The London and Surrey Mini owners club rally on Sunday saw stacks of minis and crowds of people at Madeira Drive. Lots of people stopped to enjoy and comment on the green wall, which looks wonderful in late Spring.
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Great work(out!) by the Green Gym at Madeira Drive green wall today
The Portslade Green Gym were in action again today, flexing their muscles to improve the health and appearance of the vegetation growing at Madeira Drive green wall.
Councillor Gill Mitchell greets the Portslade Green Gym volunteers at Madeira Drive green wall. With Brighton & Hove Building Green.
They worked to help protect the biodiversity of the wall, make sure plants weren’t in the way of pedestrians, and have fun and get fit doing it!
Ivy, dock and thistles were targets, and the results are plain to see. A big ‘thank you’ from Building Green for everyone involved.
Councillor Gill Mitchell came by to see what we were doing as well, and was pleased to see the community improving an important local green space.
Madeira Drive green wall was established by the Victorians in the early 1800s, and is the longest and oldest in the country. 100 species of plant have been recorded growing here, and it is a candidate Site of Importance for Nature Conservation in the city plan.
Our thanks to the Council, Portslade Green Gym and the Ecology Consultancy. I’m sure Green Gym will be back again in future!
Now booking – DIY green roofs training weekend, 29-30 October
We are now taking bookings for our DIY Green Roof weekend this October.
Based at Organic Roofs HQ on the south coast near Brighton, and involving site visits to some superb green roofs and living walls, the course is run by experts from Brighton & Hove Building Green and Organic Roofs, and administered by Brighton Permaculture Trust.
More information here.
Building Green DIY Green Roof workshoppers taking a tour of the Velo Cafe, Brighton
Happy green roofers with their green roofed bird boxes
Building Green DIY Green Roof workshop crew hearing about the special green wall at Madeira Drive, Brighton
The lopping and chopping continues! Green Gym party at Madeira Drive Green Wall
Next Thursday 5 May, Portslade Green Gym’s wonderful team of energetic volunteers will be sprucing up the Victorian green wall at Madeira Drive.
Armed with ‘loppers and choppers’ they will be clearing weeds and rubbish to improve biodiversity and tidy up this part of the seafront.
The work is organised by Brighton & Hove Building Green, and is supported by the Council.
– Including a strong environmental focus in local policy development, especially BHCC’s City Plan Part 2 and the Open Spaces Strategy
Green architecture day is coming up – 19 March
We have an amazing event coming up next month in Brighton – an inspiring day of cutting-edge talks on green building design – Green Architecture Day 2016!
Saturday 19 March 2016, 10:30am to 5pm
Sallis Benney Theatre, University of Brighton, Grand Parade Building
Brighton BN2 0JY
Our theme this year is Approaches to design and we have excellent speakers including Michael Mehaffy on pattern language, Nic Pople on architecture inspired by nature and sacred buildings, Ben Law on building with our woodland resource, Turner Prize winners, Assemble, on their collaborative building approach, and more!
Design by Nicolas Pople Architects
See the Brighton Permaculture Trust website for more details and to book: https://brightonpermaculture.org.uk/gad
Green gym did a great job down at Madeira Drive green wall
15 volunteers from Portslade Green Gym have given the foliage at the Madeira Drive green wall a makeover. They cleared huge piles of weeds and ivy that were smothering the bed, getting onto the pavement, and crowding out the more attractive wild plants. Over 100 species of plant have been found at the Madeira Drive green wall. The Green Gym were supervised by Building Green member The Ecology Consultancy.
The Council cleared away the green waste the same day, and this end of the green wall is looking much smarter.
Building Green will be seeding the bed to encourage more wild flowers. We will also be working with the Council to establish new Japanese spindle planting in front of the freshly concreted stretch.
The rest of the Victorian green wall is currently out of bounds due to the instability of the antique ironwork of Madeira Terrace.
Approximately 100 years separates these photos, showing Madeira Drive, the Volks railway, Kemp Town and the Madeira Drive green wall
Building Green tour of Brighton & Hove
The second day of our DIY Green Roof workshop involved a tour of some inspirational buildings in Brighton & Hove.
First was the Velo Cafe, with a green roof fitted by Organic Roofs. Lee Evans talked the group through the trials and tribulations of green roofing on a pitched slope. The roof now looks great, and we spotted a female grey wagtail feeding on it.
Building Green DIY Green Roof workshoppers taking a tour of the Velo Cafe, Brighton
Grey wagtail on the roof of the Velo Cafe, Brighton
Building Green DIY Green Roof workshoppers taking a tour of the Velo Cafe, Brighton
We visited Madeira Drive to see the ‘world famous sheltered walk’ and the green wall. Great inspiration for greening the other 4 building surfaces – which are often forgotten amongst all the talk of roofs! This was the first guided visit to the Madeira Drive Green Wall, and Building Green highlighted the threats and opportunities for its continued conservation.
Building Green DIY Green Roof workshop crew hearing about the special green wall at Madeira Drive, Brighton
Finally we went to Whitehawk to see the great wildflower roof at the Crew Club. Unfortunately the roofs on the Children’s Centre and library are faring less well – much of the planting has died and the roofs should really be refurbished. Still, it’s a hotspot for green roofing and green building – nearby houses are making their own contribution too, as this well managed ivy attests.
The ‘chalk downland’ green roofs of the Crew Club community centre, Whitehawk, Brighton
Whitehawk home – carefully grown and tended ivy as a home for wildlife and attractive front garden. Brighton
All in all a great weekend – new friendships, new networks, and some new neural pathways from all this learning!
DIY green roof workshop a success!
This weekend’s DIY Green Roof workshop was a real success!
Happy green roofers with their green roofed bird boxes
We had participants from Brighton & Hove and further afield across the country…and a keen Spanish green roofer who travelled over from Córdoba!
We discussed the fine points of projects on sheds, house extensions and even a Dutch barge.
Everyone put their learning into practice by building their own green roofs and installing them on a bird box they also put together.
The second day was a tour of some green roofs and green walls.
Lee Evans, course tutor, talking participants through the benefits and technical aspects of green roofing at Organic Roofs HQ
Lee Evans, course tutor, demonstrating how to build the bird box to the course participants.
Course participants DIY-ing their bird boxes
James Farrell, course tutor, talking participants through a container green roof at Organic Roofs HQ
James Farrell, course tutor, talking participants through a container green roof at Organic Roofs HQ
Finished bird box with a green roof
Happy course participant with their green roofed bird box
Getting ready for DIY green roofs
Lee and I spent a few hours yesterday making the bird boxes and green roof kits that our lovely participants will put together on Saturday. No, I’m not about to drill through my hand…
It’s not too late to book!
Visit Brighton Permaculture Trust.
Not too late to book your DIY Green Roof course!
It’s not too late to book your place on this year’s DIY green roof course!
- learn about how to build green roofs
- understand the history of global green roofing, and the benefits of the modern habitat-based approach
- put the principles into practice – build your own green roofed bird box to take home
- visit inspirational green roofs and green walls in Brighton & Hove
- get expert advice on your project
- enjoy the surroundings of Organic Roof’s new workshop, right on the banks of Shoreham harbour
- have fun, learn new skills and make new friends!
You never know, you might be so inspired that you jack your job in after the course – and become a professional green roofer. That’s exactly what previous course participant Lee Evans did!
To book your place, visit https://brightonpermaculture.org.uk/courses/ecobuild/greenroofs
Happy green roofer with the green roofed bird box we built on the Building Green DIY weekend
Brighton & Hove Building Green 