LOCAL residents and especially people living in the Weston estate area are invited to a family-friendly event on Saturday, July 13 at Weston Lane Juniors Football Club to enjoy a new community nature garden.
A team from local charities Otley 2030 and Wildlife Friendly Otley has created the garden in partnership with Weston Lane Juniors Football Club. The garden itself is part of larger nature and climate project in the area, led by Otley 2030 and funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority through Leeds City Council’s Community Climate Grant programme.
A corner of the football club’s land, (away from the pitches) has been planted up as a wildflower meadow with beds planted with perennials to attract bees and butterflies with the aim of creating a garden which is beneficial to nature as well as local people.
A spokesperson for Otley 2030 said: “We’re really hoping to make this garden a place that both people and wildlife want to be! It’s all part of a wider project involving both the Football Club and Social Club – we’ll be making them more energy efficient by adding solar panels. We’re also planting some fruit trees around the playpark and improving hedges – all of this planting will attract wildlife and improve biodiversity. We’d love to invite more people who live in the area to come along to our event, and, if they’re able to, get involved in helping us to look after and develop the garden!”
The Wildlife Friendly Otley and Otley 2030 team plan to mow paths in the garden to encourage people to walk around and enjoy the space; Coop Funeralcare in Otley have kindly donated a bench, and pupils from Ashfield Primary School have also provided their artistic talents. Children entered a competition to create artworks of the plants, insects, mammals and birds that will be attracted to the new habitats developing in the garden. The winning entries will be featured on a new interpretation board at the garden, and in an exhibition at the next Otley Wildlife Arts Festival in October. Artworks in Otley have offered to frame the artworks and there are plans for a mini exhibition here too.
The family event at the garden will take place from 2pm until 5pm on Saturday, July 13. There will be refreshments and cakes, information, a children’s face painting artist and the project team will be there working on the garden and encourage the community to come along and help out – they’ll also be on hand to answer any questions and discuss ideas. Everyone is welcome.
If you live locally and would like to help out with watering the garden over the summer, get in touch at comms@otley2030.com.
For more information, go to https://www.otley2030.com/onn
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