What is left of the Garden Festival site is cause for local concern and campaign
http://www.gfcampaign.org.uk/

Now a secret garden, it is a site of intrigue and curiosity for many.
High fences topped with barbed wire are punctuated with signs warning all passers-by that this site is PRIVATE, guarded and patrolled.
At the old main entrance physical evidence of the guarded garden - a Rotweiler.
So even when I found ways to get into the site – I chose not to enter– I didn’t fancy being chased by any type of beast…let alone one that could do me real flesh eating damage.

It is difficult to evaluate Brownfield sites when you can’t or daren’t access them – but this is the way it has been throughout my expedition – so based upon what can be seen, face pressed up against the chain-link fence – this site was evaluated a Green site – the first Green Site I have encounters in 5 weeks and 60 miles of cycling.
But it only just scrapped a Green tag, evaluated at 38.5 – Green tags begin with a score of 38.5
The reason for the borderline Green is because the site has
• A lot of tarmac surface sealing
• Buildings falling apart - the debris clearly visible
• A fence making this site inaccessible
Or so I thought…

Cycling back up the Promenade – another signpost for Pleasure Island – a place inside the secret Garden. This third Pleasure Island sign points towards a gate - left open - I can’t resist...
I enter along a muddy lane – if there’s a dog at the front – how likely is it that there’s a dog at the back?
I didn’t have the nerve to find out…
Back on me bike, through some trees and up onto a grassy hillock – great views across the River Mersey, the grasslands, and... the tarmac car park.
Fumes waft up my nostrils and rasp at the back of my throat…a building along the Promenade is the source, emitting acrid fumes that smell like car exhaust emissions - I don't know what gasses are grasping at my olfactory but I am reminded of another necessity for trees in our cities…
Car exhausts emit a cocktail of suffocating gasses and greenhouse gasses, including Carbon Dioxide - and tree canopies create effective green sinks – or green lungs – taking in the Carbon Dioxide. Plants naturally remove CO2 from the air through the process of photosynthesis and trees are particularly efficient when it comes to removing CO2 from the atmosphere. And I’m stood right next to one large “green sink”

As the sun sets over the city I cycle the length of the promenade to its end. Contrasts in landscape – the grasslands void of people, then Otterspool Park with people flying kites, walking dogs, and strolling along the Prom. I cycle past lovers kissing, children playing, and teenagers hanging out. At the end of the Prom, the large houses of Grassendale Park glow pink in the sunlight, beyond, the landmark blue cranes of Garston Docks.

Before my day comes to an end – 2 more Brownfields.

Summary
10 miles
5 sites – 1 Green, 2 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Blue

I have now cycled the entire length from Canada Dock to John Lennon Airport. 5 weeks and 60 miles - Phase 1 of “Natural Succession” is drawing to a close.
What remains to be mapped during the Independents Biennial is the city centre, and along Edge Lane…

Meanwhile – back at The Outhouse in Woolton
The installation – the traces from my travels…

A terrarium containing creeping thistles and creeping across the creeping thistles, the cigar like cocoons of the Coleophora peribenanderi

Drawings of flora – from known – like budlea and ferns – to the unidentified – species not present in my wild flower books…

And the O.S. map – green felt pen marks - the routes taken - red dots Brownfields

“This is private property you know – you shouldn’t be here”

The first day that I met with negative encounters…20/10/06

Where was I? Had I hacked my way into a barricaded site with large “KEEP OUT” signs?
Had a crawled through a hole in a fence to take a look at wasteland wildlife?
Nothing so exciting… I had merely cycled into the new Redrow housing development
“Cressington Heath”

Large Redrow signs and banners on the main road – Garston Way – telling all who pass that the sales office is open.
All who might be passing in a posh car – perhaps – but obviously not those of us who try and reduce our carbon emissions.

I appreciate the cycling trousers and a billowing cagoule are not the most flattering of attire, and wind does no favours for any type of hair do – or eye make-up - which, if I were to wear any on my travels would no doubt slip from where it should be and make it’s way in a streaky fashion down my cheeks as eyes water from wind in the face…
Practicality on a bike is essential – and being practical doesn’t mean I, or anyone else, should automatically be judged as a ‘trespasser’.

How it happened was…
I cycled down the new road to the show homes.
I heard a whistle – the kind of loud whistle made from putting forefinger and little finger into your mouth and blowing hard
“How rude” I thought as I heard the load whistle, assuming a salesperson was whistling to attract the attention of a fellow colleague. Indeed he was – but the colleague was a burly chap being summoned to undertake the task of ejecting me from the area.

