Barton Athletic Club

As part of the Heritage Lottery Funded Bridgewater Canal project Horticon have recently completed works to the towpath on Barton Road. We were approached by the nearby Barton Athletic Club who required help with the finishing touches to their new Community Sports Hub in Eccles. The club have raised funds and secured grant assistance from a number of agencies in order to build a new home for this long established boxing, wrestling, weightlifting and athletics club. They were almost complete but didn’t have enough money to landscape the areas of the site designated for soft landscaping.

Horticon offered advice on the soft landscaping and donated materials. On behalf of Barton Athletic Club, John Baines wrote “I wanted to write to thank you for the advice and support, especially donating the grass seed and fertiliser to help with the finishing touches to our new Community sports club. We’re appreciative that Horticon are working in the Barton area and that you took the time to come and see what we’re doing at the new club, but more importantly, delivered the seed and fertiliser that you kindly offered. Support such as this goes a long way with a club run by volunteers and it is very welcome. This will allow us to open with some grassed areas to soften the building and associated car parks and will help the site look complete.”

Eastlands Homes Fun Day

Horticon were pleased to contribute towards Eastland Home’s ‘Fun Day’ by donating prizes to be won at the raffle. The event was a great success with over 650 residents attending the literacy themed event.

Further details can be found here - http://www.eastlandshomes.co.uk/article.asp?id=462&cat=24

Ivy Street Park, Salford

Horticon are currently undertaking environmental improvements works to Ivy Street Park in Salford. The park has been closed to the public whilst we construct a new play area, resurface the footpaths and install new fencing and gates. Six children and their head teachers from the local primary schools and three children from the local youth club were invited on a tour of the site to see the work in action. They were guided around the site by Contracts Manager Steve Holden and learnt about the new features to be installed in their new park. Derek Gorman, the Secretary of Pear Tree Croft Residents' Association said "the young people were impressed and Steve was really good with them so it went well."

James Brindley Primary School

The wildlife area was proving to be very boggy and difficult to access making it hard for the children to enjoy the garden. It also needed some additional features to help attract wildlife. Horticon made their wish come true by delivering the following:

Strimmed down the existing wildflower grass and removed the brambles along the back of the garden ready for everything to grow in full colour next Spring.
Constructed an informal footpath using recycled paving flags to provide an access route to the wildlife garden. Installed a mini bridge to create an enticing entrance way to the garden.
Created a footpath through the garden using recycled stone and Hot Path Surfacing.
Provided the school with pallets to create a Bug Hotel and also a bird bath to attract wildlife into the garden.

All the materials used were reclaimed/recycled materials and those from our store. This ensured that the project was 100% eco friendly and helped the school maintain their Green Flag status.

Please see the Tree Inspired Website for further details:
http://www.treeinspired.co.uk/general-news/horticon-grant-james-brindley

Willow Tree Primary School

The school has a very active gardening club but felt they could still make better use of their balconies. After a visit to the school we built 4 small and 4 large planters using left over timber from our store, once again ensuring this was an eco friendly project. We transported the planters to the school and filled them with compost, ready for the pupils to grow their own plants or vegetables.

For further information please see the Tree Inspired Website:
http://www.treeinspired.co.uk/general-news/horticon-grant-school/

Woodville Square Tea Party

Horticon recently completed this environmental improvement project at Woodville Square on behalf of Leeds Federated Housing and Groundwork Leeds. Works included installing new fences, gates and alley gates, resurfacing and landscaping works to create a pleasant outdoor space.

A summer tea party was held at Woodville Square to celebrate the completion of the recent works. Many of the residents enjoyed the sunshine, cupcakes and fun activities from face-painting to a mosaic making workshop.

Horticon were delighted to contribute by sponsoring the garden competition prizes. The competition gave an incentive to residents to improve their own gardens with first prizes of £150 for 'The Best Garden 2014' and 'The Most Improved Garden 2014.' There was also a children's competition called 'The Most Promising New Shoot 2014.'

Many households got on board with the tidy up and entered the competition. Resident Annmarie McNiven, who won a prize for having the best garden, said: 'The work that Leeds Federated has done has gone a long way to improving the area and it looks fantastic. I'm delighted to win the garden competition which has encouraged many people to tidy up and make the most of their outside space.'

Cath Nelson, Leeds Federated's Neighbourhood Initiatives Co-ordinator said: 'It was great to see people enjoying the tea party and the new look Woodville Square. Many residents have also made their own contribution to making the area look lovely by taking part in the garden competition. It has been a fantastic community effort.'

Further information about the day can be found by clicking here.