Green Flag Award - Winners

Friends excel in website prowess
Date:
10th October 2007
Contact:
Sarah Egerton
Organisation:
The Civic Trust

“We needed a website as our park was not known to many people - even people who had lived in Sale all their lives, we wanted to share the delights of Walkden Gardens with a larger audience,” says Rob Frier, vice chairman of the active Friends group, guardians of this Green Flag Award winning ‘gem’ in the North West.

And no wonder - known locally as ‘The Maze’ due to its various ‘rooms’ and walkways separated by tall beech hedges, Walkden Gardens now provides a unique and exciting visitor experience.

But this wasn’t always the case. “The park was previously suffering from neglect and vandalism, no-one was visiting the place and it seemed threatening,” explains Rob. “The police community officer said we could either do nothing, and let things continue, or do something, and crowd out crime.”

So a number of concerned residents volunteered their time to help get this communal facility back on its feet.

The ‘friends’ organised a number of performances on the theatre lawn which introduced the gardens to people who had previously been unaware of this resource on their doorstep. Such events raised funds to help improve the site – this much-needed cash enabled the purchase of plants, sculpture, and other hard - landscape features.

A dedicated website was the next natural step to generate interest and further revenue for the site. One of the hardworking friends, Dave Spence, who was a website designer, volunteered himself to take it on.

Dave says: “It’s a nice thing to be involved in. The original idea was to get sponsors for each page of the website. Although the friends raise funds through events, the website can do this for us. But we need someone who can devote time to this task.”

Rob added: “The website advertises our events, as the local paper wasn’t always supportive, it also gives people directions to the park and we can publicise events etc through it. We had collected images of our past achievements over the years, so it was very easy to collate these and pass them on to Dave to do the website.”

The excellent website got a special mention in the feedback from Green Flag Award judges who gave high marks to community involvement in management and development at Walkden Gardens.

Walkden Gardens also now boasts a beautiful Grade II listed dovecote, having been moved to the site in 2004 when it was rescued from demolition. This is now opened annually as part of Heritage Open Days each year.

The gardens are further brought to life by the partnerships the Friends have formed with various organizations such as the Japanese Garden Society, whose members have created a beautiful Japanese Garden in one ‘garden room’. Environmental art is an emerging theme in the gardens, the most recent project is the addition of a mosaic compass point at the major crossroads.

To view the Friends of Walkden Gardens website, log onto: http://www.walkdengardens.co.uk

Friends excel in website prowess

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