“I’m looking at the houses that are for sale.” I say in a meek and sweet voice.
“Then you should be in the sales office” he grunted back at me, all stony faced.
I wheel my bike up to the office, and walk inside to be greeted by a lady who looked like she would have been happier talking to a dog pooh on her shoe.

I try my best to have a civil conversation with the sales woman - not easy.
As I am looking at the plan layout of the estate I notice a mini roundabout with the word ‘ART’ in its centre.
“Ohh” I say – “is there an artwork planned for there?”
“Yes”
“Is it under Section 106 and the percent for art scheme?”
“Yes”
“Oh, I’m an artist, and I’ve worked on percent for art schemes”
This was not the right thing to say… from the look on her face I think she now thought that I was not only dirty scum, but also a liar…
But I persevere
“Who’s doing it – do you know”
“Yes, it’s Dot-art. They have taken over one of the show homes and turned it into a gallery.”
I don’t want to say anything about the exhibition except it too is in the Independents Biennial
So where was their Independents Biennial cone?

From the web site www.artinliverpool.com Liverpool Biennial 2006 Blog
"Dot-art Group Show in Cressington Show Home
Dot-art launched a group exhibition of work by local artists on Saturday, in the unusual location of a 4 bedroom show home, at Redrow's Cressington heath development in Garston.
The show was launched with an open day complete with Hot Air Balloon.
Click the link below for map and directions.
http://www.redrow.co.uk/developments/gettingthere/40.

If you decide to go and see the exhibition – perhaps you might like to give some thought to how you get there and how you dress…

The Redrow housing estate was heath land not so long ago – a Brownfield site, and that’s why I was cycling there - a bit of the heath remains – now only accessible through the new housing estate.
Continuing my conversation with saleswoman I am alarmed and disgusted to find out that what remains of the heath land (under Section 106 of planning I assume – she was very vague about this… hum…) will be for the pleasure and recreation of the new homeowners only. She went onto say
“There will be NO local access
It is to be private – a part of the estate
Each homeowner will be paying an annual fee for management of the heath”
It is to be partially landscaped too …

LCC Local Development Framework, Development Plan Document Core Strategy deals with “key environmental, social, and economic considerations in order to address Liverpool’s challenges and opportunities…”(www.liverpool.gov.uk/images/tcm21-63863.pdf)
Anyone wanting to read the whole paper - feel free – but for a quick fix on the subject of open spaces and biodiversity – check out pages 29, 114, 116, 120, 154, and 175
Further more, Cressinigton Heath appears in Schedule 8.1 of Chapter 8 Open Environment LCC, as Site of Nature Conservation Value and has been selected as a potential Local Nature Reserve
But - if what saleswoman told me is true - apparently not for the existing community – only the new Redrow home owning community
I later found out, in conversation with a young gentleman in Garston centre, that the heath had been highly valued by the local community – mostly dog walkers, and young people using the heath as playing fields.
So here we appear to have a Brownfield site that had a community value – a value for experiencing nature –
But it would appear that it is no longer a valuable commodity for the standing local community - but an exclusive opportunity to experience nature for those privileged enough to be the proud new homeowners in Cressington Heath…
I need to find out more about this... I have written hearsay, not confirmed facts

I couldn’t get back to the heath to tag the fence – but I evaluated it as a Red site
• Over an acre in size
• Fully vegetated
• Undulating land with areas of wet flush
• >25% tree cover
• >3 edible species, 10-25% cover
• Biodiverse, litter and debris free, and with additional features

After my urban regeneration Liverpool Redrow renaissance encounter I felt pretty fed up.

I cycled up and down the streets of Garston centre. This whole area is earmarked for regeneration –
And in places the process has begun…

Although many of the properties along St Mary’s Road, and the adjoining streets are derelict and boarded – I only came across one Brownfield - my first to be invaded by a detested non native species – one of the country’s top 3 invasives – Japanese Knotweed…
Tastes like asparagus I’m told, but don’t go picking it… it’s illegal to transplant this exotic... And by accidentally dropping a bit of it, it can spread.
I say this is the first Brownfield with a top 3 invasive on it, but let’s not forget – I can’t actually get into most of the Brownfields I have mapped – so perhaps this is the only species that I have been able to see.

