Our Projects in Marple Memorial Park
The Friends of Marple Memorial Park have had amazing success with their projects in the park, thanks largely to the great support from local people, other voluntary organisations and the Marple business community. You can read more about these successes here.
COVID Commemoration Project
COVID Flag Pole Memorial in Marple Memorial Park
In October 2023 Friends of Marple Memorial Park completed a COVID Commemoration Project with Stockport Council to create a permanent memorial in the park to remember those we have lost and to celebrate the way the Marple Community came together to help one another during the pandemic.
One of the things in the park we associate most with the pandemic is the flag pole where we flew the NHS flags to thank key workers. Our proposal developed from this and the fact that the flag-pole was nearing the end of its life. Our aim was to combine a new flag-pole with the integration of a small monument with commemorative plaque built in front of it.
We shared our plans and sought feedback on the idea from the local community throughout the project's development and were supported by the Marple Mutual Aid Group too.
Marple Skatepark Sign
Why is Marple Skatepark here and how was it funded?
In 2022 we hooked up with RTIME Outreach Youth Worker Earl Nanton, who spent some quality time in the park over the summer engaging with younger park users and organising activities and events. Earl told us something we hadn't realised - that there is a new generation of young skatepark users who are not aware of our involvement in the skatepark.
Earl convinced us we should do something to address this and explain to users how much effort Friends of the Park and others put in to achieve what we have at Marple Skatepark today.
We worked on a solution to this over the autumn and winter months and came up with a potted history that hopefully explains our involvement and the fantastic support that we had from Stockport Council, skatepark users and the wider Marple Community. We added this to a large new sign for the skatepark, along with a list of the main project funders.
Marple Skatepark Art
£500 Award for Marple Skatepark Mural
In September 2022 Friends of Marple Memorial Park were delighted to receive a £500 Magic Little Grant from Localgiving and Postcode Neighbourhood Trust, a grant-giving charity funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The funding award enabled Marple-based Community Artist Helen Middleton of Marple Youth Project to lead a series of four workshops in the park. Helen worked with young people to design a series of murals for the ramps at the top section of Marple Skatepark.
Transfer of Artwork now completed in June 2023!
Helen has been working hard to transfer the collages of artwork to the ramps since April and put the finishing touches to this in early June 2023.
It is quite amazing how accurate they are to the children's original work.
Replacement of Petrol Gardening Tools
Stockport CAN Fund helps volunteers go "Green"
Climate Action Now Award enables petrol gardening tools replacement
In May 2022 Friends of Memorial Park were awarded £1,550 by the Stockport CAN (Climate Action Now) Fund to replace existing petrol driven gardening equipment with cordless battery powered items. The award enabled us to purchase a cordless lawnmower, a strimmer, long reach hedge-cutters and standard hedge-cutters plus the batteries and charger needed to run them. It also meant that we could scrap our old petrol driven equipment and remove our dependency on petrol completely.
Canal Frog Rose comes back to Marple
New home in the park for giant Marple Frogs
On Saturday 12 February 2022 Friends of the Park were pleased to install Canal Frog Rose and baby Bud in Marple Memorial Park. The frogs' new home is in the Reading Circle behind the library, where they take the place of the original wooden sculpture that we had to remove in 2021 due to decay.
They certainly look right at home and fit in so well that the area could have been designed for them. The Reading Circle was originally created by Friends of the Park in 2007/8 and was funded by a BBC Breathing Places Grant. We're delighted that Rose and Bud will give this area a new lease of life so many years later.
