7pm Tuesday 14 April 2026, Mitcham and Carshalton Rugby Club
AGM slide deck
Click here to open the slide deck in a new window in Canva
Agenda
- Welcome, minutes and look back – Friends of Poulter Park
- Voting for the committee
- A talk on the Swan Sanctuary with Ruhee Farooq
- AOB
Present: Babs Guthrie, Isobel Harris, Frank Foreman, Peter Harris, Megan Harris, Paul Cole (Councillor), Namita, Jane, Phil, Stephen Lee, Ed Woods, Ruhee Farooq, Sue, Isobel Ollard (South East Rivers Trust), Jennifer (Sutton Council), Laila
1. Welcome, minutes and lookback
The meeting started 10 minutes late due to tech issues.
Babs welcomed everyone to the meeting and summarised the agenda. Babs Isobel and Frank were present from the committee, Hayley sent apologies.
As friends had already started decorating their bricks with books we skipped the ‘Why is there a brick on the table?’ explainer slide.
Isobel asked the group to accept the 2025 minutes. All voted to accept.
Babs shared our amazing volunteer stats: 81 people, 970+ hours.
Frank updated the group on our activities in 2025-2026 including:
- 100+ bags litter picked. We noted that is half of what was picked last year (212) but that this is surely the direction of travel we want to go in!
- 2 events to talk about our work (River Summit and St Helier Festival)
- 836 river larvae counted over samples
- 3,000 bulbs planted. Bringing our grand total since we started up to 9,050
- 4 public events in the park: 2 bat walks, our meadow day with Sutton landscape artist of the year competition, food, bugs, art activity and bees and our Christmas carols and wreath making
- 12 landscape artists in the park
- 85 species counted in our meadow
- 1 Green Flag (third year running) and 1 new wild flower bed with the magnificent Frog Learning CIC and Claire Williams
Park update
Babs shared an update on what’s new in the park with thanks to Adam our contract manager and the parks team:
- 3 lovely new benches, 2 by the Wandle and one in Revesby Wood
- Closed top bins all around the park to stop squirrels and magpies littering!
- New swings in the play ground
- New fence to protect the meadow
Hedgerow update
We talked about the damage done to the established hedgerow by developers on the Bishopsford House access road, and our response. To summarise:
- Developers at the hub have destroyed big sections of hedgerow during nesting season
- Raised with Merton planning who are doing a site visit on 20 April
We’ve asked Merton Planning:
- What they plan to do to about the destruction of hedgerow during nesting season
2. The extent of the approved plans for this development
3. What protections will be afforded to the remaining hedgerow
Woodland update
We talked about the surprise of the woodland between the river and the pitch suddenly coming up for sale. And the magic of a community purchaser coming to (hopefully) save the day:
- Some of Poulter Park’s woodland is privately owned and went up for sale beginning of April
- We began looking into fundraising immediately
- The Chair of Seears Park has put in a bid to buy the woodland. Her plan is for it to be managed in partnership with us and Sutton
- We’ll keep everyone in the loop about how that goes!
River update
We talked about the patches of diesel spotted since last year’s big spill and what we’ve done in response:
- On 18 Feb 4,000 tonnes diesel entered the Wandle from Thornton Heath bus garage
- On 4 April another significant patch diesel reported at Poulter Park
- More big patches reported 2 Nov 2025, 4 March 2026
- SERT tell us they cannot release details of water testing as case is ongoing
- We continue to speak up, record and report sightings
Isobel reminded everyone of the importance of reporting any signs of pollution or dead fish along the river to the Environment Agency and Thames Water. If someone doesn’t feel they can do it they are welcome to email details to us.
River fly monitoring
In brighter news we shared our river fly monitoring data so far. It shows our 3 main important species, which are like canaries for the state of a river, are consistently above the trigger levels that would indicate a significant pollution event.
- Last year we did river fly monitoring training with South East Rivers Trust
- We’re monitoring keystone species at Ravensbury: caddis and olive larvae, shrimp
- We’ve done 4 months of data
- Keystone species are at a healthy level
- We’re hoping to start monitoring at Poulter Park
Partners and friends
We did a shout out and mention to many of our lovely friends we’ve worked with this year:
- South East Rivers Trust and the Wandle Catchment partnership
- Sutton parks friends groups across the borough – Rosehill, Manor and Oaks parks
- Men in Sheds
- National Trust
- People Arise Now
- Frog Learning CIC
- iVolve care group
- Sutton Tree Wardens
- Sutton Biodiversity Volunteers
- IdVerde and Sutton Parks Team
- Carshalton Rotary Club
- Bishopsford House Residents Ass.
- Mitcham and Carshalton Rugby Club!
We really appreciate everything you do and your generosity to us as a friends group!
Treasurer’s report
In Hayley White (Treasurer)’s absence, Babs shared the projects funded this year:
Local funding
- Landscape Artist event, through Friends of Sutton Parks
- Meadow Day
- Christmas carols
Mayor of London’s fund
- Meadow Day
Neighborhood and public realm funds
- New swings
- New benches
Wandle Fortnight
- Meadow Day
Veolia
Goggles and wheelbarrow
Thames21
Hanna trackers to measure water quality
Donations
- Crowdfunding on Just Giving paid for our website hosting
- Private donation paid for food on meadow day
2025-2026 Funding plans
And shared topline plans for 2025-2026 projects:
- Wildlife interpretation panel for Revesby Wood
- Summer event
- Carols in the park
- Scrub land by Watermeads Lane
- Brick bed by Watermeads Lane
- River restoration on water voles backwater
- Bird feeders – autumn/ winter
- Humans of the Wandle story project
- Waders, litter equipment
- Mass bulb planting project
Our upcoming events:
- Litter pick this Sunday 26 April
- Meadow and wellness day in the park – animals, craft, wellness tasters and picnic – Sat 11 July
- Landscape Artist Competition and art day – Sat 19 September
- Bat walk, Fri 25 Sept
- Plus litter picking, wildlife counts, bulb planting, seed sowing, woodland management and more
2. Voting
Isobel introduced the voting process and highlighted changes to the committee.
New committee nominee Stephen introduced himself with this statement:
“My name is Stephen, and I’m pleased to put myself forward to be part of the committee.
“I care deeply about our parks because they are such an important part of the community. They give people a place to enjoy nature, exercise, and spend time outdoors. I believe parks should be welcoming, clean, and full of life.
“Although I’m only 20, I care strongly about the future of our parks and want to help protect and improve these spaces for years to come.
“I volunteer my time along the River Wandle, taking part in regular river clean-ups and monthly river fly surveys to help monitor the health of the river and protect wildlife. I also support local groups such as Hackbridge Litterpickers and help out at the community garden.
“I also help run and volunteer at Men in Sheds, a men’s mental health group tackling loneliness and teaching skills like woodworking. Working with Friends of Poulters Park and Revesby Wood, we’ve built robin boxes, bat boxes, and hedgehog houses to support local wildlife.
“I’d like to be part of the committee so I can continue supporting projects and helping make our parks greener, cleaner, and more welcoming for everyone. And if there’s ever a project that needs building, fixing, or a bit of practical help, I’m always happy to lend a hand.”
The committee were unanimously elected by show of hands.
- Babs Guthrie (Chair
- Isobel Harris (Treasurer)
- Frank Foreman (Secretary)
- Hayley White (Committee member)
- Stephen Lee (Committee member)
There were no resolutions.
3. The Swan Sanctuary – Ruhee Farooq
Ruhee spoke eloquently about her work as a volunteer for the swan sanctuary including
- What to do when you find an abandoned baby waterbird: Observe for a period of time, and if no adult comes back call the Swan Sanctuary to rescue
- The difficulty of catching ducks that nest on high rise balconies
- The dangers of abandoned fishing line and hooks to waterfowl
4. AOB
There was no other business.
The meeting ended at 8.15pm with cake and birthday celebrations. Thank you to everyone who came!
Friends of Poulter Park and Revesby Wood 