The heavy rainfall this autumn has seen the park severely flooded. The water reached as far as the Bateman Road entrance and submerged the forest school log circle on 15th October. Things got little better in November and some damage has been done to our new limestone pathways. We arranged to have some spare surfacing material and some of this has been used to repair the paths in certain areas. The run-off water flowed so quickly through the park that it actually managed to gouge out the paths in some parts. The repairs look good and cannot be distinguished from the original surfacing. The amount and quality of water that floods the park and Gotham road is of concern. East Leake Parish Council asked Rushcliffe Borough Council to test the quality of the flood water and it was found to have high levels of ammonia. This probably indicates significant pollution. Severn Trent Water Authority has been notified and the Parish Office and Meadow Park committee are pushing this forward. Something needs to be done about the fairly frequent flooding of Gotham Road, the play area and park but it is a case of finding the best course of action and getting someone to accept responsibility for making things better.
On a brighter note, Forest School children planted hundreds of bulbs as part of their activity session in November. These include single snowdrops, snakehead fritillary, native bluebells, native daffodils and wood anemone. The bulbs that were left were planted by our working party on Saturday 9th November. Volunteers also tackled the pernicious Russian Vine that has established itself on the Bateman Road boundary near the railway embankment. Though much was cutback or uprooted it will be an on-going task to keep it in check. Our hope is to get rid of it altogether in the not too distant future. A lot of work has gone into tidying up the park as the flood water receded. Dead wood stacked, heavy branches pruned etc. We have regular working parties every second Saturday in the month, but much of our work is done on an ad hoc basis when volunteers work in small groups or individually to get specific tasks completed. We are always looking for volunteers and if you feel motivated to help please get in touch.
If you want to find out more about the Friends of Meadow Park visit the village website (www.east-leake.co.uk) and look under ‘organisations’.
We also have a Facebook page.
Membership per year costs £3 for an individual or £5 for a household.