19/10/06
Rain to start followed by sunshine

The longest conversation so far about the project - with the Radio Merseyside Breakfast Show presenter - Simon.
If you listened to the interview and are now reading this – please do feel free to comment… your input to this site will really put meat on the bones…

Simon joined me on his bike and we visited a couple of last week’s sites – in the rain.

Off air he told me that he really likes Brownfields – one of his favourite trees is usually amongst the first of tree species to colonise Brownfield sites - the Birch.
He also has a fondness for Brownfields because they remind him of his childhood – I guess like mine - playing around, foraging about, and getting grubby. Brownfields were the unofficial playing fields… and if you were lucky enough to be growing up near one, it was the adventure playground where you could build dens, find bird’s nests, and pull the legs off Daddy Long Legs’.
Back then – I’m guessing that Simon’s about the same age as me – there were a lot more open Brownfield space and far less concern about Health and Safety and being sued by the parents of grazed children.

Snap dragons, rowan trees, wild geraniums, clovers, budleas, grasses, and a smartly dressed lady cutting across this corner plot Brownfield site, sidling under the railings to get back onto the pavement of Brunswick Business Park. Curious… the path across this site is no shorter in distance than the pavement around the edge of it…

It’s interesting what we do… over the road a new apartment block, a fence being erected.
Landscaping in progress, lots and lots of grass turf being laid.
Earth mounds and brick rubble – the neighbouring site is about to be built on, the sales office already in situ…

From here the next Brownfield site is the Garden Festival site – but I want to go back into Garston...

L19 and L24, south of the dual carriageway Garston Way and Speke Road, there are numerous Brownfield sites – to date I have recorded and 17, and I’m not finished yet… There is a lot going on in this area – wildlife activity – rare and protected species like the Bee Orchid – and most certainly not confined to the Coastal Nature Reserve.

Simon asked if there is any way to retain the wildlife habitats of the Brownfield sites when these sites are “doomed”. New housing estates and apartment blocks, new industry, new offices, recreation facilities: wine bars, restaurants, gyms, health centres, shopping complexes – the welcomed Regeneration of a city
Innovative architecture and planning can contribute greatly towards the preservation and conservation of wildlife. And one of the most exiting ways to do this is with green roofs – not with monocultures of sedum matting or grass turf roofs, but with roofs created by taking the ground from the footprint of the new buildings – the local soil and substrates containing the local plants and seeds - the beginnings of the food chain for the local wildlife communities. The wildlife that belongs here, the flora and fauna of the Mersey Estuary can be given the opportunity to continue to thrive and survive.
Ok, we might not be able to access these wildlife sanctuaries any more than we can access the barricaded Brownfield - but knowing that the habitats are still there and protected, and litter free, is very much a reassuring prospect…
This is not a romantic vision; it is a reality – evidenced in Switzerland and Germany. In the U.K. too Green Roof research and Biodiversity research has influenced architecture and planning, mainly in London and Sheffield. Through Green Roof implementation – even on the bus shelters - Sheffield is now regarded our greenest city. Sheffield and London are leading the way. And Liverpool is smack bang in the process of a major regeneration programme…

But perhaps I digress too much – I am only supposed to be mapping the Brownfield sites. What happens with the information I gather is the next chapter in the Tale of “Natural Succession”. And Chapter 2 will not be a solo ‘perfomative happening’ – but (if all goes according to plan) a Trans-disciplinary event, different people with different expertise – including local knowledge – coming together to discuss, to motivate, to be innovative…

Back in Garston…
This morning on Dales Street, there was a derelict pub – this afternoon it was gone. I was evaluating the site (a white) as the security guard approached – His shift is from 4.00pm to 8.00am – made even longer by the 2 busses journey from Aintree (originally he’s from Speke). He was full of a cold – sniffling he told me that he had no idea what was planned for this site.
“The land needs to be checked for contamination because of the old mill – they’ll be coming soon to do the testing and it will take about 3 weeks”

Further down Dale Street and King Street, you come to the docks and the industrial estate, and more Brownfields...

The act of creative recycling… perched on my bike I watched 3 men load a white van with old bricks from a fully accessible little Brownfield. They had their eyes on me too -
“’Ey luv – come an give us an and”
Recognising the creative nature of their activity, I didn’t want to be seen photographing them…

We in turn were being watched by a handful of teenagers looking like this…

They had climbed over, and were part hanging over a newly erected hoarding – 8ft high boards are going up all around an area of land amongst the houses – as I loitered on my bike I counted 24 people either climbing the boards or peeling back the chain fencing to get onto the other side. They were all ages – adults, teenagers, and children.

