Friends of Middleton Park

Here’s another entry for the St Luke’s CARES Community Awards has been submitted by the Friends of Middleton Park, the volunteer community group. For details of how YOUR community group can enter please click here. The deadline for entries is Wednesday 28 February 2018.

The Friends of Middleton Park are a group of volunteers, all passionate about protecting and encouraging the enjoyment of this wonderful green space, located in the heart of South Leeds. United by a love of the park, our members and volunteers are a mixed group of people, of all ages.

One of the ways we encourage the enjoyment of the park is by holding a programme of events and activities. These are free for all to enjoy and in the Summer include brass bands, guided walks, a kite festival, a dog show and our annual Great Middleton Park Show.

The lake in Middleton Park

Most of our activities take place on a Sunday from May to September, although we also hold play sessions for local children in the school holidays. We run these with support from groups like Forest School and Wild Apple Play.

We also have a reduced programme in Winter, which includes our very popular Christmas Crafts event and Apple Day (press your own apples to make delicious and healthy juice). We also hold regular walks and action days, where we often focus on collecting litter.

If we were successful in securing a Community Award from St Lukes CARES and South Leeds Life we would use the money to help fund these events. We have held our events in the park for many years now and each year have become more ambitious and creative in the things we do. We have seen the number of visitors to our events, and to the park in general, grow.

It is important that local residents can have access to the park and enjoy the safe, fun events we hold. The park is an important part of South Leeds and our events provide entertainment to people that they may not otherwise have the chance to enjoy. With such a varied programme there is something for everyone.

‘Nick’s View’ viewpoint near the Rose Garden in Middleton Park

As well as providing entertainment our events are a great way to learn about the park, animals and nature, enjoy fresh air, get some exercise and make new friends.

We are supported by a wonderful group of volunteers, who are dedicated to the park, hard working and lovely people. Volunteering is a great way to reduce loneliness and keep active. We welcome anyone who wants to come along and join us.

Each year we like to introduce a new event to our programme. This year we are launching a people’s picnic in June and a keep fit fun day in August. Both these events were suggested by our followers on Facebook. Our Friends of Middleton Park Facebook page and website (www.fomp.co.uk) are a great way to learn more about us and discover information about our upcoming events.

 

This post was written by Rachel Darton using our Create an article for South Leeds Life page.