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Last year students from St Mary’s RC High School, Leyland made 30 bird boxes for Astley Park. The construction materials were supplied by the Friends, paid for by grants.  Chorley North West Ward Councillor Aaron Beaver kindly gave £300 from his Community Grant fund. The same amount was also generously donated by Astley Village Parish Council.

The bird boxes were made to a design approved by the RSPB. Most significantly they incorporate a metal plate around the access hole. This is so the hole can’t be made any larger by squirrels or woodpeckers. This means the boxes remain ideally suited to small birds such as wrens, blue tits and great tits. The boxes were installed in the autumn of 2024 on suitable trees in the Park’s woodlands by Chorley Council Rangers – as shown below.

Twenty students from across all age groups made the boxes in their after-school club, supervised by Technology teacher Mrs Sales. Each of the boxes are numbered according to which student made them. Recently, six of the children involved came to visit the Park accompanied by their teachers and were shown the bird boxes installed in Great Wood by Friends volunteers. It had been hoped that installing the boxes last autumn would give time for the local bird life to become accustomed to their presence and roost or nest in them. So it proved, as many of the boxes seen by the students were clearly in use on the day of their visit, with birds viewed regularly flitting in and out.

Chorley 8^th (Trinity) Brownies did a sponsored walk and raised a magnificent amount of £170 for our funds. They chose to donate to the Friends because they love going to the Park and admire the work we do to help look after it. Recently Friends Vice-Chair Julian Jackson went along to a meeting of the Brownies to talk with the children involved and receive the cheque from Brown Owl.

In return the Brownies were given individual bags of wildflower seeds and were presented with a special thank you certificate.

Thirty Year 4 pupils from St Laurence’s School recently had a highly enjoyable and informative trip down to the River Chor in Great Wood. Sam Phillips from Groundwork Wigan and Friends volunteers explained how the health of the river can be assessed. This is done by using the Riverfly technique – counting the diversity and abundance of specific invertebrate species caught in net sampling. The children also learnt how easily the river could be seriously polluted and wildlife species wiped out. A big danger in this regard is dogs getting into the river that have been treated with flea powder. This insecticide can easily wash off and damage the health of the river.

Pupils looking at the catch from net sampling.

One of four timber bridges in Great Wood recently received a re-stain by Friends’ volunteers.

Friends’ volunteers have produced a small exhibition to mark our 20^th anniversary year.  This is now on display in the Council’s Coach House Shop and Information Centre. The material on show briefly explains how the group came to be formed, the activities we do and features short descriptions of the 12 key projects we have implemented and enabled over the last 20 years. The Shop is open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 3pm.

Friends’ volunteers have recently been spreading fine gravel, kindly provided by Chorley Council, on the path leading to the Lost Fountain. This area had become muddy, so the gravel gives a cleaner surface to walk on.

The three oak bench seats in the Sensory Garden have been sanded down, repaired and the wood re-stained thanks to the diligent work of our member Steve Hodgson. A good job done as you can see in the picture below:

The ‘Green Pond’ is so called because it is nearly always completely covered in duckweed. Friends’ volunteers have in the past tried to clear the thick blanket of weed, but without success. Now miraculously, the surface of the pond is completely clear of vegetation. Several ducks are enjoying the open water, and they are not the only animals to do so. Frogs are ‘making hay as the sun shines’ so to speak and producing extensive spawn. Can you spot a frog’s head and some spawn below?

It is not readily apparent why the water of the pond has quite suddenly cleared over the past few weeks. The weather has not been particularly exceptional. It is thought that the duckweed forms because the water is high in nutrients due to extensive leaf fall into the pond from surrounding trees.

Historically the pond has probably served two special functions in the life of Astley as a grand house and family estate. The ancient remains of an Icehouse are located nearby (see The Astley Park Trail) and the source of frozen water for this may well have been the pond. Also, the waters of the pond provide the feed to the nearby Lost Fountain  Sadly the feed pipe is often blocked with detritus and duckweed!

Crocuses in bloom are sure sign Spring is on the way. There are several locations in the Park where crocuses are now flowering but the best position is alongside the main path from the Park Road gates, as shown below.

Friends’ volunteers have recently been planting 1,500 whip sized trees that will form a new small area of woodland in the Park. This Lancashire County Council initiated project is one of at least 14 being created across the County. Located on land suggested by Chorley Council behind Pet’s Corner, the internationally tried and tested method used involved specially preparing the ground and planting the trees close together for mutual benefit. For more details click here