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Annie Wynn, Chair of Let's Grow Preston has collected a kind donation of tools from Rollins Bulldog (makers of Bulldog tools) Annie met Martin Tompsett at the Rollins Bulldog factory in Wigan to collect; 20 Hand forks, 20 Hand trowels, 5 Border forks, 5 Border Spades, 3 Secateurs and 3 Hoes. These tools will make a big difference to Let's Grow Preston so we would like to say a big thank you to Rollins Bulldog and well done to Annie for sorting this out!

Good morning and welcome to another day into the volunteering roles Alex Ashworth is committing to in his local community. This morning I started my first day volunteering at INTACT. INTACT is based in Ingol near Preston and helps people with enduring mental or physical health problems by means of volunteering activities, roles and responsibilities. Some may be trained to man the reception desk, others may help in the I.T. section. Basically, it's designed as a support outlet and, for some an in-between place from voluntary to paid part time or full time employment. So I arrived about 9.20am and I was expecting some good weather, due, in part because garden lead Barry Mann forecast it would be nice tomorrow the previous evening via text. Anyway, it was, as unpredictable as ever, throwing it down. Fortunately I came prepared and wore my waterproofs to keep me out of the rain. Once I'd signed it at reception and showed a kind member of staff my ID for CRB check I made my way to the café and had a coffee till Barry turned up. Barry arrived about 9.45am and he was a little unsure about me working in such torrential rain but my resilience to the wet shone through and I worked for about half an hour or so on the work Barry had planned for me. Barry gave me an outlined plan of the garden area and he said this will be used in the future in order for me to carry out the work effectively. Today's task was to plant a number of white onions. The weather wasn't on my side but with some good practical demonstrations as to how to plant them from Barry I was straight on with my assigned job. I used a trowel and a plank to help mark where they should go and plant them accordingly. After quarter of an hour Barry returned to see how I was getting on and informed me about a club that meets for trips out and about across the Lancashire district. I was unsure about committing myself too much so Barry said he would let me know the dates for trips and I can assess my availability from there on in. I kept planting the onions till roughly 10.30am then I placed all the tools in the correct place, made my way to my car to remove my boots, put my shoes on and returned to the INTACT centre to wash my hands and have a well earned brew. As I was washing my hands I met a young man who informed me that Barry is going to cut some keys for me so I can use the shed when he's not around. This gave me confidence in the work I intend to do for INTACT and assured me of Barry's trust in me too. I chilled out in the café for the next 45 minutes with a coffee and enjoyed the relaxing sounds of Smooth FM. The bonus of being a volunteer at INTACT is that you get your coffee free. That's definitely good in my books. So as I went to the loo and signed out I looked fondly at INTACT and felt contentment in such a non-judgemental and peaceful environment. I'll be back there on April 12th 2016. This is Alex Ashworth signing off for another successful session in the voluntary sector.

Good afternoon and welcome to the latest update regarding Alex Ashworth's gardening pursuits in the voluntary sector. Today I volunteered my morning for the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, for the 'Bees, Butterflies and Bikes' group. I have been attending these beneficial sessions since November last year (2015). The group meets every Wednesday morning at 10am outside the local co-op and near The Anderton Arms pub in Fulwood. It is lead by Chris Taylor of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and he gives us all a good briefing about the work we are assigned to do as well as practical demonstrations in order for us to carry our the work effectively. Today it was a team of four, myself, Chris and two young ladies, one of which is currently working at Brockholes Nature Reserve and the other one is studying environmental science at University. The site where we aimed to work was at the Guild wheel cycle path, an area, in which, many walkers, dog walkers and cyclists frequently use and enjoy the area. With spades to carry, plants to plant ( Marsh Marigolds, Purple Loosestrife and Flag I ris ) and a sturdy wheelbarrow to drive, we all made our way to the place of work. After Chris's practical demonstration, myself and a fellow volunteer spent the first quarter of an hour or so planting the plants whilst another volunteer was cutting back the brambles near the hedge. We all assisted in this work till roughly 11am then we made our way to the next site in which we all planted a series of hazel trees. When we arrived at the site, Chris explained how we should plant them. This gave us all the confidence to plant them correctly and with the right usage of soil in order to balance the weight, height and depth of the tree appropriately. We spent nearly an hour planting the trees then at 11.45am Chris debated with himself and then the rest of us whether we should plant another series of hazel trees. It would mean we go over the arranged 12noon finish, yet we all came to an agreement that we should carry on, and carry on we did. For the last quarter of an hour or so we concluded our planting of the hazel trees. In this period of the session Chris identified that the soil had changed so he went to the nearby brook to make the trees a little moist and damper. By 12noon we had just about rapped up. The Guild Wheel Cycle path had experienced a plant and tree makeover, walkers and cyclists saw some pro-active gardening being taken place and three volunteers and a highly qualified teacher and gardener had just done their bit in making the world that little more greener. This is Alex Ashworth signing off for another update into the latest goings on within his voluntary gardening adventures.

