Did you notice the swarm of giant bees around the village in July? Just one of the signs that Greener Gardens was on its way!
In fact, bees and increasing the biodiversity in our local spaces were central to the key message for the weekend organised by the Greener Padbury Group.
Padbury was awash with cream teas, homemade and home grown produce, delicious cakes and wonderful live music. There were activities in Millennium Wood, gardens to visit where the emphasis was on welcoming nature, wildlife and making small changes to the way we live and value all around us.
There were opportunities to hunt for bugs, watch bees in an observatory hive, explore the early morning release of garden moth traps and learn how a wormery works. Padbury allotment holders gave tours and offered top tips and Fred Morris provided a wealth of plants for sale. The school and Preschool provided opportunities for wonderful nature-based crafts and making – and there were more eats!
There were several consultation boards by the village hall collecting people’s views on Greener Padbury Group ideas. It was wonderful to receive such an overwhelming positive response from everyone that stopped to vote. Your views and opinions are vital to our creating a more biodiverse environment together and there will be more opportunities for us to all come together very soon.
The weekend of 3rd and 4th July saw numerous village groups and volunteers come together to celebrate nature and raise money for green and nature focused projects within Padbury. With almost £2000 raised over the two days, all agreed the event was a great boost to the initiatives.
£350 was raised for St Mary’s community orchard and worship space
£420 was raised for Padbury School and Preschool green projects – enabling all in one waterproofs to be purchased for early years classes for more outdoor play in the woods.
£166 was raised by the Eco Warriors, a group of 10-year-old girls. They donated funds raised to WWF and to the Green Padbury Woodland project.
£180 was raised for the Village Book Swap enabling materials for the book shelter to be bought and made.
£85 was raised by the WI for their centenary projects.
Just under £1000 was raised from teas, cakes, allotment produce sales, the plant stall and donations from all stall holders. These funds will enable the Greener Padbury Group to engage a woodland consultant to develop a plan for the Millenniuim Wood. The plan will be shared with the Woodland Trust, Padbury residents and the Parish Council in the autumn of this year to decide a way forward.
Thank you to everyone for taking part, volunteering and just joining in such a wonderfully delicious, fun and sunny weekend!
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