Walk (that circumnavigates the Peninsula) looking down river you can see the Thames Barrier. If Rachel’s apartment were a few floors higher, she would have a great view of it.

But being in sight of the barrier appears to cause Rachel more concern that comfort.

It is a constant reminder that the Thames needs to be controlled – that without the barrier, London could flood

And more alarming for Rachel

The knowledge that her home is built on a flood plane

Land that was once marshes

And being aware – as most of us are these days – of climate change and predicted sea level rises, and the fact that the south east of England is sinking (all be it slowly) serves only to compound Rachel’s worries.

She is fearful that she and her son will may washed away – to the extent that she has even contemplated buying one of those inflatable walk in balls

• A giant inflatable globe so you can literally walk on water.

• Made from heavy gauge PVC.

• Inset cups on the outside surface that enable you to grip the water. Your movements inside the globe propel the globe along the water, much fun!

• A speed safety valve.

• Tie-Down grommets.

• Suitable for ages 8 years + with adult supervision.

• Suitable for those of 12.5 stone or less.

• Size: – Inflated: 183 x 183 x 183cm

•  Deflated in box: 59 x 52 x 39cm.

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/walk-on-water/index.html

And Rachel is not alone in her concern for London’s flood defence barrier

In July 2007, The Independent (Environment Editor) reported that the Thames Barrier is likely to provide sufficient defence from flooding but only until 2030.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/flood-risk-raised-as-south-sinking-faster-than-predicted-457155.html

The potential of the Peninsula flooding is a nagging niggle, and not on Rachel’s list of immediate concerns

More pressing is her concern that her home, and her child’s outdoor play space, is built on contaminated land – and that all that protects them from toxic contamination is a membrane layer some feet below their feet.

When she moved in, Rachel told me that she was given codes of conduct with regard to planting. Apparently, no resident is allowed to plant trees, or anything with deep roots. This rule could be interpreted as – deep roots may puncture the membrane.

As a consequence, Rachel, who has a patio area, grows vegetables in grow-bags and pots. But it doesn’t end there; she has placed all her grow-bags and pots on plinths of one kind or another – namely tables and benches.

This concern about contamination entering the food chain extends to all planting on the Peninsula.

She told me that last year when it snowed, her son was eager to go out and play in it. Her concern is such that she told him that he must not eat the snow.

In fact, every time her son goes out to play – or visits the Ecology Park – she insists that his hands go nowhere near his mouth until he has washed them.

Before I left, Rachel showed me the inner courtyard area of her apartment block. She told me that each block has a similar courtyard – paved open areas with benches and walkways and herbaceous boarders containing evergreen shrubs. Her son rarely plays in the courtyard; there’s not much for him to do in there, and there’s not many children living in the block so there’s no one really for him to play with. Unlike an adjacent block, where there are many families with young children. I asked if her son ever goes and plays with the children in the other block. I found her reply saddening…

“We have closed courtyards, you can’t get into them unless you live in the block, and because of this, children from other apartment blocks aren’t welcomed.” 

As I was leaving through the communal hallway, a poster on the notice board warning residents caught my eye

“Danger – do not touch”

and a picture of a caterpillar – not this one – I took this just outside the main entrance

“Oh yes, and that’s another thing. Each spring the trees are infested with poisonous caterpillars. There’s one just outside the entrance. I run quickly under it each time I go in or out – I don’t want them falling on me.”

We went to investigate and sure enough, the tree whose canopy shades the entrance to the apartments was crawling with hairy brown caterpillars, as were the wooden structures that denote the entrance way.

Some Quick Facts about Browntail Moth

1.    The Brown tail moth is a considerable defoliator of forest, hedgerows, orchards and ornamental shrubs.

2.    The main reason Brown tail moths are a pest is the allergic reaction caused to people through contact with the hairs on the caterpillars, and to a lesser extent, the adults.

3.    The caterpillars aggregate in a communal tent. The tent is made from silk produced by the caterpillars.

4.    The fine hairs produced by the caterpillars can be blown around in the wind. Clothes drying on washing lines can become contaminated with hairs causing people to develop reactions when wearing recently washed clothes.

5.    A typical reaction to the hairs is a burning rash, although streaming eyes and asthma type symptons are not uncommon.

6.    Animals are also affected by the hairs. Dogs and cats frequently suffer skin reactions during outbreaks of Brown tail moth.

