Didsbury Park – It Is A-Changing!
JANUARY 2015 - VOLUNTEERS SONG
In the process of tidying up some emails last week I came across an email from Lorraine (one of our pioneer volunteers) who was so inspired by our work in the park that she wrote a song about it. The song goes to the tune of 'Times They are a Changing' by Bob Dylan. The reference to Colin in the song is to our brilliant MCC park ranger Colin Evans who used to turn up every Monday morning in a van containing a wheelbarrow and a selection of MCC tools for us to use (as we had none of our own when we first started volunteering).
Didsbury Park, it is a-Changing!
Come gather round people in Didsbury Park
If you wanna have fun and a bit of a lark.
There’s lots to be done
So we’d best make a start
If the park to you is worth saving.
Then you’d better start digging
And spreading the bark.
Didsbury Park! It is a-changing! (or ” For the park it is a-changing”)
Come gather round people ‘cos Colin’s yer man
And see what he’s got
In the back of his van
And accept pretty soon
You’ll be lending a hand
If your park to you is worth saving.
You’ll love litter picking
As fast as you can.
Didsbury Park! It is a-changing!
Come gather round people and Brian you’ll see
Recording our progress
For posterity.
Then off to the café
For coffee and tea
Our park to us is worth saving.
So why not come join us
And happy you’ll be.
Didsbury Park! It is a-changing!
We never actually made the charts with this song but I think Lorraine certainly captured the spirit of our earlier volunteers - which I am delighted to say is still present today - 11 years later. Thank you Lorraine.
TUESDAY 29th SEPTEMBER 2026 at 10AM - JASON THE CLOUD GARDENER
I have received an invitation to help shape Greater Manchester's green and blue spaces and champion the importance of nature in cities. This involves listening to an inspiring talk with Jason the Cloud Gardener, sharing insights from his recent fellowship tour exploring greener towns and cities around the world. Discover innovative approaches to urban greening, community involvement and creating healthier, more sustainable places.
Set in the lovely surroundings of Hulme Community Garden Centre, 8 Old Birley Street, Hulme, M15 5RG there will be the opportunity for Q&A with Jason afterwards, and network with fellow likeminded attendees. Refreshments are included.
Unfortunately I will not be able to attend this event but if you are available and would like to attend then please do let me know and I will supply all the contact details.
TODAY
Where as last week we said a few goodbyes, as volunteers returned to academic courses or jobs, this week was a complete contrast, and we said a lot of hello's and welcomes to new volunteers. Our 4 new local volunteers were Harry, Konrad, Sue and Denise.
We were also delighted to welcome Gareth back to our volunteer team after circa 3 or 4 years absence following the birth of his twin daughters. Gareth was able to return today because his twin girls have now reached nursery / reception class age!! It is great to see you back again Gareth. We also welcomed Brian and Terry for the first time, who, as friends of Louise, kindly did a trip to B&Q for us to purchase some rolls of turf and then helped to lay them.
And finally we were delighted to see a brief but very welcome visit for the first time this new academic year, of 7 new students from Brentwood School and College and 3 accompanying members of staff, headed by Anna. In all we had 47 volunteers working hard in the park this morning. Everybody was made very welcome.
TODAY - WORK CONTINUED ON THE NEW FLOWER BED
Picture 1 shows early risers, Steve and Gareth, slicing the turf from the area where the new flower bed is to be located and replanting the turf in the old flower bed. Steve and Gareth then emptied one of the compost bays and dug the well composted contents into the new flower bed and mixed it well in. As the old flower bed was much larger than the new one, we had a shortfall in the amount of turf we needed to cover it in.
So as an expedient, Louise organised for friends Brian and Terry to call at B&Q this morning and buy a few rolls of turf to enable us to work out how much extra turf we would need to completely fill in the old flower bed.
Picture 2 shows Louise, Brian and Terry posing for a photo with the newly laid turf on the left hand side of the picture and the new flower bed just showing on the right hand side. This was an amazing piece of work to complete in a single morning. A huge thank you to everyone who participated.
