Background
The Rose Garden in Matson, Gloucester, is a public park in the heart of Matson that services the local community, sadly due to neglect, it has had a period of becoming overgrown due to a lack of public sector investment and this has led to the park becoming quiet dark, littered, and most sadly quite dangerous at times, with crimes (including those of assault against women) having occurred whilst the Rose Garden has been in a state of neglect.
Despite the efforts of previous volunteers and local residents; the size and work required to return this this park to its former glory was enormous. For the record the park is approximately 1.2 acres in size and it has 4 pedestrian access points, one of which is a double gated access point to allow vehicular access.
Something needed to be done!
Something needed to be done to turn the fate of this greenspace around and bring this park back to life, so the local residents group discussed a plan of action and this was taken up by the local LOOP worker. LOOP stands for ‘Looking Out for Others Potential’ and this scheme was funded by the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust.
In June 2023, I was approached by Viva O’Flynn (LOOP worker) if I would be interested in a community gardening project, in this case the Rose Garden. At this time, I was relativity new to the voluntary sector and only had a few months experience working at the Phoenix Centre with GL Communities as a volunteer, after retiring from work.
I accepted the opportunity and a date was set in July 2023 to meet with other like-minded people to start the project, unfortunately the turn out on that first day was disappointing. However, I met Barbara Russell a seasoned volunteer who had a wealth of experience in the voluntary sector and the enthusiasm to match.
About the phoenix gardening group.
We soon recognised that a project of this size needed a team of volunteers to help support the challenge, so Barbara and I advertised for more help through the local community and local charitable organisations. This led to the Phoenix Gardening Group being formed and we currently have nine members, including ex-service Veterans.
The Rose Garden (formally also known as the Rectory Road Garden) is managed by Gloucester City Council and to undertake voluntary work our gardening group had to meet statutory regulations and be fully insured to safeguard the group volunteers and the general public.
This led to various meetings, training events and administration to gain approval for the group to continue with our challenge.
We are approved to work in the Rose Garden and have started phase 1 of our project. Phase 1 involves removing brambles, dead branches from the tree stock and clearing the borders of weeds and general waste material. Thankfully Gloucester City Council have been removing all waste generated from this process.
We use all resources in an environmentally friendly way and have opted for clearing the borders of weeds as much as possible and then laying cardboard, covered with a bark chip to suppress further weed growth. Apart from preventing the weeds from growing, this method allows the cardboard to break down and compost, to help recondition the soil in preparation for future planting.
