SPOTLIGHT: Group seeks to improve park for everyone

We want to put all the unsung groups that represent the beating hearts of our communities in the spotlight.
Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.
Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.

The latest organisation to come under the Grass Roots Spotlight is.....

Name of group

Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.

Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.
Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.

How many members are there in your group?

We currently have eight active members.

We do have other people who are only able to receive minutes of our meetings but do try to contribute where they can by joining in events.

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We also have a member who is part of the local bowls group and we work together to support each other.

Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.
Friends of Yeoman Hill Park.

How long has your group been running and who was it launched by?

The group was launched June 2008.

It evolved out of a Yeoman Hill Park working group, which was a sub group of the Mansfield Woodhouse Community Development Group.

Where is your group based/where do you regularly meet?

We meet at Park Road Resource Centre, in Mansfield Woodhouse, and we use that venue as our base. We try to meet on the first Monday of the month at 10 am.

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What do you offer your members and what activities do you get up to?

We are a small informal group, with a primary aim of supporting the development of the park - to improve it for the people of Mansfield Woodhouse. We meet regularly, apply for funding and get involved in hands on activities such as looking after our own four raised beds, occasional litter picks and tree planting – so we really do offer something for everyone to get involved in.

Our group works alongside the district council parks team and we have a constructive partnership that has helped us achieve many great projects. 2014 was the centenary year for the park, marking 100 years since it was given to the people of Mansfield Woodhouse by the Duke of Portland. We celebrated that year by taking a lead role in the organisation of the town’s summer event.

What are your annual events?

We take part each year in summer and Christmas events, holding a fundraising stall.

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We also take part in the International Clean up Mansfield initiative with the two local Scout groups and won the community group category in 2015. We support the local Remembrance Service each year by making sure the memorial is clean and tidy and support MDC run a family ‘Xplorer’ programme in the summer holidays.

We also support the council’s In Bloom submission and we have met with Green Flag judges on quite a few occasions to help secure the Park’s Green Flag.

Age of oldest member and youngest members?

Our youngest member is 45 and our oldest is 90.

We do work with school children from a variety of local schools, nursery’s and Scout groups.

Does your group have any claims to fame/funny stories, or has it had any famous members?

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We are building up a number of local awards – we have been awarded the Mansfield Volunteer Community Group, we have been awarded the community group award for the Mansfield International Clean up and one of our members, Corinna Brown, was given the Greenwood Partnership Trust Adult Volunteer Award last year for the work she did during our centenary year.

What are your ongoing campaigns/greatest achievements?

Following our hugely successful centenary year we have decided to focus on two main priorities – they are increasing our own group membership and supporting young park users. More members in the Friends of Yeoman Hill Park would mean we would be able to take part in many more activities, apply for more funding, and therefore be able to improve the park still further.

Our second priority is to support young people to use our park with responsibility and respect.

We do occasionally have graffiti and vandalism so we are doing all we can to try to develop the park with young people’s views in mind.

Please provide contact information for anyone wanting to know more about your group.

Contact Linda on 01623 429334 who will be able to tell you more about our group.

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