Open day Friday 9th May

Local residents are welcome to come along to our open day on Friday 9th May 2008 10.30am - 1.00pm. Meet the designer, enjoy a tour of the garden, take part in creating a tree mural and find out about volunteering opportunites to help maintain the garden. Refreshments provided. Welcome speeches at 11.00am.

Planting the garden

14 volunteers from the Green Gym worked hard again in April planting up the woodland, storytelling and sensory areas. Plants include foxgloves, bugle, flowering currant, buddleia, pyracantha, thyme, oregano, honeysuckle and jasmine. The volunteers also made some homes for ladybirds and lacewings out of bamboo sticks.

An update on the garden and our most recent event

The Green Gym were busy again in March, putting in benches, trellis, pergola arches, a bird table and seats in the storytelling area. There was a fantastic turnout and everyone worked extremely hard, and it looks brilliant! Planting will begin on 9th April.

Our own seed planting and garden trail event was very popular with 21 children attending, aged between 3-11 years. It began with stories about plants and sunflowers in our newly created storytelling corner of the garden, before planting 'Russian Giant' sunflower seeds to grow on at home. There will be a prize in the summer for whoever grows the tallest sunflower.

Parents and children then took part in our garden trail, finding the answers to questions about the folklore of plants that will feature in the garden. Someone also spotted a blue tit who was making a nest in one of the 3 nest boxes in the Silver Birch tree.

We received some lovely comments about the garden and the event. Click on the Comments link in the previous entry to read them.

Seed planting, garden trail and coffee morning

Join us on Friday 4th April 10.30am - 12.00 noon to take part in our seed planting competition and find out about plant folklore on our garden trail.

Also see how the garden is taking shape, as planting will begin mid-March. Planting plans and photographs of all the plants that will be included in the garden are available to look at in the library.

Making bird boxes and bird feeders

13 children and adults braved the cold weather and came along to this event. Members of the Green Gym helped everyone to make nest boxes, some of which will be put up in the garden, and Shropshire Wildlife Trust showed the children how to make bird feeders from pine cones, lard and seeds. These were then hung around the garden. Here are a few of the comments from those who attended:

I have enjoyed it a lot. It was so amazing and brilliant.

I have had fun at the library. I liked making bird boxes and bird feeders.

I really enjoyed learning about birds in the garden even though it was cold! I am really proud of my bird box.

February half-term activity

On Friday February 15th 10.30am - 12.00 noon children aged 6-11 are invited to come along to Dawley Library to help build nest boxes and other wildlife habitats for the library garden. Members of the Green Gym and Shropshire Wildlife Trust will be leading this activity. Places are limited so early booking is recommended.

Choosing books for the library

At our event on Saturday 19th January, library customers enjoyed a break from their shopping and helped us to select some adult and children's books with a nature theme, such as guides on identifying birds, butterflies, insects and plants.