THREE local businesses have made volunteer group Friends of Stockwell Park’s job a bit easier with some generous donations.
The group has received a brushcutter from Tumut Outdoor Power Centre, a ‘garden wagon’ from McDougall and Cruise Mitre 10, and a blower from Tumut Toyota.
“These are all quality items and much needed,” FSP volunteer Marika Stacy said.
“It is encouraging to have the support of these three local businesses. We have been doing volunteer work in the park for 23 years and always having to use our own personal equipment. We have been doing the weeding, pruning, planting, litter collecting and in more recent years much of the blowing and edge trimming. It was an enormous job in the late 1980s to rescue the park from noxious weeds such as privet, blackberry and cotoneaster, which still requires ongoing vigilance and maintenance.
“We had also constructed a stone wall and garden bed which is now the Blakeney Millar Bank,” said Ms Stacy.
“The watering of planted banks is a big effort over the summer as access to taps is not easy and in one area the water has been cut off. Our members have had many appreciative comments about the park not only from locals but the many tourists who stroll through and the young people who choose the park for their wedding ceremonies.”
A Snowy Valleys Council spokesperson said the following: “Throughout the growing season, Council extends the same care and maintenance to Stockwell Gardens as it does to all other Council parks and playgrounds. This includes weekly mowing, trimming, and green waste collection as well as weekly pick up of green waste gathered by the volunteer group.
“Council appreciates the passion and work that the Friends of Stockwell Gardens volunteer group does in helping to further enhance the Garden’s aesthetic.”
