St. Peter's Volunteer Gardeners

Autumn and Winter certainly have not deterred St. Peter’s Volunteer Gardeners from turning out.  The past few months have seen continuing enthusiasm and achievement.

October. Focus turned to some restoration work for The Fish with Two Heads.  One of the heads had become infested with worm and the faces needed a repaint. Once this work had been completed, attention turned to new bulb planting in communal areas.  Funded by St. Peter’s Neighbourhood Association new bulbs have been planted to supplement those planted by many volunteers over the past three years.

November. The half-yearly neighbourhood litter pick took place on Saturday 10 November, with sixteen volunteers collecting over twenty sacks of other people’ litter and rubbish. During the month, the regular gardening team pruned communal shrubberies and continued planting new bulbs along The Ropery riverside.  The work was helped with new power tools bought from an environmental grant from Newcastle Building Society Community Fund. The Council teams continued to help by visiting to take away the cuttings and debris.

December. The beginning of the month saw the turnaround of litter bins in the neighbourhood.  The Council had decided two years ago that the smaller cast iron bins across the City should be scrapped and replaced with larger capacity bins. St. Peter’s was the last neighbourhood to still have these bins, and so when its turn arrived for change, the Association and the Council agreed that the bins should be retained as planters. The Association was then successful in receiving a grant from the British Engines Community Fund for the restoration work and planting of the planters. On the day itself, volunteer residents, a team from Jewsons, and personnel from three Council departments all worked together to position the bins for nearby residents to restore and plant.

January & ongoing. The volunteer gardeners began work in the communal areas of the Marina Car Park next to Rowes Mews. This has involved pruning of shrubs and trees and clearing fly-tipped rubbish.  The work will complete and complement the Groups’ previous work on the Village Green and top of Dobson Crescent.  This week the Council again helped remove the cuttings and the debris.  This time around deploying two tractors and a very large trailer. The work in this area continues.

If you like to help the work of the St Peter’s Volunteer Gardeners with your time or a donation, then please get in touch with secretary@stpetersnewcastle.co.uk.