Welcomes
Welcome everyone to the meeting and thanks all for attending.
Especially thank you to all who came to plant Peter Dykes Memorial cherry tree today, beside the bee hives, give their kind words and memories and show support to each other.
Work programme
Other projects/partnerships
Staff continue to work on a range of partnership projects that bring in much needed funding:
Any other business
Possible filming at Grozone, John who is in contact with Pete and will give us the film for free
New Asda in Northwich is making a bid to be very community involved – could we benefit?
Date of next meeting
Tuesday 28th March 1.30 pm.
Welcome everyone to the meeting and thanks all for attending.
Especially thank you to all who came to plant Peter Dykes Memorial cherry tree today, beside the bee hives, give their kind words and memories and show support to each other.
Work programme
- Lots of tools maintenance has taken place, thanks to the Roots to Wellbeing course that has taught many of our regular volunteers the safest and most efficient way of taking care of our tools.
- Work has begun on our giant’s feet, peeping out behind the arts shed.
- Lots of pruning has taken place.
- Drainage from under the ramp and beside the toilet into a new pond is now complete.
- Removing the stump in the yurt has started and it’s now only a third of its original height, thanks to the incredible perseverance of the volunteers.
- We’ve dug over many of our planting beds ready for this years food growing.
- Endless wood processing has taken place.
- We’ve made a willow wigloo (wigwam/igloo) in the forest school area.
- We’ve made a bottle top scarecrow for the allotment area.
- Art and Music workshops are now run every fortnight. An arts programme has been put together – check the website for what we will be doing each art Tuesday. A playlist of songs has been chosen for the music workshops, to practise and improve on, any additions are very welcome.
- Work on the ponds.
- Further work on the wildflower meadows.
- Keep clearing and cleaning the ramp of leaves and algae.
- Work to finish the ramp.
- Continue to remove the stump in the yurt.
- Collect new wood stocks in the next 2-3 weeks from local woodland trust forest. Stuart offered to bring trailer to help move wood – thank you!
- Complete pruning.
- Begin to stain and preserve new yurt, which is to go behind the art shed, near to the forest garden.
- Begin planting seeds for new food growing season.
- Celebration of Volunteers, at Lion Salt Works, attended by Andy, Liam, Mark, Ian and Stuart. As well as a very nice evening, some important networking has opened up a visit from Local Authority leaders in October.
- Sarah Mails from Rudheath and Witton Together, Art Project – Lets Do It Together came to get our ideas for an art project/installation at Grozone.
Other projects/partnerships
Staff continue to work on a range of partnership projects that bring in much needed funding:
- Roots to Wellbeing Practical Horticulture Award Level 1. Very near completion for first block of ten weeks. Next block begins 1st March, with a food growing theme.
- Toddler Sessions. These continue to be popular with nearly 80 new people having attended since they began in November.
- Tytherington School, Macclesfield. This project is underway and takes place on Fridays. We’ve built a base for a polytunnel and an access path through the garden – working with Jon from Project Up. fun
- Love My River. Current funding is coming to an end, with a new block of funding hopefully coming in June. Pete and the volunteers have done an amazing job and have far exceeded the volunteer hours and targets put in place by the environment agency. Whilst there is a lull in funding, there is a hope that the regular volunteers will keep up their good work on the project, perhaps joined by some Saltscape volunteers on practical action days, such as balsam bashing or litter picks. This is still something regular Grozone volunteers are encouraged to get involved in.
- Gardening and Sustainability Workshops. Bookings are increasing, but we still need more people to attend them. There needs to be an increase in publicity in order for these to draw in more people – garden centres? Job centres? Other horticultural courses that want to offer practical experience?
- Volunteer Leaders. Six people have now done their first aid, induction and have sent off for their DBS checks. We are hoping to get Fridays with volunteer leaders running as soon as the checks are back. Especially as of her contract end, at the end of March, Caroline will not be working Saturdays at Grozone. So we will be relying on volunteer leaders to open up the extra day, if the desire is there.
Any other business
- In order to access funding not available to Groundwork, we need to get volunteers involved in writing funding applications and to have a larger role in the running of Grozone. Grozone has a bank account and a constitution (which may need reviewing) but we need to set up a new committee. Jonathan, Stuart, Rachel, Sonja, Liam, Becki K, Laura and Michelle offered to help.
Possible filming at Grozone, John who is in contact with Pete and will give us the film for free
New Asda in Northwich is making a bid to be very community involved – could we benefit?
Date of next meeting
Tuesday 28th March 1.30 pm.