Guided Walks with the Rangers

The Rangers organise a series of guided walks in Knowsley’s parks and Rights of Way. These walks are open to all and take place throughout the year. Topics range from local history to fungal forays. For details on guided walks dates and times please see our website: www.knowsley.gov.uk/leisure/parks/ or call 0151 443 3092.

Walks in Knowsley Leaflet Series

A series of seven walks’ leaflets are available from the Department of Planning and Development. The leaflets give details and routes for walks on Knowsley's Rights of Way. The walks include a local history trail around Whiston, a walk along the River Alt, a ramble through some of Kirkby's mosslands and walks in the countryside of Cronton and Tarbock.

If you’d like to get some copies of the leaflets please contact Bernie Maloney on 0151 443 2289.

The Friends of Stadt Moers Walking Club

The Friends of Stadt Moers Walking Club was formed by members of the Friends in August 2001 and meets on a weekly basis to walk Knowsley's parkland, countryside and rights of way. Walks are generally in Whiston/Tarbock area with occasional trips to other sites.

The group meets at Stadt Moers Visitor Centre at 1:00pm every Thursday. Membership is growing steadily and is made up of likeminded people. All are motivated by the desire to Walk for Health, but at the same time appreciate the social side of the club.

Each walk is guided and of moderate pace. Walks generally take 2-2½ hours. The group then meets back at the Visitor Centre to warm down and take refreshments and conversation, usually at around 3 to 3:30pm.

New members are welcome from all areas. Call 0151 443 3092 for further details.

The recent Green Fair and Farmers’ Market at Court Hey Park, the home of the National Wildflower Centre, on Sunday 23rd June was a great success with over 2000 people attending. The event was jointly organised by Knowsley’s Leisure and Community Services Department, the National Wildflower Centre and sponsored by Merseytravel as part of the Green Transport Festival.

A series of school willow workshops with willow artist Sarah Gallagher, were held in local schools during the week before the event. Local school children created willow wildflower fairy sculptures to place around grounds of the National Wildflower Centre. The willow and arts workshops on the day created fairy costumes for the children and adults, with a finale procession at 3pm, led by the fairy queen!

The event itself focused around a craft marquee and a Farmers’ Market selling fine foods and local produce from the North West region. Families enjoyed a circus workshop, theatre production by Splinter Theatre, storytelling, willow workshops, arts workshops and trips to the wildflower meadows by Eco-bus or bike.

Playground for Stockbridge Village

Stockbridge Village will soon be having its first children's playground. A scheme is now being developed on a site close to the Heatwaves Pool. For further details contact Charlie Price on 548 4545.

Gardeners Get Digging

Tenants from the Cuper Crescent Allotment Society have recently begun work with Knowsley Council on the re-development of their allotment site in Cuper Crescent. The tenants have already built a new community room and now plan to build raised beds suitable for disabled gardeners to use.

Anyone requiring further information can contact Denis Martin on 426 9133.

Angling is Britain's most popular mass participation sport and Knowsley’s Ranger Services Team is working in partnership with local anglers and the Environment Agency to improve course fishing facilities in the Borough's parks and open spaces.

Work has already begun in Kirby where Kirkby Angling Club and the Ranger Team have made great improvements to Milldam Pond.

New fishing pegs have been installed and the area kept litter free with regular cleanups.

The Ranger team would like to continue this work with local anglers in ponds in the rest of the Borough's parks where similar improvements could be made.

To start this process Environment Agencies Fisheries Officers have carried out surveys of the ponds at Millfarm, Stadt Moers Park in Whiston and Halewood Park.

These surveys will tell us which species of fish are present in the waters, and give an indication as to the age range and health of the stock.

Such information will be vital when making decisions with local anglers about how they would like to manage the waters in the future, and by working together the Ranger Team and local anglers will be able to improve the quality of course fishing for everybody in the Borough.

Photograph: Environment Fisheries Officers at Millfarm Pond in Kirkby.

Knowsley Council’s environmental Campaign Team has received much praise from Huyton residents for the work they undertake in organising community led clean up campaigns.

Since February of this year the Campaign Team has organised six week long campaigns in the Huyton area alone and worked closely with local residents, encouraging them to take responsibility for helping to keep their neighbourhoods clean and tidy.

The Campaign Team work all over the borough delivering similar campaigns and sees their apparent success largely as a result of local residents desire to live in clean and attractive conditions. Campaign Team Leader, Tom Eccles said, “The local authority cannot bear full responsibility for maintaining a clean and healthy environment. The environment is also the responsibility of those who live and work there as well as those who might just be visiting. We all have a role to play in ensuring that the environment is cared for and we must all take that responsibility seriously.”

Huyton residents have also had some success in this years Environmental Challenge, a competition run by Tom which rewards communities for innovative approaches and effort to improve the environment.

Included in this year's competition were Layford Road residents whose determined exertions have resulted in residents coming together with a common cause, ensuring that their road remains clean and safe for the community to enjoy.

WELL DONE to all those Huyton residents who took time to join in the campaigns and to others for just taking a pride in the area.