Wednesday Woodland Workout!

As we mentioned in our previous email, we are creating a Woodland Learning Zone in the wooded area of the park and we really need your help!



In order to begin to form the paths shown on the above plan, we first need to clear the ground of any litter or obstacles, trim back some foliage and stockpile any logs (we'll use them for path edging or habitat piles).

It could be quite physically demanding and parts of the ground are uneven but we would welcome any help, be it for 15 minutes or 2 hours.  Think of it as an outdoor gym! (hard landscaping can burn off 500 calories per hour!).

BioBlitz!

Physical labour not your thing? Don't worry! It would be useful to record any flora or fauna observed on the day too - or just come along and share your thoughts about this exciting project.

We'd love to meet you!

Wednesday
5th October
9.30 - 11.30 a.m.

(Depending on the weather!)

Bring gloves/tools if you have them

More play equipment!

East Lothian Council's Amenity Services are a busy lot with responsibility for all 30 public parks in the area.  Additionally, they look after:

• 624ha of grass                   
• 2 golf courses
• 47km of coastline               
• 159ha of woodlands          
• 37 burial grounds
• 14 ha of shrubs                   
• 800 litterbins
• 110 play areas                    
• 270km rights of way
• 91 grass sports pitches       
• 41,712km of roadside kerbs!              

This week, Amenity Services installed two new pieces of play equipment in the park.

Both items are from Inclusive Play whose vision is to design, develop and manufacture quality products that enable children – no matter what their ability – to play together.

Watching other things move can be engaging and therapeutic. 

The Collider central panel rotates to allow the bearings to drop and fall making a sound.

The Tactile Topiary play panel provides a number of different tactile experiences such as spinning and moving counters - great for developing coordination and practising fine motor skills.

We were delighted to learn that an inclusive roundabout will be installed shortly - more about this later.

Tesco Bags of Help - Please vote for us!

 

When we carried out our consultation in 2014, after seating and play equipment (which has now been installed), other suggestions included:

• Storytelling Area
• Wildlife/Nature Information Boards
• Woodland Walks

We are delighted that our project, the creation of a 'Woodland Learning Zone',  will receive funding from the Bags of Help scheme!  

Bags of Help offers community groups and projects in each of Tesco’s regions across the UK a share of revenue generated from the 5p charge levied on single-use carrier bags.

The purpose of the Woodland Learning Zone (shown below hatched green) is to facilitate natural play and learning in a woodland setting.  We will be working with the East Lothian Council Ranger Service to ensure the area is as wildlife friendly as possible.

The more volunteers we have, the more we can achieve, so please get in touch if you would like to be involved in any way.

The public will now vote in store from 31 October to 13 November on who should receive the £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 awards.  How much Cuthill Park receives is up to the voters at Musselburgh Tesco!

So what does this mean for Cuthill Park?

Well, £8,000 worth of funding could purchase:

• Story circle seating

• A Storytelling Chair

• Interpretation Boards

• Fairy Doors and Windows

If we were lucky enough to win £10,000, we could also commission a bespoke entrance way to the Woodland Learning Zone.  Can you imagine how exciting that would be for young visitors to the park?

If we received the highest number of votes and were to be awarded the top figure of £12,000, this would enable us to purchase and install a sculpture within the woodland area.

 

Volunteers have already worked hard to prepare the groundwork for this project -  we are so excited that it is finally going to happen! (you can see the progress made here)

Next time that you are in Musselburgh Tesco, please consider voting for the Friends of Cuthill Park's Woodland Learning Zone project!