7.    Cases of exposure to the hairs are reduced during damp weather – the humidity suppresses the airborne dispersal of hairs.

8.    The female lays up to 300 eggs.

9.    Epidemics usually occur in cycles of approximately 5 years.

www.exosect.com/solutions/pests/brown_tail_moth.asp

Carried by the wind, the hairs become little filaments of toxin floating around on the air currents – so they can be an irritant whether you have a tree over your pathway or not.

“If only we had birds in this space – perhaps they would eat them.”

Having had my attention brought to them – I began seeing them all over the Peninsula – an infestation in Millennium Park, outside Sainsbury’s, along the roadside shrub edged verges.

In fact pretty much everywhere except inside the Ecology Park. Which incidentally is one place on the Peninsula where herbicides and pesticides are not welcome.

Tony, a warden at the Ecology Park told me that the Brown Tail caterpillars are indiscriminate eaters – they’re not fussy, and they no longer have a natural predator on the Peninsula, so they’re thriving. Most likely they would have always been in this area, but before the redevelopment, there one and only predator – the cuckoo, would have been keeping the numbers down

2007 and there’s not a cuckoo in sight

And even if there was, the numbers of caterpillars now out way the apatite of even the greediest of cuckoos.

So why are there non inside the Ecology Park?

Easy – Tony removes them, at the right time of year, using the right technique. He handpicks them off before they pupate…

www.exosect.com/solutions/pests/brown_tail_moth.asp guidelines as follows…

…inspect your trees in the autumn and remove any tents (also known as webs)

that you find by pruning the twigs that they are on. The tents should preferably be burnt on site or place in a plastic bag and disposed of in your dustbins. Avoid disturbing the tents whilst removing them and ensure that you protect yourself by wearing gloves.  

And the reason they are so abundant on the rest of the Peninsula is due to uncoordinated management; ground works carried out by different contractors, at different times, with different levels of conservation knowledge. The commonly applied antidote to the problem is pesticide, sprayed at the wrong time of year – consequently having limited impact on the target subject, but effectively killing off other pollinators and good bugs.

Which in turn affects the food supply for insect eating birds like wrens, robins, and reed warblers, and, if certain flowers like teasels don’t’ get pollinated affects seed eating birds too – like finches. All of these birds can be found in and around the Brownfield spaces and the Ecology Park.

The lack of birds within the Millennium village is a concern – but one that could be easily rectified – with the right kind of planting, some bird boxes, and well placed bird feeders.

At the end of my first 3 day visit to the Peninsula I put together an overview – 4 strands of inquiry that I would like to pursue

STRAND 1

100 cauliflowers (because I thought that 1000 would prove to be unwieldy)

As a one-day event to kick start “environment”

This will hopefully introduce me to people and visa versa

A springboard to start conversations and ideas…

I will need a market stall – see

www.nicoll-industries.co.uk/PolyPVC.htm

and

www.nicoll-industries.co.uk/tabletypestalls.htm

For 2 alternatives – and prices

The stall can be used throughout the project – a base/studio for different ‘on site’ activities

100 cauliflowers should happen within the locale of the old allotment sites – most of this area is now the retail park…

However, behind Sainsburys is an area of land – their 106 planning agreement for open space. This could make an ideal site – especially if the agreement was for open public access (and use) for this site.

An alternative could be the grassed area near the Ecology Park – however, from what I have been told – this was the site of the steel works – and not allotments –

100 cauliflowers can happen (if you are able to get permission) in the first week

JULY

STRAND 2

The Ecology Park

An environmental art project that aims to raise an ecological awareness needs, in my opinion, sustainability built into it. If I am able to interest young people in environmental issues, I want them to be able to develop their interest after I go, and to achieve this, the Ecology Park is a perfect project partner. In the short time I have available, I want to develop a good relationship with the Park wardens, in the hope that at the end of my commission, a few (or even just one) of the young people I converse and create with, will have a sustained relationship with the ecology of the area as a volunteer for the Ecology Park – volunteer activities start in September

www.urbanecology.org.uk/volunteering.html

www.urbanecology.org.uk/gpepvolunteering.htm

To begin physical links with the Ecology Park I want to start with a series of walks

