PAST EVENTS

2006

See the new Photo Gallery page

January 2006:	The railings by the children’s playground repainted. Overhanging trees by the east end of the pond thinned as part of the pond restoration (see below).
February:	Hedge laid by Sale & Altrincham Conservation Volunteers (see below).
March:	Native plants in & around the woodland area (see below)
	Improved access to the smaller children's playground (see below)
May:	New bridge officially opened and children’s Duck Hunt (see below).
June:	Path re-surfacing (see below). Pond clean up & planting (see below).
August:	B3 event organized by Trafford Sports Development (see below)
September:	Hippo repainting (see below).
October:	Children’s Treasure Hunt & other activities (see below).
November:	Spring bulb planting (see below).
2007
February 2007:	Hedge laying & repairs to the perimeter hedge (see below)
April:	Children’s Event (see below)
June:	Pond planting (see below)
2008
August:	Stamford Park Fun - Trafford Council's Destination Parks programme. (see photos)
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DIARY DATES     Sunday 12th October 2-4pm   Children's Fun Event 2-4pm by the Bowling Green (see poster)     GET INVOLVED   We’re always looking for people who would like to make a difference. Skills or interests? – Great! Neither? (unlikely) – Doesn’t matter! Give us a call (see “Contacts” page). REMINDER TO ALL “FRIENDS” Thank you for your support over the last year. Our subscription remains £3 per household per year (3rd year running). The renewal date was 1st April – we’d very much like it if you continued supporting the group – renewal forms should have reached you but if not then download one from the “About us” page. **** JOIN THE FRIENDS **** If you would like to join the Friends (or know someone who would like to join) please go to our “About us” page. The subscription fee is £3 per household for the year starting 1st April. NEWS UPDATE - See our latest Newsletter (Autumn 2008) May 2007 - Bits & pieces  Have you noticed that the old putting green (or the even older 3rd bowling green for those with long memories) is looking a bit overgrown? Well it’s now a mini maze so why not have a go.  Following a survey of adjacent properties the Queen’s Road boundary hedge will be managed in a slightly different way to allow it to become a “green corridor”. The grass inside will be longer & native plants will be encouraged – some have already been “spot planted”. Over time we hope it will be visually more interesting as well as more wildlife friendly.  Rubbish, graffiti & other anti-social behaviour by a minority of park users are still causing problems. Measures are being undertaken through the Safer Altrincham Partnership and there has been an increased presence by the Police Community Support Officers in the park. We are working with the various bodies to minimize the effects of such behaviour. IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY SUCH BEHAVIOUR PLEASE LET TRAFFORDWATCH KNOW ON 856 7527 OR REPORT ANY NON URGENT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY TO THE POLICE ON 872 5050 – AND ASK FOR AN INCIDENT OR REPORT NUMBER IN BOTH CASES.  We hope (finally!) to launch the “Healthy Pond” campaign in the near future. In particular we want to highlight the damage feeding bread to waterfowl is doing to the pond. Watch the notice-boards & here for details.  On the subject of the pond we would like to have a general clear up in & around it soon. Again watch the notice-boards & here for details.  We are also drawing up suggestions for ways to use the logs from the fallen poplar. We hope to have an outline proposal for comment at the AGM.

Legal logging in Stamford Park?
With funding from the Community Foundation for Greater Manchester & the Environment Agency and with the help of Trafford MBC we have just put in some pre-planted coir “logs”. This is part of a series of measures to improve the pond. The “logs” have well rooted common reed & flag iris in them & we hope they will survive the geese & carp thus allowing aquatic plants to become re-established in the park. We have also planted some greater spearwort & water mint.

Fun in the Sun
The crowds turned out in glorious weather on the 29th April for a Sunday afternoon packed with excitement especially for children. There were ducks to be found & trees to be identified whilst the more athletically inclined tested our guest goal keepers on the football pitch. With refreshments courtesy of the Family Contact Line and a variety of creative stalls plus the shiny appeal of one of our local Fire Engines a great time was had. Both the Friends & the Family Contact Line were able to raise much needed funds as well as seeing the park being enjoyed by young & old alike. (see photos in our Photo Gallery page)



