Prestonpans Labyrinth needs your votes!!!!

Please watch our video and read more about our application to create a labyrinth in Cuthill Park.

Then, we really need as many votes as possible to support our application for funding to the Aviva Community Fund.

Please vote here (you will need to register but it is really quick and easy, honest!).

You can support as many projects as you like with your votes (up to 10). Spread them around or use them all to support one project- we really hope you will support the creation of a labyrinth in Cuthill Park, Prestonpans.

Here's what CHANGES Community Health Project, an East Lothian charity which was established in 1996 to promote positive wellbeing and provide opportunities for people to find ways towards healthier and less stressful living had to say:

CHANGES through its Healthy Living Project runs Wellbeing Walks in Prestonpans, which were established through a request from the local GP Practice.  CHANGES also runs  regular mindfulness courses which have been beneficial for people coming to the project due to their stress, anxiety and depression.  Having a labyrinth in Cuthill Park in Prestonpans would be an excellent asset to the community and would provide a quiet contemplative space in which to walk or to practice mindfulness techniques.

The labyrinth  would be well used by CHANGES and the local community, as being outdoors in nature either to walk or being mindful can provide wide ranging benefits for mental health and wellbeing. 

Please vote here: https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-2735#5

Wild Garden Box

We would love the park to be bursting with wildlife so were delighted to learn that the Wild Garden Company are sending us their Autumn box - one of four seasonal boxes which are sent throughout the year to subscribers and packed with wildlife-attracting goodies!

So, what's in the box?!

Help For The Little Ones

Specially drilled wooden tubes to provide shelter for bees and other insects.

Also included is some ladybird attractant.

Help For Our Prickly Little Park Visitor... 

Hedgehogs usually hibernate from November - March and they must have enough fat reserves to survive this period.

The autumn box contains plenty of hedgehog food and treats to build them up for this critical time of year.

Keeping Our Feathered Friends Full

Autumn is a time of plenty for birds. However as we move closer to winter and reserves become low they will soon appear closer to home.

Over the next few months, you may notice feeders appearing in the Wildlife Learning Zone.  By keeping these stocked with seed and treats, passing birds will know where to find their next meal.

Thank you Wild Garden Company!


(If you would like to encourage wildlife into your garden, you can subscribe to The Wild Garden Box.  You can even get your first box for just £14.99 with FREE delivery when you enter the coupon code WGB50 at the checkout.)

Nancy Ovens Play Awards: 'Play in the Community' Commendation

We were delighted when we learned that Cuthill Park had been commended at a recent awards ceremony to recognise quality outdoor play experiences for children.

Cuthill Park was commended in the Play in the Community category of The Nancy Ovens Play Awards.

The nominating party gave the following statement:

This fabulous playground has been developed by the local community. It has a strong focus on natural surroundings, lots of natural materials, a brilliant playground, a viewing post for inspecting the smaller wildlife in the park, a telescope which overlooks the sea to Fife. Lots of green space and is a secure safe place for families to visit. The park hosts occasional small community events and is beautifully decorated with murals painted by local friends of the park and a small allotments area. It's also home to beautiful wrought iron gates. There's something for everyone here! A truly delightful space with a focused community leadership.

To anyone visiting the park for the first time, it is hard to imagine that a mere 4 years ago, the park had no amenities bar a bin and scored the lowest rating in terms of quality of any play park in East Lothian.

We are really thrilled to have our hard work recognised - and not just our efforts - East Lothian Council's Amenity Services team have been very supportive in helping us create a very special play park for all sections of the community. 

 

Today, the play area is well used and much loved - in fact it must be one of the tidiest play parks around!

Creating the play area has been a lengthy process during which we forged great partnerships with local groups, schools and the Council. We have no intention of resting on our laurels!  We are reinvigorated start to create a Woodland Learning Zone in the park.

We hope you can join us Wednesday 5th October 9.30 - 11.30 to clear the woods of rubbish and form trails.  We'd love to show you our certificate!

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!

The Queen's Birthday

This Sunday (June 12th) we're having a family fun day at Cuthill Park for the Queen's Birthday. 

12-2pm. 

Pack a picnic, bring all the family along & join in the fun! 

Activities will include: 

school kids flags, traditional sports & games, tattie tossing, bowling for all, rugby tag demos, and, of course, birthday cake eating!

The Rugby Club will be doing teas and coffees & will have their clubhouse open. 

There will hopefully be the unveiling of the latest mural, painted by children at the Potteries art class.

The Prestonpans Gala Queen will be planting a special tree in the community garden to commemorate the event. 

We hope to see you there!