The 2011 Annual General Meeting of Friends of Markeaton Brook was held at 7.30pm at The Travellers Rest, 185 Ashbourne Road, Derby

Committee members Joe Kucharzewski, Lynne Wood and Penny Halfpenny were re-elected to their current roles. The position of chairman was vacant after the retirement of Ken Clarke at Christmas 2010.

Lynne expressed the committee’s appreciation of the contribution made by Ken to the work of the group, especially in relation to the Sturgess Fields appeals.

As no nominations were received for the position of Chairman, Lynne proposed that the current committee members continue to share the role. This was accepted by the meeting.

Lynne reported on this year’s Himalayan balsam pulling efforts and on future plans, including work with staff and students of Derby University to clean up the Brook near their Halls of Residence.

Joe summarised the group’s accounts for 2010 and these were accepted by the meeting.

The AGM closed at 8.00pm and was followed by a most interesting talk, given by James Lee, Outdoors Manager at Kedleston Hall. Jim spoke of his previous experience at other National Trust properties, including Arleston Crags, Hebden Water and 11 years at Hardwick Hall as Assistant Head Warden. He explained the new role of Outdoors Manager to oversee both the gardens and the woods and parkland at Kedleston Hall.

The date for next year’s AGM will be notified nearer the time.

Himalayan Balsam Pull in Markeaton Park      Saturday June 11^th 2011

As part of the ‘Let’s go Wild in Derby’ series of events, local historian Derek Palmer led a group of 30 people along the course of Markeaton Brook, from Derby City centre to Brook Walkway and on to the site of the old outdoor swimming pool by Britannia Mill. Before we set off, Lynne Wood gave people a brief introduction to FoMB.

With his detailed knowledge of the culverts carrying the Brook and photographs to illustrate his talk, Derek gave us a fascinating insight into the history of the Brook and the buildings and people associated with it in the city of Derby.

Pond Dipping at the Mill Pond, Markeaton Street    Sunday 21^st August 2011

It was great to be joined by Members of Derby City Pond Wardens Association to explore this lovely pond, which a recent survey by Trevor Taylor of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has shown to be in good health.

The list of minibeasts found includes:

Greater water boatman, pond skater, dragonfly nymph, rat-tailed maggot, mayfly larva, fresh water shrimp, leech, daphnia, pond snail, ramshorn snail, water scorpion, freshwater hoglouse, water stick insect. 

Smooth newt, tiny froglets in the grass. 

Brown hawker & southern hawker dragon flies, blue-tailed damselfly. 

Sophie and Hannah, daughters of FoMB member Tracey Smith, made some great drawings of their finds.

Nearby fishermen showed us bream and roach and also reported seeing pike.

Photos of bream and roach, with both fish being returned alive.

Judith Overton led litter collecting forays round the pond, removing seven bin bags full; we have since repeated the exercise on a regular basis - the pond surroundings look a lot better as a result!

As a result of this joint event, Friends of Markeaton Brook as a group has been named as the Pond Warden for the Mill Pond. If anyone has concerns or things to report about the pond, please contact us.

Visit to Kedleston Park   Saturday October 1^st 2011

James Lee, Outdoors Manager at Kedleston Hall, arranged for our visit to be led by Nigel Clamp, a Gardener with 23 years experience of working in the Park. He proved to be an excellent host, giving us interesting insights into life in the Park and issues of current concern. We were able to visit the Fishing Room and Boathouse, which none of us had been inside before, and also to explore the stables.

Our visit was rounded off by a welcome visit to the Restaurant for tea and cakes. Many thanks to James and Nigel for a most enjoyable outing.