STAFF and volunteers who work hard to look after Leicester’s green spaces have been demonstrating just how much fun it can be to love your local park.
On Tuesday 28 July, to celebrate Love Parks Week, the city council’s parks team and Leicester Environmental Volunteers were on hand for a community clean-up of Spinney Hill Park.
In total, 27 people joined volunteers and staff to take part in the litter pick, along with councillors Misbah Batool, Mustafa Malik and Stephen Bonham.
Together, they cleared up 100 bags of litter and 31 large items, and spoke to more than 50 people about their work to look after Leicester’s network of 190 parks, gardens and green spaces.
Children and families who joined in the litter-pick also took part in a scavenger hunt and other fun activities.
In addition, community sports coaches from Leicester City in the Community and England Netball were on the park, delivering free coaching sessions at the park’s newly refurbished PlayZone. Spinney Hill’s Playzone has been transformed with new surfacing, fencing and lights thanks to more than £48,000 of investment from the city council and more than £141,000 from the Football Foundation.
Assistant city mayor for parks and for sports, Cllr Vi Dempster, said: “Spinney Hill Park is a valued green space at the heart of the local community, and it's fantastic to see residents coming together to help care for it.
“Events like this community litter pick not only help keep the park clean and welcoming, but also give people the opportunity to enjoy the wide range of facilities on offer, including the PlayZone. I'd like to thank everyone taking part and helping to make our parks great places for people of all ages to spend time outdoors, be active and connect with their neighbours.”
Nine playzones are being upgraded or created in neighbourhoods across the city as part of an ongoing £1.8million project. As well as the one at Spinney Hill Park, a nearby Playzone in St Peters has just been completed, and facilities have also been updated at Eyres Monsell.
Find out more about sports facilities in Leicester at leicester.gov.uk/sports
Find out more about volunteering on Leicester’s parks at leicester.gov.uk/volunteering-our-parks
ENDS