Good afternoon and welcome to the latest goings on within the volunteer world of Alex Ashworth. This morning I arrived at Ashton Park at 9.45am. Senior park ranger Steve Smith was dealing with some phonecalls so I made myself a brew then within the next 10-15 minutes we were both outside cleaning up Ashton Park in our litter picking eco-friendly way. In an excellent team building way Steve collected the parks debris from the roadside and I dealt with the inner park. Over the past few weeks of doing this dilligent work we've had the fortunate opportunity to meet the nice folk of Preston. One man regularly walks his dog and we've got to know him and he has since given us some good accolades for our litter picking ways.:) After an hour of litter duty we both had a well earned 10 minute brew and rest. Steve knew I was a fan of chocolate biscuits so I was pleased when that accompanied my coffee:) The last quater of an hour or so was spent planting six daffodils in the area closest to the pavilion base. I learnt something new about Steve today too. As well as being a friendly and encouraging person he also knows some well versed poems and he shared one with me whilst we were planting the daffodils, a classic William Wordsworth one which, infact was about daffodils:) His humour was well received as is his easy going nature. Well, the clock struck 12noon once again and it was time for me to say goodbye to Steve once more. With the easter break next Monday ( March 28th ) it'll be some time before we have our usual banter and cameraderie. This is Alex Ashworh signing off for the most recent and up to date blog about my volunteering at Preston Parks.

Good afternoon and welcome to today's latest update regarding the Let's Grow Preston team. Today we all met from 12noon -3pm at the Communuty Garden at Ashton Walled Garden. We were all ready for action and, with the help of an additional colleague, we had a series of daffodils and bulbs to plant. Thankfully, the weather was on our side and after a period of delegation we all set to the task of planting, in the newly made raised beds that were created at the tail end of last year ( 2015). Trowels and spades were put to good affect. I, with the aide of another volunteer planted the daffodils then we got onto to some serious digging to plant the bulbs. A fellow volunteer came up with idea of creating a trench area in the raised bed then gently planting the bulbs into them. This was an excellent idea, saved time and was extremely resourceful:) During our time together this afternoon we talked,in part, about the development of the peace garden and how we could make it unique yet have that personal touch that the public and workers nearby would feel a sense of warmth and solitude about it. After a couple of hours digging and planting we all required a much needed rest and a reflection on our work. Paul Greenwood made us all some well earned brews and a chocolate biscuit and we all agreed when and what time to meet together in the ongoing development of the peace garden and overall scope of Let's Grow Preston. This is Alex Ashworth signing off for the Let's Grow Preston latest update and informative bulletin.

Hi my name is Alex and I'm going to be volunteering for 'Let's Grow Preston'. This means I'll be posting regular blogs to the website and keeping everyone up to date with the latest goings on at 'Let's Grow Preston'. As well as volunteering at LGP I also volunteer at Preston Parks on Monday mornings with Steve Smith ( senior park ranger) We do a thourough litter clearance of the park and/or some planting bulbs. Fortnightly on Tuesdays I volunteer at Leyland Day Centre. This involves serving tea and coffee for the clientsand soon I'll be venturing out in the garden to do some work there. Fortnightly on Wednesdays I volunteer for the Bees, Butterflies and Bikes group. We meet at the Anderton Arms, Fulwood. It is managed by Chris Taylor at Lancashire Wildlife Trust and he gives a practical demonstration of the work we'll be carrying out then he leaves us to it for a couple of hours. We mostly do plug planting, wildflower planting and scrub clearance. Every Thursday morning I volunteer at Green Gym in Blackburn. This is a conservation based group that carries out work across Witton Park in Blackburn. Since being there last October (2015) I have done rhododendron clearance, created log piles and learnt how to make trenches and plant trees. Yesterday I had a meeting at INTACT in Ingol and I'll be volunteering for them every couple of weeks from Tuesday 29th March, working in the garden. Friday - Sunday is a well deserved rest! Please keep an eye out for my blogs on here, I hope you find them interesting.:)

Let’s Grow Preston in conjunction with the Workers Educational Association (WEA) are running a 2 day ‘Introduction to Permaculture’ course at Ashton Walled Garden next month. It is also planned that a further 14 day course will follow shortly afterwards. If you wish to attend the course please be quick because places are limited please email info@letsgrowpreston

Some of you may remember Lets Grow Preston (Preston Environmental Forum) distributing some seed potatoes, onion sets and vegetable seeds last year. These were kindly donated to Let’s Grow Preston by Brighter Blooms, a nursery down London Road. Brighter Blooms are holding a Potato Day next mon th and would like to invite you to go along.

Progess is going well at the Let's Grow Preston Community Garden. This new community garden is part of the Let's Grow Preston Community Hub in Ashton Walled Garden on Ashton Park

This is the new Lets Grow Preston Website, we hope you find it very useful and would welcome any feed back you may have about how it looks and works. Email info@letsgrowpreston