Friends of Mitcham Common

Our group is open to anyone who shares our love of the Common. We have members from all the surrounding boroughs, who want to help protect the Common and its wildlife.

Our aims are:

• To foster and develop interest and understanding of the wildlife and its habitat on Mitcham Common
• To aim to work in partnership with the Conservators to maintain and protect the Common and its wildlife
• To provide members with information on activities relevant to the above aims

Our group is administered by a committee, which includes a chair, a treasurer, a secretary and four other members elected at our Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Committee members meet at least four times a year and welcome member’s comments or concerns regarding the Common. Members of the Friends attend the quarterly Conservator’s meetings to observe the proceedings and ask questions which reflect member’s concerns and interests.

We are keen to work with other organisations (such as the South London Botanical Institute) to organise and publicise events which align with our aims.

Our current volunteer activities include:

• Litter picking
• Tree planting and maintenance of Janet Morris copse
• Bomb Crater clearance and plaque maintenance
• Volunteer Subgroup working with Conservators on scrub clearance and tasks, when requested by the Warden
• Bidder Memorial railings maintenance
• Citizen Science Surveys and wildlife recording
• Seasonal walks with Melanie

We produce our own newsletter, called the ‘Magpie’, to keep members abreast with what is happening within the group and on the Common. This newsletter has been running since 1984 and you can find the past issues on our Friends of Mitcham Common website. We also have a WhatsApp group for our members and we can be found on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram. 

We hold monthly ‘Magpie Meets’ which give our members an opportunity to meet and socialise together. These are normally held in the bar area of the Miller & Carter Steakhouse. We also hold an annual open day, that is often in the spring/summer.

Our membership is open to any person over 18 or any organisation which is interested in helping our group to achieve its aims, willing to abide by the rules of the group, and willing to pay £10 for a five-year subscription.

Past History

The Society evolved from the Mitcham Common Preservation Society. This was a pressure group formed in 1956 to counter the escalating use of the Common as a rubbish dump by all the surrounding boroughs. It also campaigned against several large-scale road schemes that would have had disastrous effects on the Common. However, attitudes to wildlife habitats have changed dramatically in the intervening years and conservation is now mainstream policy. This is why, in 2004, we changed our name to ‘Friends of Mitcham Common’, which more accurately defines our present position. Nevertheless, development proposals involving the Common still crop up periodically, and with a membership base of some 350 people we are in a strong position to organise protest if needs arise.