Hedging your bets
No, not the supercasino but the return of Sale & Altrincham Conservation Volunteers to finish laying the hedge around the woodland area. On a cold but sunny Sunday 4th February over 20 Volunteers & Friends joined forces to keep warm by laying the hedge as well as repairing some of the gaps in the perimeter hedge. We also planted additional species (hazel, holly, spindle, blackthorn, field maple, guelder, field & dog rose) to enhance the existing hawthorn in the laid hedge. We hope the resulting hedge will be more attractive for people as well as wildlife. It will also allow us to plant more native plants as groundcover in the woodland area by increasing light levels and providing more protection to the plants as they establish themselves. (see photos in our Photo Gallery page)

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The winds of change
The park fortunately escaped serious damage during the storm on the 18th January. One conifer was unceremoniously uprooted, a Leylandii is probably terminally damaged & a massive branch from the black poplar by the pond came down with dramatic consequences. The parks department have already started clearing up but we are waiting to find out if the poplar, the largest tree in the park, will eventually have to come down because of the damage it has sustained. We are working with the parks department to try & find ways of using the timber around the park. (see photos in our Photo Gallery page )

Putting some spring into the park
On a fresh but sunny November Sunday afternoon around 30 volunteers helped plant almost 2000 bulbs at various sites around the park. A mixture of ornamental (daffodils & crocuses) and native (English bluebells, snakeshead fritillaries & summer snowflakes) bulbs from B&Q, Homebase, Battman & Sons Nursery Centre, TMBC & ourselves were enthusiastically buried with considerably greater ease than last Autumn’s planting. Despite the rock hard conditions then most came up and we are hoping for an even better show next spring & summer. Mind you, once again the squirrels were keeping a close eye on our activities ………(see photos in our Photo Gallery page)

Pirates in the Park!
Stamford Park was awash with treasure seekers on Sunday the 8th October when the Friends of Stamford Park ran its annual Treasure Hunt. They also had the chance to try their hand at pavement art, badge making, hunting lucky ducks and golden conkers or finding a painted caterpillar crawling over their face. Over 200 children with friends & family made the most of a dry & sunny afternoon that also saw the Friends raise almost £300 to help improve the park. (see photos in our Photo Gallery page).

“Ground control to Major Tom…..”
Forget the unfortunate Beagle & multi million pound space tourists - our very own Sputnik has returned to the smaller children’s play area! We’re delighted to welcome back one of the perennial playground favourites.

Hip Hip Hooray!
Remember Manchester’s Cow Parade? Well, say “Hello” to Stamford Park’s hippy-os.
In collaboration with 3 local schools and Paper Scissors Stone (a local group of artists) we have redecorated our much loved but slightly forlorn hippos. (see photos in our Photo Gallery page)

Stamford Park Junior School, the Infant School & Hale Prep all ran design competitions & one design was chosen from each school. On the 16th September each winner, with help from Paper Scissors Stone & the Friends, helped paint their design.

A big thank you to the winners (Adam Groves, Amira El-Assaad & Adam Maxwell) & their families as well as to Richard Fretwell & Sally Jones from Paper Scissors Stone for the actual painting. Last, but not least, thank you to the schools and all the pupils who took part. The effort that went in was astonishing – it was a shame we only had 3 hippos! And yes, before anyone contacts us, we agree the crocodile is in dire need of similar attention. Let’s see what next year brings……..

Bored? – No Board!
“Whatever” gave way to “Why not” when Trafford Sports Development returned over the school holidays. The B3 roadshow (or Boarding, Blading & BMX’ing for the rest of us) aims to give children the chance to practice or learn skills in a safe setting. Almost 70 youngsters took part, with 80% being local, making it the best attended of all the B3 events in Trafford. The team commented on the high technical standards of the participants. Those starting out were given a helping hand by the team as well as by the more experienced B3-ers. With youth today often characterised as either loitering on street corners or being glued to computers it was good to see so many being active & sharing their skills.

Going public
Our AGM was held on the 16th July 2006 at Hale Methodist Church. Unfortunately the attendance was not up to last year’s. The annual report & accounts were presented & some changes were made to the committee (see the “About us” page for details of current committee members). At the end an informal open discussion raised some interesting suggestions for the future. Issues can be raised or comments made at any time by phone, letter or email (see “Contacts” page).

Where there’s muck…..
On the 25th June 2006 we were delighted to welcome back Sale & Altrincham Conservation Volunteers as part of the ongoing pond restoration work. Helped by officers from Trafford Parks & Countryside Service they removed eight bin bags of rubbish from the pond and risked goodness knows what diseases by planting native water plants (flag iris, greater spearwort, glyceria maxima, water mint, water forget-me-not & hornwort). It was staggering how many empty bread bags there were floating in the pond – watch out for the Friends’ “Healthy Pond Campaign”.

