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Welcome to the January Newsletter from the Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood. This is an extremely important newsletter so we would appreciate it very much if you could read it carefully.
THE THREAT TO OLD PARK AND THE THREE-PRONGED CAMPAIGN AHEAD
The recent decision by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to put all of its landholding on Old Park up for sale may be seen as a threat, but it also presents a huge opportunity for the people of Canterbury to save this land for ever.
The response by the Friends of Old Park & Chequers has been to launch a three-pronged campaign to save the entire site as a haven for wildlife and as a recreational open space for the people of Canterbury.
The official launch of the campaign will take place at our AGM on 3 March, which you are warmly invited to attend (see details below), but we will be working hard between now and then to ensure that the campaign gets off to a flying start.
LAUNCH OF OUR NEW WEBSITE!
The first step in our Campaign to Save Old Park is the launch of our new website. This provides valuable information about the archaeological, historical, ecological, and recreational importance of the site.
The website highlights the amazing story of Old Park, starting with its use by early humans over half a million years ago and continuing into recent times when it was used as a military training ground for over two centuries. It is now a wonderfully diverse green space which is enjoyed by residents across the city and provides a habitat for many endangered plants, birds and animals.
The website features a wonderful range of photos, illustrating the mosaic of habitats on Old Park and many of the fascinating species that they contain. We are extremely grateful to our website designer, Charlie Lawrence, and to all the other individuals who have contributed text, maps and photographs.
Please take a look at the website and let us know what you think!
Click Here to Visit WebsitePLEASE SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISING APPEAL
The second step in our Campaign to Save Old Park is the launch of an appeal to raise money for the acquisition and management of Old Park for conservation and public recreation purposes. We are working with partners to achieve this goal, and our initial fundraising goal is £100,000. Please donate if you can - see the link below!
If the bid does not succeed, we pledge to return funds to donors who have given £25 and over, on a pro rata basis, after costs have been paid for. Donations less than this amount will be used to help finance the campaign.
WHY DO YOU VISIT OLD PARK? WHAT DO YOU DO THERE? AND WHY DO YOU LOVE IT? YOUR ANSWERS COULD HELP TO SAVE THIS GREAT OPEN SPACE!
The third step in our Campaign to Save Old Park is a public appeal for short statements giving evidence of recreational use of the site over the last five years. We hope that asking the questions above will lead people to send us the evidence we need.
This evidence will be used to support a new application to Canterbury City Council to register the MoD’s landholdings on Old Park as an Asset of Community Value. If the application is successful, it will give us at least six months to fundraise for the acquisition and future management of the site.
If you have used the MoD’s land on Old Park recreationally in the recent past (eg for walking, running, birdwatching, cycling), or have taken part in an organised activity on the site (eg guided walks, wildlife observation, forest school), we would be extremely grateful if you could send a brief description to the email address below:
oldpark@gn.apc.org
We need as much evidence as possible, including photographic evidence, to prove that recreation by local people has been a main use of the site over the last five years. If you have used the site for much longer than this, that would also be helpful to know. The map above shows the extent of land owned by the MoD.
INVITATION TO A TALK, THE LAUNCH OF THE CAMPAIGN AND OUR AGM AT 7.00PM ON MONDAY 3 MARCH AT THE FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE
We are delighted that Alastair Key, Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, has accepted our invitation to give a talk about ‘Old Park: Home to some of the Earliest Humans in Europe' at our AGM on Monday 3 March. This will take place in the Friends Meeting House (6 The Friars, Canterbury, CT1 2AS), starting at 7pm, with refreshments from 6.30pm onwards.
In recent years, Alastair’s team of researchers has made internationally significant discoveries about the lives of humans in southern Britain between 500,000 and 600,000 years ago. They have been named as homo heidelbergensis and were Stone Age people. Recent excavations have not only dated the site but have also identified hundreds of stone tool artefacts, some of the earliest hand axes in Britain. The site is revealing evidence of scraping and piercing implements at this early date. These humans had neither farming nor fire, and may have been nomadic, coming from what is now France by walking over dry land.
This event will also be the occasion for the formal Launch of our Campaign to Save Old Park and for the AGM of the Friends of Old Park and Chequers Wood. We will update you about how the Campaign is going and outline some ways in which people can get involved.
Please come along to support us, to learn about our Campaign plans and to find out what you can do to help.
Looking forward to seeing you!
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER
We welcome contributions to this newsletter, from contributors young and old, in the form of writings, photos, pictures or whatever else you would like to add.
Please send comments and feedback to: info@canterburyoldpark.org.uk.
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