There appears to be 3 community hubs in the Greenwich Ward

1. To the north of the Ecology Park – the Millennium Village
2. To the south of the Ecology Park  - at the base of the Peninsula, the southwest tip of the Ward
3. To the west of the A102 – the longstanding Greenwich Community and high street shopping

Walks will be open to anyone living or working in any of the above, mentioned areas (coordination needed…)

Each walk will be to map the most direct route to the park – discussing along the way the route accessibility, aesthetics, safety, and ‘greenness’

We will visit the Ecology Park, experience the environment, and meet the wardens

These walks should happen in the first week

Again – a starting point, to be developed into …

STRAND 3

Bird Patterns

Strand 4

Air quality – signifiers and filters

Writing and collating this website in retrospect – I’m keeping the details of these 2 strands to myself for now

There wasn’t the time to realize them during the 4 week residence

They are ideas that still excite me, and ideas that can be transposed to different locations

So I’m hanging fire for now

STRAND 4 is already manifesting in 3 works for 2008

But STRAND 3 is on standby – awaiting the right place, support, and conditions…

“Peninsula” is a two-year programme of artists’ commissions on the Greenwich Peninsula. The area has seen much change and is due to undergo further dramatic development in the next few years. “Peninsula” aims to engage the diverse and separated local communities of the peninsula, some old and some emerging, in investigating the area and the significance of the changes. The commissions will bring together local people to explore new territories, cross boundaries and make new links and connections that can be sustained in the future.
The focus for the programme is exploring change and identity of the environment and its inhabitants. These explorations are being made through a range of contemporary artist’s commissions engaging with approaches to participative collaboration, public art, mapping, psycho geography, intervention, community information and digital technologies. Programme documentation can be seen via
http://www.peninsulaprojects.net

And the brief I responded to was

“Environment”
This commission is for a project to engage a cross section of residents of the Greenwich Peninsula Ward in investigating their environment. The project should enable enquiry, activism, and raise awareness of environmental issues, including:
- The enhancement, management and sustainable development of the local environment.
- People friendly development, (issues around environmental care, recycling, public space & sustainable lifestyles)
The project should seek to bring people together, generate ideas, environmental research, recordings and responses using mixed and new media, and begin to deliver messages about changes wanted in the area.
IP is keen to engage a variety of participants across the community, including young people, elderly and families and would ask applicants to consider approaches to this, possibly through a variety of activities / events.

Artist profile.
IP seeks an artist / animateur / creative activist who is developing unique and engaging approaches to urban and environmental investigation and collaboration. Experience of engaging with diverse communities is required, with an enthusiasm for working closely with residents to explore and communicate environmental issues in creative and original ways. A track record of working participatively with technology is desirable, but the focus should be on collaborating with local residents and enabling meaningful participation.

I was the lucky applicant – and was appointed the residence

It’s a case of the outsider being parachuted into a community to deliver work for, and about, the community and place. Not uncommon, and certainly with it’s advantages. Any in-comer sees a place free from the restrictions of familiarity – in other words, you see a place afresh, for the first time, through ‘new’ eyes, unfamiliar with the comings and goings of everyday life, and the local politics.
The major disadvantages are the reverse –you don’t know the place, the people, or the politics
So
You need to get to know,
and in this case,
for this residence,
quickly…
I had 20 days to research, engage, and deliver…

I began my research many miles away from Peninsula – sat in my studio just outside Manchester
I began by reading URL after URL, links that helped me understand the history of the peninsula, its recent development, ecology – past, present, and future, local politics, and the opinions of local bloggers

http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

http://www.greenwichpeninsula.co.uk/home.htm

http://comunities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1509513

http://www.meridiandeltaltd.com

http://www.intelligentspace.com/projects/09992.htm

http://www.urbanecology.org.uk/gpep.html>

http://www.forumatgreenwich.co.uk/

http://fegp.typepad.com/

http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/greenwich/accounts/subjects/ictteam/Resources/QCA%20Lesson%20Plans/6d%20Using%20the%20internet/Support%20Files/History%20of%20Greenwich.pdf

http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/greenwich/main/greenwich-peninsula.htm

http://www.gold.ac.uk/world/millen/peninsula.html

http://society.guardian.co.uk/regeneration/story/0,7940,515827,00.html

http://www.casino-avenue.co.uk/2004/08/yuppie-village-picture-special-i-keep.html

