For over 15 years, environmental charity Groundwork has given away over two million bulbs in its annual Bulb Bonanza activity in a bid to make Leeds a more colourful place in the Springtime.
This year, 80,000 bulbs have been distributed among churches, community groups, In Bloom groups, schools and youth groups across the city. One of the areas that has benefitted from this scheme is Cottingley. They have received 4,000 daffodil bulbs, for a mass planting extravaganza.
On Monday 24 November, green-fingered students from Cottingley Primary Academy along with local residents, and the group members, will be out in force planting across the neighborhood. For the first time ever, they will be joined by staff from Costa Coffee, who are giving up their time and donning their wellies, in a bid to make Cottingley bloom. The event is part of a larger project, Urban Oasis that is funded by Mears. The aim is to improve several areas around the estate in readiness for entry into Yorkshire in Bloom in the spring 2015.
The activity will start at 10am with refreshments and a briefing about the day in the Community room, located in Cottingley Towers, in the centre of the estate.
The day will last until all the bulbs have been planted and Costa Coffee is also offering free lunch to everyone who takes part in this mass flower power flurry.
Nicola Ramsden, Community Co-ordinator at Groundwork Leeds, states;
“Bulb Bonanza is a key event for us each year. The funding we receive from Leeds City Council and individual donations allows us to add a touch of vibrancy to Leeds landscapes, which in turn has an extremely positive effect on the local residents. With the help of Costa Coffee staff, we’re delighted to be able to turn the Cottingley planting day into a fun activity. It’s great that the coffee chain sees the significance of this event for the residents and it’s a real honour that they’re giving up their time to take part.”
Councillor Mark Dobson, Leeds City Council’s executive member for cleaner, safer and stronger communities said: “We are delighted to provide funding towards the Bulb Bonanza project by Groundwork Leeds, which is a really fantastic way of adding real colour to communities’ right across the city.”
Leeds University’s water research group, water@leeds kick started the 2014 Bulb Bonanza appeal with a donation made through the sales of their calendar.
Coordinator, Dr Rebecca Slack, for water@leeds said; “water@leeds is thrilled to support the work Groundwork does to improve the local environment and help communities make better use of their green spaces through Bulb Bonanza. As a research group, we are interested in the use of urban space for improved water management, as well as the wider services that green spaces can provide for food production, health and wellbeing, and learning and teaching.”
Bulb Bonanza costs around £8,000 to run each year, this allows 150 groups across the city to plant around 80,000 daffodil bulbs. If businesses or individuals would like to donate in a bid to keep this project alive for 2015, they should contact jcummins@groundwork.org.uk.