18/10/06
A sunny day

“Ordinary people – doing extraordinary things – in exciting places”
“singlive”
“150 voices from around the region” will perform at the Philharmonic Hall on 11th November – to find out more call the ticket office 0151 709 3789
They rehearse in Garston.
I mention this because Garston is where I was today – down by the gas works and bus the station – cycling Garston Way and the two roads that run parallel to it, Banks Road and St Mary’s Road – Speke Road
And Julie, who has been kind enough to put me up (and my bike and my poodle) during my expedition of Liverpool, is one of the so mentioned “ordinary people”
And what I’m experiencing during my cycles is
Seemingly ordinary plants - doing extraordinary things - in seemingly [un] exciting places.
But if we could access some of these places, we could experience the extraordinary and the wonderment – the sights, sounds and fragrances of nature in the city.
Looking back through this blogspot there appears to be an abundance of images of barbed wire, padlocks, high fences, and garbage - and a lack of nature… this is because I can’t access many of the sites – what I am confronted with is the obstruction of the barrier…

Ironically keeping people out of an environment helps create wildlife sanctuaries. But unfortunately it also helps create a distancing, a lack of nature awareness and appreciation – which can lead to disrespect – manifesting its ugliness in fly tipping and litter dropping. This is a grim reality of the inaccessibility of nature in a city…
So many Brownfields look ugly and nature-less because of the oppressive fencing.
And we dump our crap in them – skanky mattresses, smelly fridges, disposable nappies – you name it, we dump it.
Imagine the delight of a mouse when it scuttles upon a mattress – or old sofa - fab bedding material – all ready for it to burrow into – no gathering of matter required.
Our disrespect only serves to spoil our environment – nature don’t seem to care – the litter strewn Brownfields are biodiverse habitats - with or without rubbish - because we don’t tend to go in them. But let’s not be fooled by this twist - mice will do just dandily without our unwitting contribution and we would do much better too.
Human nature and the wildness of untamed nature are not necessarily compatible – we appear to function better if things around us are orderly – neat and tidy. I watched a gardening programme the other night, about the healing benefit of plants. A woman diagnosed with cancer abandoned her garden – it taking the least priority in her life. Unused abandoned bikes began to rust; garden sheds began to rot. It upset her so much that she closed the curtains in the windows that looked out onto her garden. In come the landscape designers – they recreate her garden, removing the rubbish and planting bouquet’s of floral displays, a neat, texture full, fragrant full and colourful place, a sanctuary for her, to help her heal and move on…
Maybe all we need to do with Brownfield sites to enhance our appreciation of them is to remove the crap and obstacles…the floral displays, fragrances, colour, and texture are already there…

Julie has always lived on the other side of the water – in Birkenhead. On Mondays she rehearses in Garston, but her real knowledge of Garston has been acquired second hand – happy memories imparted from her mum who grew up there and went to the primary school on Banks Road.
Today, from a child’s eye view, if you squeeze your head between the railings that deny access to a Brownfield opposite that school, this is what you see….

In Garston, opposite one, and virtually adjoining another primary school is a site all but totally obscured from vision by an oppressive and decaying prefabricated concrete wall. In parts this wall is crumbling to reveal the armature of rusting steel rods. In places the wall is cracked to the extent that fissures in the structure allow for tantalising glimpses of the secret woodland that lies within – oak saplings, apple trees and hawthorns…
This site is so densely wooded that it is a small deciduous natural forest in an urban landscape. In this part of Garston, homes and primary schools are contained within an area defined by gas works, docks, industrial units, freight train lines, and more recent demolition sites – and a woodland that the local community can’t really see or access…
Cycling up the ridiculously narrow 1/4 mile long footpath, the entire length of the one side the concrete wall, on the other side the high primary school fence, then the equally high fencing of the new housing estate, then the boundary fence of the Matchworks, I emerge on Garston Way – dual carriageway.
Stopping on the railway bridge I get a good view across the woodland…
The good news is, in Chapter 8 Open Environment L.C.C., Schedule 8.1, this naturally wooded site has been selected as a potential Local Nature Reserve and proposed as a new park. Remove the wall, the fencing, and the rubbish… accessible and safe wild nature.