An event at Sunset and Moonlit Parks, Attwood Green, Birmingham.
The "Love your Park" event was organised by Quadron Services Ltd and Birmingham City Council in conjunction with Optima Community Housing Association as a "Partnership in Action" day.
This event allowed Quadron and Birmingham City Council to engage with the local community and involve them in the development and maintenance of their 2 new parks.
Birmingham hopes to gain Green Flag Status for Moonlit and Sunset Parks; and Community Ownership is key to achieving this.
Activities carried out on the day included:
- Community mulching of the Flower & Shrub Beds around the children's playground and ball court
- Community planting of the wildflower meadow on site
- Sustainable planter and basket displays
- Willow Sculpture Demonstration
- Tai Chi in the park
The activities were supervised by Quadron, Birmingham Parks Ranger Service, Optima Community Rangers, Sheldon's - the Optima Building Repairs Team - and Birmingham Primary Care Trust.
Many of the tasks carried out on the day related to comments made about the condition of the park prior to Quadron taking control of the maintenance contract in April 2009.
This event allowed us to show our commitment to the park and the ongoing maintenance by taking ownership of, and improving, many of the neglected areas.
Wildflower Planting
Quadron provided 150 wild flower plugs to enhance the existing Wildflower meadow. In preparation we carried out a soil assessment to identify suitable wildflower species for the area, and to allow us to establish a maintenance regime which will encourage wildflower regeneration as part of the Parks Management Plan. The wildflowers selected for planting included Common Cats Ear, Cowslip, Greater Knapweed and Betony.
Quadron Contract Manager, Andy Court, gets his hands dirty planting wildflowers
Mulching
One of the common criticisms received was regarding the condition of the shrub beds in the park. We identified that there had been no weed treatment of any of the amenity shrub beds in the park and no nutrient feeding had been carried out since the shrubs were originally planted out. Prior to the event Quadron hand weeded and chemically treated the beds with glyphosate to prepare them for mulching.
On the day Andy Court, Quadron Contract Manager for the Ladywood area and a team of 6 Quadron employees assisted members of the public and local residents in spreading 6 tonnes of bark mulch over 800m2 of beds.
Martyn Bradley, Quadron's Area Manager for Birmingham said:
"The Love your Park event provided the opportunity for Quadron to meet with local residents and other agencies who work in and around the Park.
Quadron is keen to support local residents who want to set up their own "Friends of the Park" group in partnership with Birmingham City Council. The "Friends of" group will be involved in how the Parks in Attwood Green are managed. This could range from simply being the voice of park users to fundraising for events and projects in the parks."
Peter Short, Constituency Parks Manager, Birmingham City Council:
"I would like to thank the local Quadron management and staff for all their input into the "Love Your Park" event last week. I would also like to give special thanks to Clive Ivil (Managing Director, Quadron) for the financial backing.
The event could not have been as successful as it was without your input, which has been greatly valued by myself, the team from Optima and, most importantly, the local residents.
What a great way to start a new working relationship, which I am sure will continue to flourish for years to come"
