How did we get here? – a reflection of 15 years of TMAEG

Chris Gossop, outgoing chairman of TMAEG

Chris recalled that TMAEG had begun in 2011 as a campaign to save our central feature, our twin avenue of glorious silver maples.

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Principal design features of Two Mile Ash, they had recently been earmarked for felling, in an ill-thought-out scheme to make way for more car parking. That six-month, community-led ‘battle for the environment’ had been won, and the trees remain. TMAEG was formally launched on Saturday 8^th October 2011 at a public meeting held in Holy Cross Church. It was to become a highly successful, multi-purpose environmental body run entirely by volunteers. Notable ingredients to our success have been:

Developing an ambitious environmental programme – to be guided by a strategic plan – the Environmental Projects Plan.
Partnerships – working with other bodies to magnify the impacts of what TMAEG’s teams can achieve on their own.
Education – Working with Ashbrook School, combining an educational role in terms of bulb planting, with the enhancement of the school’s frontages.
Biodiversity – broadening the diversity of wildlife (plant and animal life) across Two Mile Ash.
Open Gardens – fostering an interest in gardening through ten years of Open Gardens.
Well-being – through bringing residents, businesses and institutions together, and getting to know each other better through working in teams, and through visits and social events.

These are commented on below:

An ambitious environmental programme

Fourteen years, now into fifteen, of largely Saturday morning projects, with volunteer teams six to 15 strong, have significantly improved the Two Mile Ash environment. They have been concentrated in landscape corridors and other important pedestrian areas and bring together new projects and the sensitive management of what is already there. There have been some smaller projects too, aimed at the enhancement of very local areas. The planting of a cherry tree in a ‘landscape island’ in Denmead is one example.

The presentation singled out three specific projects. First the Milesmere/Thorncliffe path and woodland area where, early in the life of TMAEG, an existing track was replaced by an all-weather log and chippings path. On either side, glades were created to let in light, and accommodate wild daffodils, anemones and other wildflower bulbs. Particularly beautiful in the spring and early summer, this track connects the housing of Milesmere and Thorncliffe to a green path on the edge of Two Mile Ash and was to become part of today’s Bluebell Circuit.

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The second focus was the Twin Gardens strip which connects The High Street in the village centre with the Local Park. Striking floral displays at the High Street end ‘morph’ to residents’ gardens and then, at the Local Park edge, two mirror image gardens dominated by colourful shrubs and perennials. Completing these gardens and maintaining them for the long term has been a sizeable commitment for TMAEG.

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The same applies to our third project, the Bluebell Circuit, which was formally launched by TMAEG in April 2022. After an intensive period of planning, design and construction we now have a popular 750m walking circuit passing through two very different woodlands and connected by a ’green ride’ following the line of Watling Steet as well as residential streets and footpaths. Its construction highlight is an 11m-long steel and timber bridge designed and specified by TMAEG in conjunction with the landowner Milton Keynes Parks Trust. This spans a deep brook that passes under the road from Whitehouse.

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With the winding paths that connect to it, we have revealed a largely hidden feature (and treat!) of Two Mile Ash, its bluebell wood. We encourage all to visit at Bluebell Time but there is also plenty to see at other times of the year, particularly in September/ October to view see the emerging autumn colours.

Web site link to Bluebell Circuit.

The Environmental Projects Plan, last updated in 2016, is our guide. It shows the environmental corridors and other areas in which we work. It is in need of updating to show the connected-up Bluebell Circuit and our area of work in the Central Gardens where we support the work of the Community Garden Group.

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Education Work

For a period of ten years until the onset of Covid, TMAEG worked with Ashbrook School to give each child joining the school the opportunity to plant daffodil bulbs; MKCC officers helped in the early years. The areas chosen were largely on the opposite, northern side of The High Street, within the entrance to the Local Park. Others were planted in the green to the south, along the pathway leading to Stone Hill.

