Give something back to our wonderful park!

Well, you know we are West Bank Park patriots - other parks may have better playgrounds (OK, much better playgrounds), but we love its woods, meadows, wild spaces and...its POND!  Except that - the pond is so choked up with reeds, it's in danger of becoming a bog, a mire, a marsh, a sump.  And worse still: the wildlife area around it is suffering too.  All the herbs and insect-friendly planting are getting completely swamped by ground elder.

All of which gives us a chance to help improve things!  Jenny Cairns, our Park Ranger, is organising a volunteering afternoon on Monday 8th Oct, 1-3pm.  She is recruiting helpers to pull reeds and ground elder, and do some new planting of butterfly-friendly species.

The wildlife area has been an absolutely invaluable space for our group - we have marvelled at frogs mating (see above - but you have to look closely!) and at their spawn and tadpoles, fed birds and spied on them through toilet-roll binoculars, done treasure hunts and picked blackberries there.  So let's try and send a few volunteers from our group to help Jenny.  We can organise joint babysitting.  And group funds will provide cake and hot chocolate all round!

Not So Young Friends!

As we have now been going for more than five years (!!!!) we have an increasing number of 'graduates' who are currently working their way through primary school.  We want to see you all back again!  So we are organising two events this summer for 3-9-year-olds.  It'll be just like Very Young Friends - but fewer nursery rhymes and more expertise!

Firstly, the excellent Graham Banwell, of the OPAL project, will come to help us hunt minibeasts on Monday 20th August, 2-4pm.  The things he knows about slugs and earthworms....well, personally speaking I found them hard to believe when he told them to me. 

And then, using the equipment of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, we will go pond-dipping with nets, trays, magnifiers and identification charts.  Our pond is more or less perfect for dipping as it's so full of reeds and vegetation!  Date for that: Thurs 23rd August, 2-4pm.

But we hope to see you there - whether you are a former Very Young Friend, or any other person with a child in that sort of age group.  Please note that parents must stick around as we haven't gone through any bureaucracy in order to be responsible for your children.

How embarrassing!  Our last post was over a YEAR ago!  We have the usual excuse that we are too busy playing in the woods to be sitting at computers blogging about what we do...but still...we must do better!  This is my summer resolution.

Let's make up for it with some recent news:

1) Tomorrow is our BIG TODDLE to support Barnardo's work with under-5s.  We have raised £145 online (so far) plus donations given in 'real money' using sponsorship forms - an unknown amount.  If you'd like to sponsor us go to this page.

2) This summer, as well as meeting weekly as usual, we will have some additional sessions for slightly older children.  The sessions will be aimed at 3-9-year-olds - we could call them our 'graduates'! - but in usual VYFWBP style, bring any older or younger ones you need to bring.  One of them will be POND DIPPING (always beloved), hopefully with the support of the local wildlife trust, and the other will be MINIBEAST HUNTING with the excellent Graham Banwell of the OPAL project. Dates to be confirmed.

There is nothing like the thrill of the chase...all children have hunters' instincts!

More generally, how is our group doing? Thriving!  We have lots of new and enthusiastic members - and their parents aren't so bad either.  In recent months we've been making 'perfume', planting in the wildlife area, playing in dens and tunnels, painting, treasure hunting, 'camping', enjoying lots of songs, making elderflower lemonade, hearing stories about the animals who live in the park.  We go round with the seasons, and for old hands like myself it is a lovely thing to revisit activities we last did a year previously.

And best of all - the group is very hardy these days.  The weather makes almost no difference to how many families turn up - and a good thing too, this very damp and soggy year!