Friends of Dulwich Upper Wood

 

Welcome to the Friends of Dulwich Upper Wood website, The friends have been running since 1997. The main aims are the promotion of urban ecology & conservation, a respect for the local environment andcommunity involvement andeducation.

Supporting the wood can be expressed in a number of different ways from volunteering, (helping out with the practical work of the wood, helping with events and activities,  Fundraising, education etc.) to an appreciation of the Woodland as a refuge for wildlife & a peaceful place to walk around in the middle of a bustling city.

 The Friends has a newsletter called The Bluebell that is sent to the friends for free & contains articles on seasonal news, woodland wildlife & management techniques, forthcoming events & friends poems, writing etc based on their experiences of the woodland.

 If you want to join the Friends of Dulwich Upper Wood please send a cheque payable to the FR OF DUW for £3, Please feel free to make a further donation (all monies go towards supporting the woodland) to:
Dulwich Upper Wood, C/o Bowley Centre, Farquhar Rd, London, SE19 1SS.

Sunlight filters through the canopy, illuminating the Glade, DUW.

 Ivy climbs over crumbling masonry in the cool, dimly lit confines of a Victorian basement. DUW.

Dulwich Upper Wood

 Its extraordinary value further enhanced by increasing rarity, the ever-threatened, vulnerable oasis of Dulwich Upper Wood majestically adorns the brow of a now largely denuded Crystal Palace ridge.

Entering the cool, leafy interior, our soothed senses are refreshed by Nature’s generous healing gifts of calm inner peace and a return to sanity while all around, teeming London throbs and pulses to its own deranged beat.

The city’s coarse oath is filtered to a distant murmur by the living canopy and our hearts are quietened yet enthralled by the ancient magic of the woodland glades. The Earth can speak to us here, communicating Her passion for life in all its regenerating bounty, those seductive whispers going unheard ‘neath the din of the outer, humanised world.

Sadly, the Old Ways are being lost, forgotten as the vain delights of a ‘modern world’ tempt people away from the simpler pleasures of living with an appreciation of Nature, contemplating Her marvellous creation with humility and love.

A profound sense of responsibility is born out of this awareness, hence our passion to defend these fragile ecosystems against greedy developers who seek only to line their own pockets, and the vital need to guide and educate visitors, teaching a respect for these special sites which, instead of being venerated as Nature’s living temples are invariably used as a dogs' toilet, dumping ground for  unwanted rubbish or playgrounds for destructively juvenile ‘games’. As we thoughtfully maintain the structure of the wood for the benefit of flora, fauna and man alike, we remain ever mindful of our duty to promote the enlightened view that in Nature ALL is ONE and that damage to a tiny part is fatally detrimental to the whole.      

Mark Hallam  190604

Impressions of a FroDUW

Without the Wood, bare sky wide gazes down:
No refuge safe from rain or sun alike;
Few homely niches free of danger's strike
& scant protection from the madman's frown.

Yet still the wildlife flourishes in town
About those rare oases wild ones like;
They're seeking Nature's Gifts by furtive hike:
Those wooded groves, the jewels in London's crown.

Within the wood secure in Nature's womb
The stillness soothes the spirit as a charm;
At one with Life lockt in my secret room
Removed from seething turmoil's fatal harm

Sweet joy reposing in my leafy tomb
While human woes dissolve to profound calm...

Mark Hallam         190604

 

A shaft of light picks out the pathway leading to the upper terrace. DUW.

To contact the Friends of Dulwich Upper Wood,
click the tree toemail or call on 0208 761 6230