Around sixty entry-level children, divided into two groups, were involved each year. These groups were shepherded to the site by their teachers and given a lively talk from Pavla (mainly) about the task ahead and what they could expect to see of their February Gold ‘treasure’ in roughly four months’ time. They were then taken in smaller groups to the planting areas where our volunteers had pre-dug rows of turf. The children then planted their three bulbs in the exposed soil, and the lifted turfs were replaced.

This ‘ceremony’ lasted about an hour, an experience that our young participants will long remember. Taken over those ten years, around two thousand bulbs were planted and the collective result each spring is much admired.

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While bulb planting with the children has ceased for now, we continue to work with the school in respect of physical enhancement; the twelve tubs at the front of the school are our long-term commitment to this. They are re-planted by our volunteers twice a year, the school paying an annual fee. The two plantings follow the mixes used in the big planters in the Twin Gardens area.

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Partnerships

This relatively small scheme at Ashbrook School is one of an increasing number of projects where TMAEG has joined up with institutions, other community organisations and businesses. Such partnerships have magnified our impact far beyond what we could achieve entirely on our own. In several of the bigger cases, projects would not have happened without the close involvement of other parties from the start.

Over the last year or so our involvement has returned to the Central Gardens between the two schools where we began. The saved maple trees have flourished and the spaces beneath them have been re-planted, initially by MKCC and, more recently, the Community Garden Group (led first by High Street resident Janice Cristoe, and, with her passing, by her husband, Ray). This is a big area and through periodic joint working with TMAEG it has been possible to keep the gardens at their tidiest and as a choice sitting out area for the summer. The photos show our joint team enjoying a break, and spring views of our garden areas further enhanced for 2025 through the planting of 500 colourful tulip bulbs. We thank Abbey Hill Parish Council for these.

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Other partnerships apply to the Twin Gardens which link The High Street to the Local Park. First, the two businesses (Two Mile Ash Dental Practice and Hair Culture) own the large hexagonal planters on the slabbed area between them while TMAEG is responsible for the design and management of their decorative planting schemes and the changeovers in October/November and May/June. The businesses also manage their own frontage gardens and carry out summer watering of their planters. Secondly, some of the residents along this strip have created their own gardens, sometimes with help from TMAEG.

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Much of the land making up the Bluebell Circuit involved land under the control of Milton Keynes Parks Trust (MKPT) and its realisation required a close working relationship with them. The most challenging decision was the choice of how to connect the circuit across the deeply set brook originating in what is now Whitehouse. The answer that TMAEG reached was a footbridge level with the stream banks and that this would need to be 11m (35 ft) long. But where exactly would it cross and how would it protect important trees such as the multi-stemmed hazel that is so distinctive on the eastern bank of the stream?

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Fortunately TMAEG had ‘in house’ many of the skills that would be required from planning and tree knowledge, to laser surveying, to design and to working with concrete. Also, we learned others’ skills, notably Method Statements from the Parks Trust, and how to cope with the requirements of the drainage authorities.

But we also needed partners to prepare formal plans for planning permission and David Lock and Associates very generously ‘lent us’ a member of their team to draw up the overall plans. In parallel, TMAEG completed the detailed bridge design in conjunction with MKPT, and in consultation with the planning authority Milton Keynes City Council. We also approached Milton Keynes Community Foundation to seek grant aid. So, everything came together in the end, leading to the positioning of the foundations by TMAEG and the setting down of the deck on those foundations (MKPT) and the path connections (TMAEG and others).

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In terms of partners, there were eight of us in total. Beyond the five mentioned already, the other three were: Abbey Hill Parish Council (remainder of funding); MK Green Gym (sections of the path); Brioche Pasquier (brioches and other catering for the launch at Bluebell Time)

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Biodiversity

TMAEG seeks to improve biodiversity across Two Mile Ash. One of the simplest definitions is that set out in the Oxford Dictionary of English: The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable.

But how do we spot improving biodiversity in the Two Mile Ash grid square? One answer lies in some of our work. Close to the start of TMAEG our volunteers took part in a national tree planting scheme, our share being 50 whips in four or five species. These were planted mainly along the valley of the Ash Brook, a designated TMAEG corridor. Other trees were planted in successive years.

