Monthly Archives: June 2021

YARN BOMBING TO CELEBRATE SUMMER AND PICNICS

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The Park has been yarn bombed by three crafty Friends, to celebrate the month of midsummer and the season for picnics – particularly the week of 19th – 27th June, which is National Picnic Week. If the weather is fine, buy some local food from our range of Guiseley Delis, Cafes, and food retailers, spread out a blanket, relax and enjoy the whimsical decorations.

Abi Helen, Becky James and Barbara Winfield have been working hard over the last few months with a group of other residents to produce an array of ‘yarn’ bees, butterflies and flowers. These now adorn the Celebration Tree, and some entrances. The highlight is a community artwork decorating the Natter Bench. The artwork has been designed to represent the wild flowers found in the Park around May and June.

Yarn bombing is a form of street art that goes up in unexpected places for a period of around 6 weeks. It is becoming more popular and Abi, who teaches yarn techniques as Daisy Croft Crafts, has also done an artwork for the top of the post box at Towngate.

The Ladies are inviting anyone to add their own work to the yarn bombing extravaganza over the coming weeks. And, if you would like to get ready for future ‘yarn bombing’ events, we have a timetable set out here.

Racy Books and Carpet Underlay

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On a beautiful May, Whitsun morning 14 cleaners turned up in the Park to do a Spring clean for the Keep Britain Tidy, Great British Spring Clean. This included ‘the Professionals’, a group from Little Free Guiseley who have always supported our event, and do such great work every week of the year.

Litter Free Guiseley – were impresed with how clean the Park actually was; an accolade to the regular litter pickers for such a good job.

Amongst our finds on Sunday were, some old, crumbling, underlay with a stash of empty bottles underneath, an aged metal sign probably left from Cromptons, and a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey (which was put in the Kelcliffe Little Library). In the copse were two Menston Primary School Tops – we’ve left these on the natter bench by the Farm Gate to be collected.

A local resident has said she’ll make a collage from the rest of the rubbish found for display – that should be interesting !!

STUDENT LILY ENDS HER PLACEMENT AT GREENSHAW GATE

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Our thanks go to student Lily Davies who has spent the Winter and Spring doing her Craven College, Land and Wildlife Management, work placement in the Park supervised by Chris Parapia and Joanna Brooks. Lily has helped plant the Greenshaw Wood, the herb planter, winter pruning in the orchard, the Parkisons Python, and the Easter Trail. We’ve all been impressed with her hard work, and enthusiasm.

For her main project we asked her to improve the Greenshaw Gate entrance with a suitable planting scheme and are pleased she was just able to complete that before the end of her time with us. (Labour and advice were provided by Martyn Hornsby-Smith and Jennifer Kirkby.)

The gate is on the edge of woodland, and is in shade for a lot of time, so it was ideal for a woodland planting scheme of ferns, foxgloves, bulbs and woodland edge shrubs. Our aim is to improve all entrances into the Park over time, and there are different groups of people who look after each entrance. If you would like to take on Lily’s work and look after the Greenshaw Gate email us at parkinsonspark@gmail.com.

Our thanks also to Bettys Harrogate who provided the woodland plants for this and other entrance gates through their Trees For Life Fund. Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate donated over £3,300 to disability charity Open Country, to pay for nine days of their time on conservation work at parks and nature reserves across Lower Wharfedale as well as the purchase of plants and saplings to create new habitats for nature. An article from the Wharfedale explains more:-