The power of small wins

It's amazing how therapeutic a couple of hours of pulling up Himalayan balsam can be! Unlike many other invasive and non-native plants, this one comes out of the ground quite easily with a little tug.  It is a fast spreading annual weed which suppresses our native plants and is becoming very well established along UK river banks and woodlands.  And unfortunately we have it at Grosvenor and Hilbert.

And so it was, last Thursday, our practical volunteer team's maiden voyage into the conservation of our park's landscape.  Welcome to Peter, Ben, Susan and Lucy the dog - the first attendees to the new Thursday volunteer programme.  They certainly proved themselves and did the park justice by getting at a large chunk of Himalayan balsam out before it set seed. 

Volunteer vs alien

Lucy and her beloved ball

Watch this space for the next adventure of the Grosvenor and Hilbert Volunteer Team!

Happy Birthday to the Park!

Sunday 29th June marked the 125th Anniversary of the opening of Grosvenor Recreation Ground back in 1889.  So how could we let such a momentous day go by without a celebration?

On Sunday afternoon, the Friends of Grosvenor and Hilbert Park hosted a heart-warming classic birthday party in the park. Families were laid out on rugs, delicious picnics were eaten, giant jenga was stacked and tumbled, hoola hoops were hoola'd, games were played, and then there was the cake...

Scrumptious cake made by Ireland's Bakery

Councillor Ben Chapelard did a fantastic job of ceremoniously cutting the cake, then we all sang Happy Birthday and drank fizz! What splendid fun!

Free Commemorative Postcard

Last week also saw the practical volunteer programme begin. It was low key start to the regular Thursday volunteering, mostly tools and tool storage got sorted.  But it was a beautiful sunny day as is this week's task looking to be also.

Volunteer tools