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Steady as you go
At the end of June large sections of the paths were repaired and a ramp to the bowls hut was made. Like the work in March this was part of a programme of works to ensure the park complies with the Disability Discrimination Act. It is certainly a great improvement. We will continue to press for the remaining craters to be attended to.

The bridge – it’s really happened!
On Sunday the 28th May the Friends were delighted to welcome Graham Brady MP & Councillor Susan Williams to officially open the new bridge. We also organised a Duck Hunt around the pond and played host to Blue Watch from Altrincham Fire Station, with their fire engine, and Jenny Bent from Parsley Pie Art Club who ran a very popular art table for children. While 200 children hunted high & low for the hidden ducks we used the occasion to highlight the damaging effects of feeding bread to wildfowl by handing out packets of grain and providing information on why bread is harmful (see photos in our Photo Gallery page).

Keeping on the straight & narrow
The smaller children’s playground had permanent paths laid in March. By providing an all weather surface they improve access to the play area. They are part of a programme of works to ensure the park complies with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Going native
On the 26th March the Friends group organised a planting session in & around the woodland area. A variety of native plants including Red Campion, Wood Avens, Pendulous Sedge, foxglove, dog rose & blackthorn were planted. We hope to arrange similar sessions in the future – keep an eye out here or on the notice board in the park for details of forthcoming events.

Really good news
£85 000 has been secured specifically for further playground improvements. It is likely that this will be mainly intended for the smaller play area but no details are yet available. The recent improvements to the larger play area were undertaken before the Friends group was up & running. This time we hope to be involved at an early stage and so contribute to the design process. We also hope to work closely with the council to try & avoid the difficulties many park users commented on during the playground improvements last summer.

Any suggestions for improvements? Let us know – or better still join the Friends (£3 only for a year)!

Really good news #2
The Environment Agency have agreed a grant of £1 500 to improve the eastern (Queens Road) end of the pond. The grant is for the creation of a reed bed and planting native water plants as well asan interpretation board. As part of the work there will be thinning of someboards. Some of the overhanging trees have already been thinned to increase the light levels for suchaquatic plants as well as decreasing theto decrease excess silting from fallenfalling leaves. This will enhance the biological value of the pond and, hopefully, decrease the summer smell by the Moss Lane entrance. The Friends have been asked to help with this project along with the Council, Mersey Valley Countryside Wardens and Sale & Altrincham Conservation Volunteers. (See the notices in the park for more details of planned work).

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Hedge laying – to revive!
On the 5th February 2006, Sale & Altrincham Conservation Volunteers laid part of the overgrown hawthorn hedge separating the football pitch and the woodland area. This traditional & skilled craft, infrequently seen nowadays due to the loss of hedgerows, is used to rejuvenate neglected hedges. In this case it will also increase light levels in the woodland & allow under planting of the trees with native flowers & plants. Although it was a damp & overcast Sunday the ten volunteers showed that axes & public parks CAN mix. Not only was it educational but a large part of the hedge was laid. We hope they will return next winter to finish off the remainder. In the meantime why not wander past & see how it regenerates. If you want to know more about hedges & hedge laying why not download this pdf file.

Have you noticed?
There are now 3 proper notice-boards in the park. One is situated by the children’s play area, another is outside the bowls hut and the third is outside the toilets by the car park. Keep on eye on them for news about the park & forthcoming events – or continue checking here.

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Sports
Over summer 2005 the council’s Sports Development Team ran several events aimed at interesting families, & in particular children, in sporting activities at various parks in Trafford. Stamford Park hosted two which unfortunately suffered from poor advertising (no notice boards!). Despite the low turnout the Team gave a chance to play tennis, rounders, football & basketball.

Also over the summer holidays the team ran an informal skate boarding event at the old paddling pool. On a fine summers day about 25 mostly local boarders added to the general buzz of activity in the park. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to practice their skills and learn from one another. Councillor Young popped along to see the action. It was not an unqualified success as the council subsequently received a couple of complaints from people living nearby about the level of noise it was felt that the event had generated.

Hedge laying – to rest!
Regular park users will have noted the disappearance of the Leylandii hedges around the car park & behind the seating area in the play area. This is to open up areas & allow more light in as well as greater visibility. We hope to work with the council in using these areas for new planting. In the meantime we have asked the council about repainting the railings that were previously “lost” in the hedge.

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