The photo shows the power washed Steps at Riverside Gardens. many thanks to our friends from the Bradford Countryside Service who provided the equipment and expertise, and to the volunteers who helped . The Steps area is looking great! FOIRP volunteers worked hard during the good weather throughout July and August and cracked on with a number of tasks in Riverside Gardens. In particular the area either side the Steps and the platform area nearby have been cleared of weeds and trimmed back of overgrown shrubs, following the great work done to refurbish the Memorial area at the bottom of the Steps where the Memorial benches were refurbished and new plaques put on following the damage to the original ones from the Queens Jubilee refurbishment in 2012.
The benches and flowerbeds by the Hotel were given an extra coat of stain to build on our work last year so they look in top shape. After being planted up with flowering shrubs last year our volunteers have continued to weed and and keep the beds looking tidy. A number of bins were also refurbished with a fresh coat of paint and cracks filled so the 1989 bins looked like they have just been installed again, complete with gold trim. The never ending task of path edging continued ( a bit like the Forth Railway Bridge!) but it's great to see the effect it has on the general look of the Park. Despite regular action to pick litter in all the Park areas this continues to be a problem, We have joined the National n2Minutre Litter Pick Campaign which we will be fully launching i8n the Spring of next year
New volunteers are always welcome, as the jobs to improve the Park always keep coning!

In the Spring we had storms and flooding and sadly we lost several trees which were blown down by the high winds and soft ground. Tie good news is these have now been replaced and a number of additional trees have been planted to increase the tree diversity in the Riverside Gardens. We'd like to thank the Council for finding the funds to do this at a difficult time. For those of you who like these things the trees which were added were;
Gleditsia triacanthos Rubylace – red/bronze foliage

Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum) autumn colour

Liriodendron tulipifera – Aureomarginatum (tulip tree)

Fagus sylvatica Dawyck Purple

3 x Prunus Kanzan – replacements (Replacement Cherries)