Sunday 9th August 2020
Dear Civic Pride,
It’s been a busy week of environmental endeavour in sunny Rossendale, and it’s such a pleasure to see so many volunteers out litter picking, gardening and balsam bashing. May we extend an especially warm welcome to all our new recruits who are rolling up their sleeves and helping out. If you’re new to the group and need to borrow equipment or ask questions then please do make contact via Facebook, Quick Topic or our website, and one of our CPR Officers will be in touch.
Recently, the gardening team in Rawtenstall have been focusing on the Town Square gardens, and eight full sessions later the transformation is fantastic. A lot of hard work from everyone involved….and now they are going to repeat the whole process on the Haslingden Road Gardens.
Meanwhile, the Secret Gardeners are continuing their quiet contributions to all things horticultural while nobody is looking. From the Ashoka bed at the end of Bocholt Way, drive down to the Metal Tree Bed opposite the East Lancs Railway around the Fire Station Roundabout and up St Mary’s Way to Crawshawbooth….The gardens and planting are all maintained by Civic Pride Volunteers and kept litter free by our Lone Rangers. It all goes to show what a small group of like-minded, determined local people can do.
So, what’s happening this coming week:-
Crawshawbooth
Monday 10th August – 9am – Meet for gardening at the beautiful Jubilee Gardens
Wednesday 12th August – 6pm – More gardening at Jubilee Gardens.
[email protected]
Trickett’s Memorial Gardens, Waterfoot
Monday 10th August – 9:30 – until Noon. Gardening and tidying duties in this thriving garden.
[email protected]
Peaceful Plot @ Rawtenstall Cemetery
Tuesday 11th August – 10:00am – until Noon. Bash the Balsam; one of the most invasive non-native plants in the Northern hemisphere is causing trouble.
Civic Pride is on a mission to remove it and plant native species. The teasel was an important plant for the textile industry and its seeds are loved by many birds but particularly the lovely goldfinch.
[email protected]
Rawtenstall
Tuesday 11th August – 10am – until Noon. Haslingden Road Gardens (near St. Mary’s Chambers) Please come along and help, there’s lots of jobs including weeding, pruning, scraping paving stones, etc.
Thursday 13th August – 10am – until Noon. Back to Haslingden Road Gardens
Sunday 16th August – 10am – until Noon. Haslingden Road Gardens. Again.
[email protected]
Litter picking and Secret Gardening in your locality
There are volunteers out and about every day of the year throughout the Valley. You can contact your local Pride groups in Bacup and Haslingden via Facebook, Edenfield wildflower beds are featured on the Edenfield Residents Association Facebook page.
[email protected] can help you get started as a LoneRanger litter picker and all the garden organisers contact email addresses are listed above.
Thank you, for the pride you have in Rossendale.
Helen Thomas
Vice Chair, Civic Pride Rossendale
View from the Back Room
We’ve been talking about the Town Square over the last couple of weeks but do you remember the 1970’s extension behind the Town Hall, a small part of which was of great importance to CPR; it was used as our stores prior to it being demolished. Fortunately, the council generously agreed to fit out a garage behind Rawtenstall market for our use. With less floorspace but lots of shelving it was and still is, ideal.
With a growing inventory of tools, equipment plus the van, we’d soon outgrown it and were in urgent need of extra space. Again, RBC came to the rescue by offering us the old mortuary in Rawtenstall cemetery!
Initially we shared it with the gravediggers who used the office as a rest room, whilst we had the business section for storage! Since then, the refurbishment of the old stables at the Whitaker has started and a couple of council officials are moving into the refurbished morgue office although we’ll retain our overflow stores.
What a great place to be on a dark, November evening when the gales rush through the trees and the crows caw caw as they ride the wind!
Roger G