What have the Derby Parks Volunteers been up to recently?

a dark brown yak grazing on some dried grass next to a tree

Mon 15 Apr 2024

We have lots of generous people in Derby who give up their time to help volunteer at our parks and community spaces around Derby. They are all up to various tasks and activities to help keep our spaces as beautiful as possible. We are only in April but read on to find out about just a few things that our volunteers have been up to so far.

a group of people stand in a line together smiling in nunsfield community garden

 Nunsfield House Community Garden Cleanup

Rolls-Royce Submarines staff, YMCA members, the Neighbourhoods Team, the Parks Team, and a new fledgling group involving the 'Gardening group' took a trip to Nunsfield House Community Garden to relocate the hydrangeas from a central bed and replant them to create a border around the garden as well as giving the area a general tidy. The next stage is to resurface the path, create new paths & raised beds within the former beds for different abilities for this new community garden. Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Derby Parks for more details.

Sinfin Moor Nature Reserve

Derby Parks Volunteers recently rediscovered and cleared paths through Sinfin Moor Nature Reserve. The paths have been redefined in order to be ready for re-stoning in the near future. Whilst the paths were being cleared, other volunteers replaced some fencing posts around where cattle are grazing.

Volunteers help out at Darley Park

The Volunteers joined Darley Park Wildlife Gardeners and Hydrangea Derby at Darley Park to help build a new woven dead hedge. This new hedge is in line with the old hedge and is made of material from Ash, Willow, Cherry and Sycamore trees.  The new hedge will act as a wind break as well as provide a divide between the two gardens.

Markeaton Stones Clear Up

In February, volunteers took part in blackthorn clearing, bramble bashing and general scrub clearance of the meadows at Markeaton Stones. This has made access to the paths around the area much easier.

a picture of chellaston parks new yellow roundabout, slide and swings.

Chellaston Park undergoes a transformation!

The children's play area at Chellaston Park has undergone an incredible transformation thanks to funding from Derby City Council and Chellaston Leisure. Not only has the park had a redecoration, a zip-line, accessible roundabout, new swings, a bucket swing, a seesaw, coco rider and slide have been added! The park has never been better.

Be a Boar day

Finally, volunteers went to Allestree Park and replicated the natural actions that wildlife usually make. This involved using tools to disturb dormant flowers and encourage them to grow. This was done in an effort to mimic the rummaging that boars usually do with their snouts!

How to get involved

If you enjoy being outside, have spare time, and are thinking of becoming a volunteer, visit our volunteer groups webpage to learn more about how to take part in your local volunteers activities.

You can also learn more about what’s going on in Derbyshire by visiting the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Webpage where they have regular updates and information about their upcoming events.