TODAY - A GOOD LITTER PICK CAN MAKE YOU VERY TIRED!
Picture 3 is a great photo of just how tiring a couple of hours of litter picking can be. The picture shows Poppy (in the harness) just about keeping her eyes open as she and Mum Emma return to the volunteers shelter with a big bag of litter having done a great litter pick right across the park. Thank you both!
TODAY - IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN WHEN THE WILD FLOWERS NEED TRIMMING BACK.
Picture 4 shows Steve,using the hedge trimmer, and Allan using the strimmer, having just completed the mammoth task of trimming back the wild flower meadow flowers. Following Kevin's early morning advice, Steve and Allan trimmed the existing flowers to a height of approximately 6 inches in order to allow the remaining seed heads to fall naturally during the next couple of weeks.
This was an amazing job to be undertaken in just one morning and is a record compared with the same activity in previous years. Thank you Allan and Steve for this fantastic job!
The work on the wild flower meadow was also supported by Taylan, Patrick and Chris who very expertly trimmed the hedge between the bowling green and the wild flower meadow. Not only was the hedge expertly trimmed on the wild flower meadow side but the team also tidied up the bowling green side too. Excellent work guys - thank you.
TODAY - TIME TO TIDY UP SOME OF THE PATHS.
With a lot of trees regularly shedding leaves (and branches) due to the heatwaves and weeks of dry weather, we do seem to have had a lot of detritus on our paths this summer. So, today we put a lot of effort into the worst areas around the Gillbrook Road entrance and around the cafe up to the roundabout.
Picture 5 shows new volunteers Sue and Konrad next to Brenda and the 3 Pets at Home volunteers who did a fantastic sweep up of the paths around the Gillbrook Road entrance. In addition picture 6 shows Christine, Savita and Wendy who also made a major improvement to the look of all the paths path around the roundabout area.
TODAY - POPPY PATH TIDY UP
We also took the opportunity today to give the Poppy Path a tidy up. Wendy and Anne not only gave the Poppy Bridge a good sweep but they also tidied up the area where the annual wreath is laid at the Act of Remembrance in November.
The team of Taylan, Chris and Patrick took the opportunity, whilst collecting a donation of a large flower pot from Val on Kingsway, to also collect some old fencing which had been dumped on the Poppy Path. Thank you all. This work made a big improvement to the Poppy Path.
TODAY - HORTICULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Following the recent rain and the fact that Autumn is drawing near, some of our flower beds were starting to look a bit untidy and less colourful. So, today we cut back some of the extra growth and did some careful weeding.
Picture 7 shows the team working on the area around Buddy and Lucy. From left to right we have our new volunteer Harry, Sonia, two volunteers from Pets at Home and Felix. Picture 8 shows our new volunteer Denise, Anne and Julie who were working on the Flower Walk with John (just back from a tour of Scandinavia) and Lucy. Thank you also to Denise and Louise who once again made sure the rose beds were looking stunning. Thank you all
Thank you also to Gary who not only mowed and marked out the cricket square but then enhanced most of the flower beds by mowing around their edges. Picture 9 shows Gary even mowing around the bases of some of the specimen trees we have in the park. Thank you Gary and thank you to everyone involved in maintaining and improving the flower beds. They are looking quite remarkable.
TODAY - ELSEWHERE IN THE PARK
After many months of illness, it was great to see that Grace was well enough to volunteer with us for the second week in a row. Grace worked with Gill and updated all the lecterns. Thank you Grace and Gill.
Thank you to Taylan, Patrick and Chris who found some more trees in the grassed area which needed their canopies lifting in anticipation of the MCC mowing team needing to cut the grass soon.
Thank you also to Richard for his vigilence and maintenance of the football nets on the sports field. Richard supervises any repairs on a weekly basis and so maintains a consistently smart looking sports facility. Well done Richard.
Richard also maintains the natural fencing at the end of the woodland trail and ensures that any fallen branches are immediately re-cylcled in this cause - sustainability in action! Thank you Richard.
Thank you all once again for your amazing support.