Dear Civic Pride,
Think back to Autumn 2019, and all those bulbs we planted….(I know there were at least 2000 bulbs on the Embankment alone, and yes, strictly speaking that was my fault)…. Little did we realise just how important those humble flowers would be in lifting our collective spirits come Spring 2020.
The gardens look wonderful in every part of the Valley thanks to a lot of hard litter clearing and planting, from Edenfield Fingerpost beds right up to Crawshawbooth’s Jubilee Gardens, from Haslingden across to Bacup, the bulbs are out in force and brightening up our daily exercise routes.
So a massive ‘Thank you’ to everyone who contributed! If you are currently indulging your own horticultural needs at home, then the new Find Yourself in a Garden feature on the CPR website has sound advice on garden jobs to do this week…including home-made compost; what more could you wish for?!
At the moment we don’t know when the lockdown and associated restrictions will be lifted. Yes, it’s frustrating to put our usual litter picking and gardening activities on hold as the weeds undoubtedly sneak into our Community Gardens, and the amount of litter on pavements and under hedgerows stealthily increases. In the middle of this pandemic, however, Government advice remains consistent (www.gov.uk/coronavirus) our daily exercise is to go out of the front door, run, walk or cycle whilst observing social distancing and return promptly, thereby minimising our time away from home.
Clearly, there is still more work to be done encouraging people not to drop litter in the first place. Let us focus our energy on staying safe, supporting essential workers & the NHS and gaze forward to helping the local Rossendale community get back on its feet as soon possible after Covid-19.
With this in mind, in addition to re-establishing our regular Lone Rangers, Secret Gardeners and Garden Groups, CPR are as always aiming to recruit new volunteers, and can’t wait to get the Greenhouse project up and running.
Of course, we’ll be entering NW Britain in Bloom 2021 and we also want to find volunteers to help with our educational Outreach projects. If anyone has any offers, ideas or questions about any of our plans, please do get in touch via the website, or email me – [email protected] – we always welcome your contributions.
In the meantime, have a look at our QT, Instagram and Facebook pages and keep an eye on the website, there are useful articles, links and connections to the wider world, which during social isolation can be a real help.
Helen Thomas
Vice Chair CPR
Rossendale Connected: [email protected]
Tel:- 01706 227016
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Healthy Rossendale: [email protected]
Tel:- 01282 433740
Facebook:- Healthy Rossendale