Greenspaces: The Deptford Railway Meadow Association

The first meeting of the DRMA was an informal affair

The Deptford Railway Meadow Association is a local residents group who are working to turn a local area of land owned by Network Rail into a wildlife meadow. They're looking for new members and would love you to join. Frances writes:

We’re a friendly group of local people who got together in 2010 to manage a rough piece of land located at the crossroads of Lucas Street and Thornville Street, SE8. The land belongs to Network Rail and is directly over a railway cutaway. Because it’s over a tunnel the land has all sorts of restrictions as it can’t have too much weight put on it, can’t have trees with big roots on it and has no water source. This means there will never be buildings or allotments there, and for Network Rail’s insurance reasons, the site can’t have animals (such as horses) or permanent open access to the public.

But it’s not all bad news! Network Rail are happy to let responsible local residents use the land as a managed and beautiful wildlife meadow. We hope the site will become a haven for meadow plants and (now endangered) bees, butterflies and bugs and that it will, over time, become a visual treat for passers-by.

Plans are afoot for local groups to use the meadow for wildlife education too. Future plans include bee hives, bird and bat boxes and possibly outdoor sculpture of some kind.

We’d love you to join us. We have friendly local meetings, and volunteer days when people turn out to tend the meadow. It’s a great way to meet your neighbours! You don’t have to become a member to come along and help, but if you would like to it’s £5 per year per adult.

If you'd like to get involved, please drop us a line and we'll connect you.