Green Space Volunteers
Our merry band of volunteers is going from strength to strength. We regularly have numbers in the mid-twenties at our volunteering sessions, working their socks off to help keep our amazing park looking lovely!
Green Flag and Heritage Flag status
We are delighted to report that, following the inspection in May, Pittville Park has retained its Green Flag and Heritage Flag status. We are looking forward to reading the report, which we expect to receive in autumn. The inspection added an extra incentive to review the accreditation criteria and do some nagging to make sure everything was brought up to scratch, so time well spent! Well done to the volunteers and, of course, the Parks Department and UBICO.
Albert Road Gates
On 2 July, the plants arrived for the new beds by the Albert Road gate, so we had a fun session planting them all and applying mulch to cover the membrane. It’s not been an ideal time for planting, and much time and effort has been spent bailing water from the lake to keep the plants alive, but our hard work has paid off and they are looking healthy.
Additionally, a new board with information about the Residuum (the pond next to Albert Road that filters the water from Wymans Brook into the lake) has been created and will be installed soon. The trolley in this area has also been reported to the council and will be removed in due course.
Other activity
In June, we organised a tree walk of Wellington Square with the delightful Chris Chevasse, the Senior Tree Officer. As always, it was a very informative and humorous session and a good opportunity to come together with an interested and appreciative group of local people.
Everything grows so quickly, even in this very dry weather. The sensory beds are doing well and looking very colourful, and we are very grateful to Mark who looks after the aviaries and playground for keeping them watered. We have also spent some time clearing the growth from the bottom of the trees at the lower lake, which has opened up the view to the lake – a big improvement!
If you would like to join our volunteers, we meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, 9.15-11.15am, by the aviaries, and afterwards we head to Central Cross café for a coffee and a chat. Just come along or, for further information, email us on volunteer@friendsofpittville.org.uk
Barbara Leigh