Friends of Memorial Park Task Days in 2021
Here are details of our task days in 2021.
Wildflower meadow starting to show promise at last
As many will know, creation of our wildflower meadow on the site of the Lock 11 compound was delayed by the Covid19 pandemic. We were all set to sow seed in March 2020 but it didn't happen until the autumn in less than ideal conditions. This year we've been waiting patiently for it to spring into life but it has been very slow to take hold, apart from the self seeded Dock.
Today we decided to get a small team on it at short notice to give the Dock a good bashing before it dispersed seed again. It has made quite a difference and it is actually starting to look like a wildflower meadow at last. Although results of the seed we sowed in autumn still seems to be quite sparse, wildflowers are now starting to show and there are encouraging patches in bloom.
We did sow a huge amount of seed in autumn, including Yellow Rattle of which the is no sign at all. Today we also sowed a load more seed in anticipation of some rain to get them going.
Chipping away at Town Centre bench maintenance
Well not literally, but we are working our way through the retreating of the Marple Town Centre benches, this time completing one on Market Street and another on the Hollins.
We're also starting to think about how we can clean up and repaint the metalwork too and it would be easier if we had access to an outside tap. Is there an owner of a business premises or residence that could help us with this please?
Everything is growing so quickly now and there's lots of work for our volunteers!
Now that we are allowed to use power-tools in the park again we were able to catch-up on maintenance of the bandroom garden by strimming (with our new cordless strimmer) and mowing the grass. Lots more work on the flowerbeds too, which are now filling out nicely thanks to the sunshine.
We also gave shrubs alongside Hollins House a good pruning and others cleared weeds from the park entrance on Stockport Road, which has made a huge improvement.
We also called local councillors and the emergency control room to get the park toilets opened as the were still shut at 10am.
And last but not least, we took delivery of the plywood boards for the Pavilion Art Project, which is very exciting.
Park visitors said thank you by placing over £18 in our collection bucket.
Three more Town Centre benches knocked off the list!
Another three Town Centre benches were sanded and treated by Friends of the Park today, as we gradually make our way towards Stockport Road. Special thanks today for refreshments from Aggie's Bar and to Forever Yours of Cheshire Bridal Shop for helping us out with parking because the car parks were all full.
A huge thank you to the two people who donated £130 + Gift Aid between them via Local Giving after seeing this article too!
Squeezed in another Task Day with only 24 hours notice!
As the weather was so good we organised today's task day with only 24 hours notice, so some of our volunteers couldn't make it. However, there were enough to make a difference and the Allotment Team were out in force working on their plot. As well as working on the flowerbeds, we pulled a pile of self-seeded saplings from several of the shrub beds.
Thank you to park visitors for just over £11 left in our collection bucket!
Another busy day in the park with lots of work completed in several areas...
While one team focused on a further tidy-up and maintenance of the main flowerbeds and the war memorial beds, another scoured the top half of the area used for the Lock 11 repairs for stones that could damage the council's mower again (they keep rising to the surface). The top third of this area should then be mown to return it to grass, while the rest is to be left wild and, hopefully, the wildflower seed we sowed in the autumn of last year will put on a better display than it is currently doing.
At the same time others were working on clearing weeds, grass and moss from around and under benches and the steps down to the library, and on the allotment plot too.
Thank you to generous park users, who popped over £34 in our collection bucket!
A couple more Town Centre Benches treated while it's not raining!
We thought Derby Way would be quiet on a Sunday morning but there were lots of people out and about while we sanded and treated the two benches there. It was good to see both cafes being well used and thank you to the Golden Plate and The Locks Coffee House and Bar for their generous provision of refreshments as we finished our chores.
A big thanks also to the kind gentleman who donated £20 to Friends of the Park!
Town Centre Bench Refurbishments
At last Friends of Marple Memorial Park have been able to get our 2021 Town Centre Bench maintenance underway.
Thanks to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions we were unable to do any maintenance in 2020, so they need more work than normal since we refurbished them all between 2015 and 2019. It was great to get the first four under our belt and also to receive some very appreciative comments from passing members of the public.
We were also treated to tea, coffee and scones from All Things Nice and a wonderful Gelato ice cream from Cocolato, formerly the Magnificent Chocolate Company.
Commemorative Bench in Memorial Park
We also managed to finish the addition of a new commemorative plaque in memory of Nancy Adams to one of the benches in the park already sponsored by the Tait family. As well as paying for the new plaque, which we fitted, the family also made a very generous donation towards our maintenance materials for all benches.
We were delighted by how many people thanked us for our efforts today!
Tasks included cutting down a dead willow in the woodland area and using the arisings to create a bug hotel, continuing our catch-up on bench refurbishments, litter-picking, clearing broken glass and lots of work on the main flowerbeds and war memorial beds. We also planted some donated fruit trees and unblocked a drain!
We were joined this time by a team from Marple Allotment Association, who did a lot of work to bring their fruit and veg plot in the park back to life.
We had an outdoor (socially distanced) tea break and park visitors kindly donated over £21 in our bucket. Thank you!
Friends of the Park officially get back to work at last!
Following clearance from the council to return to the park for our task days the weather played ball and treated us to some much needed sunshine.
The principal task was to get back on top of the main flowerbed maintenance but we also got stuck into treating of benches, removal of self-seeded saplings in the shrub beds and litter-picking throughout the park. We also planted some fruit bushes donated by a Marple resident and cleared out the Bowling Pavilion canopy ready for the start of the Bowling season.
Earlier this month we also got work back underway in the Bandroom Garden.
Friends of the Park are not able to do task days at the moment but have popped some new flags up recently:
