Our AGM

After a long pause, here we are posting again! It's the AGM for the Friends of Garston Park tonight (25th April). We've been doing loads of things, but there's lots more we could do and we are really keen for new members to come along and just find out more. We're meeting at 6 30 at the Leisure Centre by the park. We usually use the cafe area. Hope to see you there.

Garston Fun Day - can you help us

Next month sees the annual Garston Fun Day. It's on 22 June on the park and as ever there'll be loads of stalls and things to do. We'll be there as usual talking to people and raising money for the work we do. We need your help though. Do you have any books or DVDs you can let us have for sale or for a tombola? If you do and can drop them off at 80 Long Lane that would be great. If you can't drop off, please let us know and we'll find a way to get them from you.

We're shortlisted

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. We've still be doing loads of work for the park but we've not been so good at updating our website! The great news is that we've been shortlisted in the Liverpool Echo environment awards. We're one of three organisations shortlisted for a category called "Take Notice of Our World" for our art project. The awards night is in mid May and we'll update to let you know how we get on.

Friends of Garston Park photostream

We now have a Flickr photostream where we are collecting all our photographs of our various FOGP activities. You can see the photographs we have already uploaded at this link.

No meeting this Friday

We normally have a meeting on the third Friday of the month but June's has been cancelled as there is so much work to do on the art project (hanging the boards) and the Fun Day (getting ready for it)

Have you noticed the art on display?

Our Garston Park Art project is nearing its completion with boards of artwork being gradually put up around the sports pitches near the leisure centre. Groups have been working on boards to represent their thoughts about health and wellbeing as well as their own local activities. There is also a Garston skyline (past and present) and some words. If you live near the park you may have seen some boards up already. Volunteers will be hard at it this week to put more of the boards in place. Big thanks to everyone who has been involved.

Garston Fun Day

It's Garston Fun Day this Saturday (16th). Come along to Garston Park between 11 and 2! There are loads of stalls this year, and Friends of Garston Park will be there with our stall too. We will have bird boxes on offer as well as plants. We are also raising funds through a tombola. If you want to find out more about what we do, this is a good chance to come and have a chat with some of the committee.

The art project continues!

Last year the Friends of Garston Park and the Garston Grassendale Detatched Youth project kicked off the Great Garston Art Project.

It's a scheme to improve the appearance of the walls around the sports pitches on Garston Park with a community based mural.

The idea is to reflect the Garston sky line as well as aspects of health and wellbeing.

At the launch meeting we talked about workshops to get the art started. We now have dates for the first three (each of which will have a community artist there)

The dates and times are


Mon 20th February at White Oak Lodge on Beechwood Road
Wednesday 22nd February at Garston Park Church (right by the park)
Thursday 23rd February at Garston Urban Village Hall on Banks Road

All at 6pm.

Do come along if you want to get involved, or just find out more.

It's our AGM

Our AGM is this Friday - the 17th Feb. We are meeting at Long Lane Church in Garston at 6 30. If you are interested, do please come along.

More pictures of our Tree Planting

The Garston and District Historical Society has put some pictures from our Tree Planting day on its Flickr site.

Here is a link to the stream of pictures.

Tree planting

The Friends of Garston Park were out today (Thursday) planting trees on the part of the park at the side of the leisure centre.

Joined by some very keen youngsters from Gilmour Juniors we planted some very young trees as well as some more mature ones and some shrubs.

It was rather wet and windy but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Big thanks to the Woodland Trust and the Mersey Forest for the trees and also to the Mersey Forest for the practical help.

Today was the first of two tree planting sessions which are themselves just part of our work on protecting and improving our wonderful open space.

Wildflower meadow for Garston Park

Tomorrow (19th November) local brownies will join the Friends of Garston Park to create a wildflower meadow near the swing park.

They'll be planting seeds and bulbs as one of the first of two planned wildflower areas.

The planting's due to happen at 1pm.

Art project meeting

If you are interested in the Art Project mentioned in an earlier post (and you don't need to be an artist to get involved) come along to our first meeting on Thursday 24th November at 6pm in the Leisure Centre.

There'll be some follow up meetings in January.

Our next meeting

Our next meeting of the Friends of Garston Park is Friday 18th November at 6 30 at Long Lane Church. It's open to anyone who wants to get involved or find out more so do come along. The Church is at the Woolton Road end of Long Lane, near the shops.

And on Friday 19th November we are having one of our regular "litter picks" on the park. We meet at 10 30 outside the leisure centre. Again do come along if you want to help out.

The Great Art Project - do join in!

FOGP is working on a project to camouflage the screens around the outdoor pitches at the Leisure Centre. Some sides of the pitches will have shrubs planted around them, but the sides facing the car park will be painted.

The idea has 2 parts: (1) to paint a Garston skyline on boards along the top of the screens and (2) below and around it will be boards representing how people express health and well-being in Garston. School children and other young people will do (2).

The skyline
This work will be done by community groups in the area. Small groups will work with community artists, starting with taking digital photos and working up to designing the final skyline. You don’t have to have a digital camera to take part.

You do have to commit to a number of sessions for the work. There will be a preliminary meeting in November and work will start in January 2012, for completion in May.

If you are interested and have ideas about what should be included in the skyline, please contact Gwen White, gwen.white@wmail.freeserve.co.uk If you give your email or telephone details, you will be sent the date of the preliminary
meeting.

We really want your involvement and ideas. Please pass this information on to anyone else who might be interested.

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who supported out stall at the Garston Park Fun Day las month.

We raised money to reinvest in park improvements and we managed to meet lots of people and chat about our work.

The organisers of the Fun Day are already thinking about next year so hopefully we'll meet even more people in 2012!

Meanwhile the park plays host to another Fun Day, organised by the extended schools service, on 2nd August.

Our next meeting

Our next meeting , of Friends of Garston Park, is this Friday (17th). We meet at 6 30 at Long Lane Church. Anyone who wants to get involved is welcome.

We'll also be out in the park on Saturday doing one of our regular litter picks.

Bakers wanted!

Garston Park Fun Day is nearly here. Running from 11 till 2 on 25th June there should be loads to do for everyone.

The organisers are giving away free tea and cake. But they also want bakers.

If you are a keen baker and want to donate some cakes that would be great. Please drop them off between 9 and 10 on the day at the " tea tent".

Help needed for Fun Day

25th June is the next Garston Park Fun Day.

We'll be there with our stall.

This year we want to include a tombola so we're appealing for anyone with a gift they'd like to donate as a prize to get in touch. We're after books to sell as well.

If you think you can help out, you can drop things off at 80 Long Lane or drop us an e mail and we will sort out picking things up. E mail Paula at paula.keaveney@liverpool.gov.uk

Join us to help keep our area clean - Garston Litter Pick

A group of churches in Garston are organising another Litter Pick in our area later this month.

The Friends of Garston Park will be joining people from all over our area to help tidy up the park and some of the streets in Garston.

Organised by local churches, and starting from Long Lane Church, the Litter Pick is on Saturday 14th May. It kicks off with a breakfast from 9 at the church (which was very good last year - ed)

There's no obligation to stay all day and anyone who wants to join in is very welcome.

Litter picks, gloves, bags etc are all provided. We can't guarantee the weather but it was good last year!

Information is available from the Pastor at Long Lane Church - nick@longlane.org