TCV have been awarded the Land Trust’s Gold Award 2014 for Best Educational Project for our work at Festival Gardens in Liverpool.
Festival Gardens has been a derelict site for 28 years with the local community in despair about the way the land had been left to go to into disrepair. The site had been in this state for such a long period of time and after Festival Gardens was opened in June 2012, it became apparent that old habits die hard. Many of the local children did not realise the importance of conserving their green spaces such as this. To try and stop this misunderstanding and help children appreciate how the great outdoors can be used and enjoyed in a constructive way, the idea of educational activities and events was born.
Since October 2012, the TCV rangers at Festival Gardens, Caroline Bamford, Paul Kirby and Eleanor Kidd, have been offering local schools and the local community a variety of educational activities and themed events. The school activities focused on the school curriculum using the wildlife on the site including pond dipping and bug hunts. The public events focused on festive seasons, notable dates such as national nest box week and the cultural importance of the Chinese and Japanese Gardens such as Tanabata.
Over the last 21 months, alongside the maintenance of Festival Gardens, the team in Merseyside have run 20 school events and 15 public events with the help of volunteers from the local community and further afield. All events have been well received and enjoyed by all involved, increasing people’s awareness about how to appreciate and conserve open spaces like Festival Gardens. The team are looking forward to holding future events.
I’m sure you’ll agree a great achievement and well deserved by all involved. Well done everyone!
