Southampton is home to some rather majestic greenways. Whilst often forgotten, hidden behind houses, industrial parks or allotments, these spaces typically follow waterways, providing important habitats for a range of species. They also serve as tranquil spaces to enjoy semi-wild places and encounters within the boundaries of the city. Whilst much of the maintenance is handled by the council, there are also an abundance of local residents who take it upon themselves to look after these areas.
Maria is one of these people. She is a greenway guardian. Maria has looked after a section of Shoreburs Greenway adjoining Mayfield Park (on the Sholing/Woolston/Weston boundary) for over 20 years. This past Saturday, she graciously led us on a large group walk of this area, sharing her favourite stories and reflecting on all she has achieved over the decades here. This is her story, in her own words.
Hi, I’m Maria, and I have a passion for Mayfield Park.
It has been my playground since I was a kid in the 70's, having always lived close to it. From the heady days of building dens, playing football and cricket, scrumping the houses backing on to it, firing acorns at people with our home-made catapults (we called ourselves the "Acorn Aggro Kids") and finding long thick sticks to activate the popping seeds of what we referred to as "Swamp Orchids'' which I later found out were invasive Himalayan Balsam… more about them later!
When I grew up and started taking my own children into the woods, I saw it in a whole new light. Decades, if not centuries, of rubbish had been dumped there - either through ignorance or, let's face it, laziness. Easier to throw waste over the back fence, out of sight, out of mind.
But it came to a head for me when our German Shepherd, Remus, cut his foot really badly in the stream, and in the process of taking him to the vets, our car was hit and written off, which cost us a lot of time and money. From that moment on, I vowed to remove anything sharp, or unwanted, from the woods and water.
Scroll on a couple of years and feelers were put out by Southampton City Council about forming a volunteer group to help maintain the park, and I jumped at the chance to officially help out where I could. Over the years "Friends of Mayfield Park" removed around 20 lorry loads of major rubbish....motorbikes, large gas canisters, televisions, carpets, bottles, cans, masses of abandoned charity bags that people had obviously been paid to deliver, numerous bicycles and a boat (yep, we really did find a boat!).
I learnt a lot about looking after green space and the maintenance of it from various courses we attended when the volunteer group was still going, and my insatiable curiosity and love of nature has spurred me on since the ‘Friends of’ group disbanded - I’ve carried on litter picking and removing invasive species at every opportunity I get.
One of the things I was most shocked to learn was just how invasive those plants were that I'd spent a lot of my youth spreading... and that is something that has driven me to work removing them… guilt! For over 20 years I have been pulling the Himalayan Balsam out as soon as I see them appear....sometimes 2 or 3 thousand in one day. The effect of this is finally working wonders, and we have now gone from what was a sea of JUST balsam back to a wondrous woods and stream abundant with native greenery, like I’ve never seen before. We have more insects and wildlife as a result. This gives me no end of pleasure to see.
During the Pandemic I had much more time to spend in my pursuit of eradicating them, and many amusing and beautiful experiences in the process... I was deep in the swamp one day, amongst a forest of mature Balsam and had found the best way to deal with them was using a vegetation slasher which could fell many of them in one swipe. Suddenly I heard some kids nearby saying they could see "an old woman with tattoos and a machete" - cheek of it! But I knew I'd better explain rather than let them take that quote back to their parents and lest a manhunt ensue to look for me. So I explained what I was doing and why, let them have a go at it.. and then disappeared back into the swamp when they looked away… like I’d never been there… oh how I chuckled to myself!
Also during the Pandemic, and in the midst of balsam bashing, I was repeatedly "buzzed" by kingfishers. I had so many close-up encounters with them, which thrilled me every time… only to discover they were nesting not far from where I was working. I watched them for a couple of weeks until unfortunately a fox got into the nest hole and stole the eggs. I’ve only seen them a handful of times since, unfortunately.
The most common litter I find is crisp and sweet packets, plastic and glass bottles, garden waste and bags of dog waste thrown into the bushes, which annoys me too much… why? We also have a few other invasive plants which I can’t touch as they need dealing with professionally… Japanese Knotweed, Russian Vine, Skunk Cabbage and Yellow Archangel. Unfortunately these seem to be spreading faster now, possibly due to me removing so much Balsam, I don’t know. Cause and effect.
A couple of years ago I met a woman who was extremely interested in what I do and asked if I could help take her son through the Duke of Edinburgh Award doing various things in the woods. Bearing in mind I’m just a housewife with raw enthusiasm, I didn't feel qualified to do it. But over the space of a few months I took him on, he passed his award and was subsequently given an apprenticeship in Horticulture at The Gregg School and Sparsholt College because of the interest he’d developed in flora and fauna. I was rather chuffed with that!
I still get a thrill every day seeing so much more native flora growing where there was nothing but invasive species. Every flower, insect and fungus I've found since all make my day.
Personally, this work has also helped me through some very trying times. In 2015 my husband and I were at a gig in the Bataclan in Paris when terrorists attacked and killed 89 people around us, injured over 400 others and held a lot of our friends hostage. My husband got me out, and then we went back to rescue a friend who had been injured. It was a lot to deal with mentally. I was given therapy sessions, which did me no good at all. I quit, and poured all my emotions into Mayfield. I would get lost for hours just soaking in the beauty around me. The community of dog walkers and nature geeks I got to know and love helped get me through it.
Which is partly where the recent walk, and this blog, all originated - combining the benefits of green space with mental health issues.
If you’re interested enough to want to make a difference in your local community, pick that litter up, join a local Volunteer group, and in the words of my recently departed dear friend Dr Richard Evans, “Don't be an enemy to the planet!”
A huge thank you to Maria, for the painstaking efforts she has gone to in being a steward for this space, the species who live here, and the local community who all benefit from this space. Thank you for being a Guardian of Mayfield Park and Shoreburs Greenway.
If you're interested in recreating the walk Maria shared with us, you can follow the route via the GoJauntly app! The walk was curated by Maria and We Make Southampton Community Media for GoJauntly as part of The Green Hour project. Find details of the walk here: https://tinyurl.com/4ehy6wb8.
And, if you know another Guardian of the Greenway whose work deserves to be celebrated, please do get in touch with us at southampton@nationalparkcity.org.
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