Rescue of plants and topsoil before the bulldozers arrive!
Following on from the success of our Task Day on 17th of August, it was decided to keep the momentum going by slotting an extra Task Day into our busy calendar on Saturday 24th, closely followed by our scheduled one on Saturday 31st, the last day of August and of the summer!
On both occasions we had a splendid turn-out of almost twenty volunteers, all eager to keep our park looking its best. Unfortunately the Task Day Leader for both days forgot to take photos on the 24th but, after being soundly reprimanded, was able to provide some record of how hard our members worked on the 31st.
The main focus on both days was to continue relocating plants from the flowerbeds that will be lost during construction of the new Community Hub. As before we had to make space for these plants, largely by removing lots of hostas that have tended to 'take over' several of the flowerbeds near to the War Memorial. We also decided to move good topsoil from the donor beds to 'bulk out' the areas where we are replanting while we wait for a consignment of new topsoil from the Council. Again, it was gratifying to see that the surplus hostas that we left bagged up near the War Memorial with a sign encouraging people to take them were collected by park users to take home for their own gardens. We wish them joy in their new homes!
Other activities included sawing up and disposal of several large branches which had been blown down during the recent storm, weeding and edging of paths and general park maintenance.
Many thanks to our committed and enthusiastic volunteers, who clearly enjoy their labours. While we're pleased to have so many, we always welcome new ones as there's an endless list of jobs to do!