Places like Badger Green seem to be overlooked when people talk of ‘access to nature’ or ‘green spaces’. I’m not sure why this is. Has someone decided a ‘green space’ should be a minimum size, or that it must be designated a ‘park’? Southampton City Council’s website has a category called ‘parks and open spaces‘. ‘Open spaces’ covers greenways and nature reserves, and while some (most?) parks have plenty of ‘nature’, I can think of some that are much less green than Badger Green. But you won’t find Badger Green on this list, or even on a map (yet). It’s a name I’ve invented, inspired by the badger that Joanna Rose Tidey painted on the telecomms box. Places need names for people to connect to them, don’t they? Since I named it, I’ve visited it more often, and am paying more attention to what’s there. It’s become another of my local walks, and that’s largely because of the trees.
Badger Green is made up of a wide verge of grass and trees that wrap around part of the boundary of the Merryoak Estate, separating back gardens from the road. The Green runs along Merryoak Road from Cypress Avenue to Spring Road, and then along Spring Road as far as Blackthorn Road.
There are around 30 mature trees: beech, oak and lime. These presumably date from the time of the original Merry Oak estate, when there was only the manor house (and the name was still two words). An ordnance survey map of 1841 – 1952 shows a large number of trees in this stretch of land. This lime is one of my favourites.
Inevitably some trees have fallen or been felled over the years, but several of the beech stumps – elephant’s feet – are like mini nature reserves as their core has decayed and other organisms have moved in. This one below seems the most established, as well as being the biggest. It took me 12 steps to walk around its perimeter, about 7 metres. There’s holly and ivy, moss and fungi on the outside, plus grasses and a sapling growing in the middle – and that’s just what I could see from a two-minute observation in the rain.
The two beech logs provide seating for drinkers, but wouldn’t it be great if they took their empties with them? The area does attract a lot of litter, as there’s a takeaway and a Tesco Express across the road, and a bus stop (with a bin next to it, mind you). So, I fill a bag or two on each visit.
The same log was host to a special fungus in the autumn, the Coral Tooth. It was so striking that I first noticed it as I cycled past.
It’s exciting to have found this ‘new’ place only five minutes’ walk from home. On my most recent walk, I noticed this hazel for the first time, and I’m sure there is much more to be discovered as the seasons change.
Dandelion Nature 