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Most of those trees have flourished and a couple of species which were not present before are now doing particularly well – these are hornbeam and walnut. At the opposite end of the scale, our volunteers are to be congratulated for planting English primroses along the stream banks, these being very striking when seen from the High Street bridge. In these two respects, that we have more tree types and more trees in total than before (meaning before TMAEG), and that we have an abundance of English primroses along the stream bank, this Local Park section of the stream habitat could be said to be more diverse .

As a more recent example, our bridge and paths in the Bluebell Circuit have been complemented by the planting of some 65 trees in eight different species. Some more hazels will be planted this winter, also gifted to us by the Parks Trust, and they have two main objectives. The first is to diversify the plantation mix away from an over-dependence on Norway maples, together with ash, with its vulnerability to die-back. The second objective is to expand the ‘ecological depth’ of the wood by creating a middle canopy layer. The trees being planted by TMAEG are certainly diversifying the mix. However, the second objective is longer term, and it will be some time before this new more biodiverse habitat emerges, providing, in particular, a more accommodating place for bird life.

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Elsewhere within the Bluebell Circuit we have sought to diversify the ground layer through planting native English primroses, wood anemones and wild daffodils in the Milesmere/Thorncliffe woodland and in a large wildflower area to the south of the bridge crossing area.

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Open Gardens

From the outset, TMAEG realised that while the wider environment of Two Mile Ash was an important cause, so were people’s private gardens. There was a hunger for ideas about garden layout and suitable plants, and how to make gardens special. So, in July 2013 we ran a single day Open Gardens ‘to test the market’ and to provide some of those ideas. The trial certainly caught on and we began Saturday/Sunday events from the following year, with follow-ups in 2016 and 2018. The striking ‘yellow passport ‘, the entry ticket to the gardens, became very familiar and attendances got better every year.

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Because of Covid we were obliged to abandon the planned 2020 event; instead we held a virtual Open Gardens with professionally taken photos in the place of garden visits. Open Gardens returned in 2022 and attracted a record number of visitors, with more than ever from outside our boundaries. But it was the final one for now.

Why was that, given the popularity of Open Gardens? One was that the team was struggling to find gardeners to join the entries because so many of the obvious candidates had already exhibited. So the decision was to ‘rest’ Open Gardens for a few years to allow new people to settle in Two Mile Ash and come forward to exhibit with fresh gardening ideas. The Committee resolved to leave a full archive on the TMAEG website including many photos and a fuller Open Gardens story – web site . We look forward to a Revival of Open Gardens in just a few years with a fresh team to run it. When you think you are ready, do let us know!

Well-Being

At their best our environmental projects foster a sense of real satisfaction amongst our members. Our projects provide valuable physical exercise, new skills can be picked up, and there is often close contact with nature. In addition, team working provides an extra dimension, so often enabling a task that seems daunting at the start to be comfortably completed by the end of the session. Also, the friendships that often develop through our coffee and tea breaks can be so enriching to participants.

TMAEG has always been as much social as environmental.

While we would encourage potential members to try out our projects, that isn’t always possible, for health reasons perhaps. So we aim to boost the numbers of people we attract through other TMAEG activities. There are generally about four or five of these through the Year: they range from quite distant places like the Coton Manor Gardens in Northants to Parks Trust events like visits to the Flood Plain Forest Park and Linford Manor Park, industries like Brioche Pasquier and the recycling centres, to historical centres such as Bradwell Abbey and the Roman Villa. Looking to the housing of the future, we’ve had two guided walks around the Whitehouse Grid Square.

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On other occasions we have invited outside speakers to address us on gardening, through a Gardeners’ Question Time, an evening on energy saving in our homes and a ‘season’ with Stony Stratford’s volunteers where (again in Holy Cross Church) they treated us to the results of their work on slides and followed this up with a tour around the town’s gardening sites.

We should not forget that our biggest event of the year is the TMAEG Annual Meeting and that is a social event in its own right, particularly the tea and cakes so carefully put together by Margaret and her team with extra contributions from our membership. Thank you.

A request: Do let us know if you have any more ideas for visits/activities that we might do over the coming year or beyond.