Over 10,000 MoonWalkers gathered on Clapham Common Event Site last Saturday to raise money for Breast Cancer Research. The big pink tent on the Common was the start and finish point for half and full marathon walking routes through London. The event raised over £6million in 2018 and it looks like this success will be repeated in 2019.
With all those feet and the rain which fell during the build and break periods for the event you might expect to see signs of extensive impact. On the whole the site is looking good as the photo below shows. There were 3 key areas where we saw damage and 2 areas where due to the rain surface mud has dried over the grass. These should over the coming days and with the expected rain and with footfall event out the surface and wash away the surface dirt to allow the grass to return.
However, there is still work to be done on the area where new grass has not spread to create dense coverage along side the jobs to be done to reinstate the site post MoonWalk.
Friday 17th May – Lambeth Landscapes will begin to fill the tent peg holes (fingers cross the rain doesn’t get in the way)
Monday 20th May – Vertidraining – Lambeth Landscapes will undertake a close tine deep vertidrain – this is where the length of the tines is 215mm rather than 175 and they are placed 2/3 inches apart rather than 5. This will give a more comprehensive coverage at greater depth. We do this to de-compact the ground and allow for greater air and water flow through the soil. This allows the grass roots better conditions to spread. As the roots spread then new grass emerges through and the coverage becomes denser. This is a slow process and it will take the driver 4 days to do. This is where we need some rain over the weekend to help soften up the ground.
Tuesday 28th May – after the bank holiday weekend a further over seeding will be done over all of the area in one direction with areas where we see poor grass coverage a further 2 and 3 pass with the disc seeder will take place. This will then ensure we get a dense coverage of grass over the coming months and the areas is ready for the busy summer months.
We will not need to fence off any area of the Common during this period