FRIENDS OF FRIARWOOD VALLEY GARDENS

Our aim: the enhancement of

Friarwood Valley Gardens and the

preservation of its heritage

NEWSLETTER MARCH 2015

Contact: Colin White (Chair) 795074 Liz Clayden (Vice Chair) 791256 Viv Hinde (Treasurer) 795078 Maria Dransfield (Secretary) 690393 Report anti-social behaviour and vandalism to the Police. Crime being committed ring 999 To report vandalism ring 101 and mention on-going Valley Gardens incident (postcode WF8 2RP) occurrence number 13130056209. This will ensure that incidents are recorded in the Police Valley Gardens’ incident log. www.friendsfriarwoodvalleygardens.btck.co.uk

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First sign of spring

We planted most of these snowdrops last year. Look out for the daffodils we also planted last year - they will soon be out.

Rose Garden planting completed in February All 31 rose beds have now been replanted; the last three rose beds completed on 14th February. There is still a lot of work to be done in the Rose Garden; the edges of the beds need tidying and hoeing to control the weeds. Thank you to all our hard working volunteers. Gardening sessions: March Sat 7th, Tues 17th and Sat 28th at 1.30pm, and Tues April 14th at 2pm. New volunteers always welcome.

Every rose bed has been sponsored either by individuals or local community groups, each planted with a single rose variety. We will be placing a plaque in each bed recording the name of the sponsor and rose variety. This has been achieved by our small group of volunteers, including the Prince’s Trust and the Mormon Church who helped with the hard work of clearing the beds for planting. A special thank you to Priory Roses, Hillam for providing roses at cost price and also donating a large number and giving us valuable advice. Looks tidy but not very impressive as yet but should be blooming by mid-summer.

2

Tree planting

Path Update

Visitors to Valley Gardens will have noticed that several trees have been removed by the Council because they were dead or diseased. We are planting two new trees and have chosen chequer trees (sorbus torminalis, or wild service tree). This is a native British tree named after its chequered fruit which was used for brewing before hops were introduced – that’s why so many pubs are called “chequers”. Also

The Council were busy in December repairing paths, wall copings and the paving and wall around the aviary. There is still a lot of restorative work to do and it is to be hoped that the diminishing budget for parks will stretch to allow it to be completed in the not too distant future.

Chequerfield after the chequer trees that once grew there. The two new trees will commemorate the centenary of WW1 and are being sponsored by the Royal British Legion and the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI). One tree has already been planted (photo above) and is dwarfed by the tree guard but when mature could reach 25m tall. The second will be planted once we have obtained the tree guard. We will be arranging a planting ceremony as soon as we have obtained the commemorative plaques.

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Events for 2015

We will be holding a public meeting and AGM in May

We will be participating in the Liquorice Festival on Sunday 12th July and Yorkshire Day, Saturday 1st August.

The Lantern Festival will be held in October, date to be agreed with Pontefract Lioness Club.

The former Aviary and Pontefract Magna Carta 800

As mentioned in a previous newsletter, Pontefract is a Magna Carta town; John DeLacy, Baron of Pontefract was one of the 25 barons who forced King John to put his seal on the “Great Charter” at Runnymede in June 1215. There are a number of events taking place in Pontefract to celebrate Pontefract Magna Carta 800 during June and we are hoping to participate. A schools art competition relating to Magna Carta 800 is being organised with the Pontefract Education Trust and it is planned to exhibit the best work on the five shutters of the aviary building, if we can get the funding.

The Council have already made some repairs to the paving and front wall and we would like to pave the area in front of the aviary which used to be the aviary enclosure, and get the building re-pointed – again, if we can obtain the funding!

We did once think of renovating the building as a kiosk, for drinks, snacks and information, but the cost would be too great and we don’t have the volunteer force to provide that service. A recent idea put forward is to convert it as a camera obscura; it is more likely that a heritage/cultural grant could be obtained for such a project.

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Picnic and Play project

Work on the children’s play- ground started on Monday 9th March when the area was fenced and marked out in preparation for the play equipment being installed. Once complete we will be organising an official opening to recognise the sponsors: WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd) and Wakefield Council. We also made a contribution from our own fund raising efforts. We were successful in obtaining the funding by

demonstrating through local surveys that a playground in the Valley Gardens will be of benefit to the community. However, there have already been negative comments on our Facebook page about the likelihood of vandalism and anti-social behaviour. This location was chosen partly because it is overlooked by CCTV on Southgate.