Meet Lee Swords, Bowden Houstead guardian
Nurturing an urban oasis within Sheffield
Today I had the absolute pleasure to meet with Lee Swords and have a guided walk around Bowden Housteads Wood, just off the Parkway, Handsworth Road junction.
I’ll let you listen to the relaxing sounds of the woods as we chatted - if you can listen on headphones or on your car stereo, I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I think it’s really special to come across characters who become so proactively connected with parts of our city, and give themselves to becoming a guardian for future generations.
0:30 Where are we walking? intro
2:50 How did Lee get drawn in to action? Fire station development on green belt.
6:45 What’s he doing with a shovel and a bucket? - saving the butterflies
9:25 Beginning of planting… 30 buckthorns to support the brimstone butterflies
15:00 We’re facing environmental niche loss
16:20 Eating bird cherries
17:22 Planting 54 fruit trees for Lee’s 54th birthday - very inconspicuous planting
18:40 Shout out to Pete and Sheila, neighbours who care and invested in the area
19:40 Woodland charity planting, let’s use glyphosate? Let’s not!
21:00 ‘Typical consultation process’ and being heard ‘It’s the Shiregreen way’
21:45 Bonded to this area… and the Comma Butterfly
23:25 The Purple Hairstreak, White letter hairstreak butterflies
24:45 Losing Lee’s Dog
27:00 Disconnected youth, burned out vans and litter picking
28:38 Social media, a punch in the face is a natural filter - growing up in Shiregreen
29:05 Hazel tree stone carving
30:38 Oak stone carving with an extra butterfly - ‘memento from the locals’
32:25 The only remaining corner of original wild area - about to be mown down
35:10 Architects up for an award, ornamental planting - still disconnected
36:05 Rose Sawfly lavae
37:16 Probably the easiest place in Sheffield to see a Purple Hairstreak butterfly
38:05 If you could change an attitude in Sheffield - teach environmental science
42:19 Formal education and becoming a life long learner
47:10 Love Sheffield setting the tone, thinking for ourselves, respecting science
50:42 Fishing community, adventures and wrestling a stingray
55:40 Broken neck, C1, C3, C4, fractured skull and lots of super glue… “I won’t sue”
1:04:05 First Brimstone Butterfly of the year spotted
Here are a few photos I took as we walked and talked…
Thanks Lee, for investing so much of your time, energy and creativity into your local urban wildlife oasis, for us and for future generations. You are an absolute inspiration and I hope this area grows into an even more attractive base for all kinds of insects and wildlife in years to come. You’re leaving a legacy for all of us.
If you know an inspiring and creative Sheffielder you’d like to hear in conversation, please introduce us to them, we hope to bring many new stories to you in future editions.