Another plug for the City Stadium a.k.a Battlefield and its growing importance as green space
This Cinderella open space, for so long seen by Newcastle City Council as an opportunity for car parking or some other gimcrack idea, has become a marvellous facility for a large number of local residents and many visitors.
Trees that seemed permanently stunted and isolated between more well established parks to the north and the former industrial (now varied use) Ouseburn it overlooks. But in the last twenty years of close observation coinciding with this blog's life time, those trees that survived felling (by the Council) or storms have flourished. The prospects of this once forlorn green space are so improved it may be a struggle for some to remember how matters were.
The pandemic (amongst other pressures) suddenly propelled any patch of open ground into people's lives. There is only so much daytime television one can watch. People got out doors – safely distanced!
The Guardian reports on the national picture for tree cover. The facts aren't as good as we might wish, though sites such as lowland heaths shouldn't have much tree cover since that habitat is now semi-precious relic for its specialised wildlife; also Fenland (New Holland) ought not to be on the list of places laking tree cover. That too is a specialised near aquatic habitat, much of which has been drained already.
The revival of interest in all things natural and green, sparked at least as much by mental stability concerns as human physical health, is to be welcomed. Even on the City Stadium site there are opportunities for more planting; alongside Warwick Street for example.
