We have much to look forward to in 2022, starting with the planting of a dozen fruit trees near the communal allotments behind the Rotunda Cafe on 4th January. These trees were funded by our three local councillors from their annual ward allowances, along with a donation from Friends of Preston Park.
Brighton & Hove Permaculture Trust is working with the councillors and with volunteers to plant the trees and will come back at regular intervals to ensure they thrive. When they start to bear fruit, it is envisaged that fruit will be donated to local food banks and food charities.
If you would like to come along and help with the planting please do so on the day by joining with the Tuesday volunteer gardening group.
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, Friends of Preston Park hosted end-of-year celebrations for the three volunteer gardening teams. Some 70 volunteers and guests attended over the three days.
The Chalet Cafe kindly provided coffee and cakes. Councillor Siriol Hugh-Jones joined us on Wednesday and Alan Griffiths, Operations Manager for CityParks on Thursday and, in each case, expressed their gratitude for the splendid contribution made by the volunteers.
Alan Griffiths answers questions from the Thursday groupSome of Tuesday’s volunteersGarden Manager, Andy Jeavons has provided fantastic guidance and support to the volunteers throughout the year – Andy, you’re a hero!
Congratulations to Lawrence Suss, who came second in this year’s Photo Competition with the picture shown below. Apparently, the picture was published in The Guardian as well as in our 2022 Calendar!
Work has now been completed on the children’s play area in Preston Park. As you can see, it looks great and should provide fantastic opportunities for adventurous play for many years to come.
Rob, the Police Community Support Officer for the Preston Park area
The police were in Preston Park this Wednesday to engage with younger park users about the dangers of knife crime. It was good to see Rob, our PCSO, helping to keep us all safe in the park.
Some of you may not know that there is a wildlife pond in St Peter’s churchyard, just to the north of the Coronation Garden. The pond had a big leak due to mindless vandalism some time ago and has become very overgrown so Friends of Preston Park has made a donation so it can be fully repaired.
Andy Jeavons and some of our volunteers stripped all of the undergrowth back so that a new concert base and lining could be built. Shelves and planters will now be created around the edges to encourage wildlife, and it will be finished with natural stones and a protective fence made of hazel strips. Once it is filled with water, there will be appropriate planting.
We’re pleased to announce that we have raised £9000 to create a fabulous new cherry blossom walk in Preston Park.
We were amazed to hit our target in less than two weeks, and we were told by JustGiving that we were one of the top 1% of most successful fundraising in September! This is thanks to all of you who were so responsive and generous in your donations. It was a great community effort and every single donation was very much appreciated by us all.
As soon as we reached our target, we were able to set work with the arboriculture team of City Parks, and they have been able to order 40 Prunus X Yedoensis trees, which are the traditional Japanese white flowering cherry blossoms. As they have a flat canopy that spreads 8-10 metres, we will be able to plant the trees 10 metres rather than 5 metres apart for the same effect. We will also be able to plant up both the path between the tennis courts and the Rose Garden and the path from the front of the Park to the former Bowling Pavilion, thus completing the whole project in one year rather than two.
The trees will be delivered around Christmas in 45-litre pots, and they will already be between 2m and 3m high. The advantage of them being potted rather than bare-rooted is that when they are planted the trees will put all their energy into growing upwards rather than into developing their roots first. As our appeal has now reached £9000, we will also be able to fund the securing stakes, green bags for watering and other related planting costs. Any remaining funds will be used for the commemoration plaque and signage.
We will let you know when the trees arrive and when planting will start, in line with weather conditions. We will need plenty of volunteers for digging the holes for planting! We are now closing the Cherry Blossom funding appeal, so once again, a big thank you to you all.
The Council has started a fantastic £100,000 refurbishment of Preston Park play area. The work will include the installation of a new fun-filled fully-connected adventure climbing trail that leads to two long slides down a hilly embankment. There will also be new steps up and down the embankment to a ‘snakes and ladders’ castle, plus 30 challenges to get there.
Also included are an exciting new pendulum swing and carousel, plus new surfaces and an extended path through the area. Old favourites like the swings, toddler huts, roundabout and picnic zone will remain to complete the enjoyment.
Unfortunately, the work will take four weeks during which time the playground will be closed.
