Friends’ volunteers do a wide range of routine work activities in the Park. Most of these are carried out on our fortnightly Saturday morning meet-ups.  Some tasks are regularly done throughout the year such as litter picking and Sensory Garden/Lost Fountain tending. Other jobs are done less frequently or are seasonal such as river cleaning and watering the Court Yard planters. ‘Balsam bashing’ – removing Himalayan Balsam, a highly invasive alien species crowding out native plants, is done in mid-summer and for this big task we also try to also involve volunteers from other local organisations.

We also pursue specific, more major one-off projects to tackle particular problems/opportunities. Most of these projects entail commissioning specialist contractors paid for by grants that we have applied for from funding bodies. In these circumstances we scope out and design the works required as well as oversee their implementation. Over the years a wide range of such projects have been successfully completed – for details click on the links below. 

As a group, we are always looking for the next project to help improve Astley Park. As a member you can be directly involved in helping to deliver such achievements.