Community is bowled over by project on the green
Old pallets into planters
Cultivation Street 2018 is still going strong so make sure you enter for your chance to win a share of the £20,500 in prizes we are giving away to winners and runners-up.
The Friends of Highfield Park, in South Shore, Blackpool, Lancs, are in the running for community garden of the year. They started by transforming a old bowling green into a community garden and have many more big plans.
Karen Pennington, 60, secretary of the Friends of Highfield Park, said: “We started the garden club back in 2014 when the council wanted to close two bowling greens. We persuaded them to only close one if we could raise enough funds to transform the other into a community park and garden.
“Our next project is to turn an area of the park into a wildflower meadow to attract more wildlife. We have sown wildflower seeds, planted bulbs and created bat boxes and bug hotels. Park visitors enjoy talking to the community gardeners and also tell them how much they appreciate the work they do.
“I’ve seen the benefits of gardening both in myself and other volunteers, who are mostly in their 70s and 80s – the garden helps us to keep fit!
“We also work closely with the local children’s nurseries – it enables the children to learn about the plants, wildlife and they love being outside.”