‘Mindless’ vandals smash slates dedicated to memory of Charles Darwin

Published: 17 September, 2010
by RÓISÍN GADELRAB

IT was supposed to inspire youngsters to learn from the father of evolution but this week one of the slate milestones on the Cally Park Darwin Trail was discovered cracked and broken.

The Darwin Trail, which was unveiled in Caledonian Park last year by Charles Darwin’s great-great grandson Randal Keynes, who lives in Islington, was designed to show visitors the continuing relevance of the naturalist’s work.

But on Tuesday photographer David Kelly discovered one of the trail’s 10 slate markers lying smashed and forlorn in the undergrowth. Others had traces of kick marks.

The broken marker bore the quote: “The winter of 1854-5 destroyed four-fifths of the birds in my own grounds.”

Although Mr Darwin lived in Kent, the bird reference is particularly significant to Islington.

Holloway Labour councillor Barry Edwards said: “Darwin worked out a lot of his theories on evolution by studying pigeons. He bought them from a guy who bred them near Angel. Cally Park was a convenient place to put a Darwin Trail. Unfortunately we have a small group of ­people in our midst who think that any intact object in our midst should be broken. There’s always been this problem that the park was a bit cut off from people.”

He said once work on the Market estate is complete, there are plans to open up the park and make it more accessible.

Mr Kelly has reported the damage to Islington Council, said: “It’s very disappointing when you get vandalism around creative and interesting projects. It’s there to teach people about the park, Darwin and nature.”

Islington’s environment chief Councillor Paul Smith said: “This is just mindless vandalism. It wastes precious council resources and spoils something that was put there for the benefit of all but particularly local children. I am appalled that anyone would set out to deliberately damage this trail.”

A council spokeswoman said staff had begun to repair the damage yesterday (Thursday), adding: “It is clear that attempts have been made to damage every single one of the markers but fortunately in most cases they have not succeeded. 

“These are slate markers with steel fixings and would need a considerable amount of force applied to them to cause this level of damage.”