http://www.gold.ac.uk/world/millen/>

http://lastbushome.typepad.com

http://www.gmvonline.com/GMVCW/index.php?section=greenIss&M=0

http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/YourEnvironment/

http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/YourEnvironment/Pollution/AirQuality/AirQuality.htm

www.ecologyconsultancy.co.uk/housing.htm

I began to refine my research area and started checking out stuff that was of a deeper interest to me – specifically the remediation of the Peninsula (removing land contaminated by the gas work industry, and replacing it with non contaminated soil) and here in lies a whole other line of investigation – phytoremediation, biomonitoring, restoration ecology, and Brownfield development; areas of investigation that I am researching for other projects – but lines of inquiry that that turned out to be not wholly suited to this residence.

The URLs were naturally followed by downloading pdf’s
Some were direct links from the web pages I had been reading through, and others I came across as I digressed – wandering around the virtual maze of the internet world – subjects including land remediation, wild adventure, green space, open space, brownfield space, biodiversity, and ecology parks, spring to mind…
Which in turn led to reading relevant books and journals
And all done to build a deeper understanding of how the Peninsula has developed or could be developed further…

IP emailed through a list of people they thought I should contact – so I did.

So as not to feel totally goggle box bound (“square eyes square head” my mum used to say about my after school TV watching – if only she knew just how many hours I spend in front of a screen these days!) I also made some phone calls.
One lady in particular was a great inspiration, Barbara Ludlow, a local historian and writer who, before retiring and moving to the Kent coast, used to work in the Greenwich Heritage Centre. Incidentally, she has written a great deal about the area – and continues to do so – on a typewriter – as she puts it – as someone approaching 80 I don’t want to be staring at a computer screen all day!
As someone half her age – I don’t want to be either…!

The other thing I did before I headed cross-country on a Virgin Pendolino was to check out past Peninsula Programme projects

I was particularly interested in
‘Accidental Holiday’ by Lottie Child,
What she did bore many resemblances to what I had proposed in my application
http://malinky.org/wikka.php?wakka=AccidentalHoliday

I mention all this not because I want you to think – oohh how rigorous  – although a thought in that direction is obviously appreciated – but because if you have read this far, I am hoping you have an interest in the Peninsula, and rather that spend time clogging up pages with texts that others have written, it’s far easier for me to drop in the links, in the hope that you will click onto them and begin to build up your own overview of the place, it’s history, and re-development

But going back to being the outsider ‘parachuted’ in
I don’t like going somewhere
To create work in response to people and place
Without having a bit of background info
So before I ever put a foot on the Peninsula or met a single local, I felt the need to do a bit of homework; to learn a little about the Peninsula – processes of change over time.

I was still unfamiliar with the comings and goings of everyday life, and the local politics.
And I had no idea of the spatial dynamics of the Peninsula – the tactile, felt, seen, and experienced. That was still to come.

100 Cauliflowers is a project that questions
“Should we look to the past for a sustainable future?”

There is increasing concern about the carbon footprint of food miles – and a marked decrease in space for people to “grow your own”Local residents have planted 100 cauliflower seeds.

The first of these was with students from John Roan School. The school is planning to move to new state of the art premises on the peninsula in the next few years.

Kerry acknowledges that “The entire landscape on the Greenwich Peninsula east of the A102 has been recreated and the landscaped green spaces have been created by bringing flora into the area. When the contaminated land was remediated and the building development planning application was accepted, a tiny portion of the Greenwich peninsula was made into an ecology park but most of the green space consists of large grassed areas, monocultures of ivy and lavender, and architecturally positioned trees.

It would be fare to say that there has been some thought given to the ecology of the peninsula – but not necessary a holistic vision that promotes and nurtures wildlife and habitat cohesion.

As soon as you leave the vicinity of the ecology park there is a noticeable audible difference in the gardened landscape – the designed open green space has not been created to attract or nurture wildlife, as a result, bird activity decreases dramatically and songs are replaced with the hum of traffic traveling through on the A102.

But at present, the peninsula wildlife is not wholly concentrated in the ecology park. The vacant plots awaiting development also support a host of wildlife.

The peninsula has a rich biodiverse habitat, a history of market farming on a huge scale, and a history of allotment gardening. Looking at past agri/culture activity, current wildlife activity, and future wildlife potential, I hope to encourage residents to embrace these aspects of their environment, past, present, and future, through practical and creative activities.”