A very good turnout of volunteers enabled a lot of work to be completed on the working morning in October.
One group dug up the three trees in the Arboretum that have died and enlarged the holes so that new trees can be planted at the end of November/beginning of December. The Downy Birch, Sweet Chestnut and Sweet Cherry have all died and will be replaced by Downy Birch, Sweet Chestnut and Wild Pear. The larch is still showing signs of life, so is being monitored in hope that it survives.
There is a good quantity and variety of fruit in the park which is useful for our wildlife population. Hawthorn, rose hips, sloes, apples (crab and standard) and pears are abundant and will be eaten by our resident birds and those migrating from Scandinavia. Apparently redwings are flying over from Scandinavia in large number this year.
A second group of volunteers worked in the Forest School area. They removed some logs damaged by vandals and tidied up the area. We need a new log circle as the existing one is rotting away. We intend to put in larger logs (40 cm diameter) so the children can sit on them more comfortably. These have been ordered. It will require a total of 26metres, split into 20 logs at 1.3metre lengths.
A third group worked in Play Field cutting back hawthorn and rank weeds near our butterfly bank. This on-going project is quite successful and once the plants get established it should be a real asset to the park and our butterfly population.
If you have time to go down to read the notice boards in the park you will find a very interesting article on this year’s Big Butterfly Count. Sadly it shows declining populations of butterflies, but gives some hints about what can be done.
Our AGM will take place on place Wednesday 9th November in the Parish Office, starting at 7.30pm. Short reports will be given on the general management of the park, birds, wildlife and insects activity. You might like to wear a face mask if you attend.
If you want to find out more about the Friends of Meadow Park visit the village website or our Facebook page. You can pick up a membership form from the library, Parish Office or Mel’s greengrocery. Membership per year costs £3 for an individual or £5 for a household. Becoming a Friend of Meadow Park does not require you to take part in the work groups. The membership fees are used to purchase tools and equipment to enable the work groups to maintain the park.