Background

The people of Lansdown have long cherished the open ground between Richmond Road and Richmond Lane. In December 1999, St. Stephen's Millennium Green Trust bought the western end of the site and the future became secure.

The purchase was made possible by contributions from the Millennium Commission, local businesses and residents. A Millennium Green has been created to serve the people of Bath. The rest of the site has been leased to St. Stephen's Allotments for 50 years.

Keeping this project going costs money. The Millennium Green Trust is responsible for the maintenance of the Green and is dependent on the local community for support.

You can support the Millennium Green by joining our the 'Fund A Day' Scheme where your donation can pay for one or more day's running costs to maintain the Green. Download a 'Fund A Day' form and then follow the instructions on form in order to make your donation.

You can also make a one-off donation to help towards the running costs of the Green. Download a donation form and follow the instructions on form in order to make your dona

You can also make a donation online.

Events For 2019

Talk with Wine, Sunday October 13th

This "Talk with Wine" featuring local author Jeremy Seal was a great success. Jeremy gave an extremely engaging talk about his experiences canoeing down the River Meander across Turkey and provided fascinating insights about life in Turkey. Do visit Jeremy's website at http://www.jeremyseal.com for more information.

Over 70 people attended the talk which as well as wine featured some Turkish dishes. The event generated over £670 towards the mantenance of the Millennium Green.

Many thanks to Claire Smith and Anne Claxton for organising the event.

Talk with Tea, Saturday August 3rd

The Tea and Talk on Saturday afternoon was very well attended, in fact a sell out. All seventy five tickets (maximum number allowed at the Centre) were sold by the end of last week and unfortunately we had to turn people away.

Amy Frost, popular as ever, did not disappoint. She gave a fascinating talk entitled ‘Rediscovering Beckford’s Landscape at Lansdown”.  We learnt how Beckford created a garden and ride extending from his house in Lansdown Crescent all the way up to his Tower on the Lansdown plateau. The talk was illustrated with photos of maps, prints and present day photographs. Amy told us about the exciting future plans for development and restoration work at the Tower and the Beckford landscape.

After the talk those attending were able to meet up with neighbours and old friends to enjoy a cup of tea, sandwiches and cakes.

The profit realised was almost £800.00, a good sum to be put towards the refurbishment of the leaking pond on the Millennium Green. This work is due to commence in early Autumn.

Many thanks to everyone who supported the event and particular thanks to all those who helped by making cakes and helping on the day.

We plan to have another Tea and Talk event in October and then another next Spring with Amy as the speaker. Watch the website for details.

Lansdown Open Gardens Sunday June 30th

The Lansdown Open Gardens on Sunday June 30th was a great success. The weather was perfect and six beautiful gardens were open. Over 260 visitors visited the gardens and enjoyed delicious home-made cakes and tea as well as purchasing plants from the plant stall. The day raised over £2000 towards the upkeep of the Millennium Green and for the renovation of the pond.

Many thanks to the garden owners for opening up their gardens and to the many helpers who made the day such a success.

Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday, April 21st

The sun shone brightly for the Easter egg Hunt on Sunday afternoon. With temperatures in the mid twenties many families turned up to enjoy a very successful community get together.

Many thanks to Rosie for organising the egg hunt and the making of bunny ear head dresses. Thanks also to Ellie and her two ponies, Danny Boy and Delilah who trudged up the hill from central Bath to provide very much appreciated pony rides. The children had a lovely time.

Tea and cakes were for sale, the children”s activities were free with a request for donations. The amount raised at the end of the afternoon was nearly £300.00 which will go towards the fund for the refurbishment of the pond on the Green. Many thanks to everyone who helped to make the afternoon such an enjoyable time.

Millennium Green Update May 2019

The grass has started to grow and when he mows, John our gardener is making
the distinctive pattern, which he does every year. The intention is to
allow as many as possible of the beneficial wild flowers to flower and seed at this time of year.

Wildflowers are naturalising well in the grass strip alongside the allotments; the cowslips are doing particularly well.

Although the tulips are nearly over, they are now followed by the many alliums that we have planted, which are putting on a spectacular display.

Next month we hope that the planned restoration of the pond will go ahead. All the funds raised through donations and sales of cards at the Easter Egg-Hunt as well as proceeds from Lansdown Open Gardens (Sunday 30 June) will go towards paying for this work.

Look out for the peonies - last year they hardly flowered, perhaps because it was so dry. After the recent rain we have noticed that buds are coming open on several plants and we hope that this year they will be better.

John has planted some new geums which we hope will not only look good in the bed by the cascade but will also attract plenty of pollinating insects.

Current Projects

A lot has been going on at the Millennium Green and this a busy time of year on The Millennium Green, with lots of pruning and weeding – but a time when it is looking its best.

Have a look at the stage; John, our gardener, has refurbished it over the winter.

More recently he has planted some Miscanthus Sinensis, which will form clumps producing tall flowers that become attractive seed heads. In Japan, where it is known as susuki, it is considered an iconic plant of late summer and early autumn.

A big project about to start is the regeneration of the pond. It has been leaking badly for a couple of years and needs to be reconstructed. The first step will be to drain it completely. Some buckets of mud from the bottom of the pond will be carefully set aside as a means of retaining some of the dragonfly eggs and nymphs, which otherwise would take a long time to re-establish. For the relatively short time that the pond is drained, other wildlife should be able to find a temporary home.

The Millennium Green is using a specialist contractor for the work and the money raised in subscriptions, “Fund-A-Day” and events (look out for notices!) is being channeled into payment for this project and for the regular work to maintain the beauty and diversity of our green haven.

Take a look at the old photos below which show the pond being constructed over 20 years ago. The current project will return the pond to close to its original size.