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Good afternoon and welcome to the latest update into the volunteer world of Mr Alex Ashworth. So I arrived a little earlier than expected at 9.30am at the Pavilion Base HQ. Senior Park Ranger Steve Smith was dealing with some important phone duties so I helped myself to a cup of coffee and ( quite aptly ) a ginger nut, a name I may have been referred too at some point in my life. As the time marched on to 10am and after several slurps of our coffee and a sugar rush of biscuits we were both ready to get on with the mornings tasks. The first point of call was to plant a series of crocuses donated by the 'Friends of Ashton Park' group via Bannister Hall nursery. Steve had located an area that was ideal to spruce up the park and make it more inviting for passers by. Once we had dug several holes we planted the crocuses in and tucked them in nice and gently so they were ready for bed. Task number two was a litter clearance. Steve had recently cleared the park so it didn't need too much work to be done. Due to this Steve decided to have just one little pick and one bin bag, so I followed Steve round the park in an orderly fashion and helped to tidy up certain areas that had been abused, for example it was clear the branches of trees had been attacked by some foolish people so I cleared them away from the path and put them under a tree. By 11.15am we had concluded the first part of our morning's work and it was time for a reflection and rest with a good cup of coffee and of course one or two biscuits. Steve asked me my plans for the rest of the week and in reply I said I am busy with my voluntary work. Tomorrow sees me continue my duties at Leyland Day Centre, but that's not one for blogging so you'll just have to use your imagination about what I get up to there. In the last half hour or so of our morning together we continued doing some more planting. We planted some crocosmia in the fruit garden to brighten up the area donated by a member of the "Friends of Haslam Park" group. We also planted some Achellia which was split in order to propagate new plants by division. This too was in the fruit garden. A source of which was originally from the Rangers allotment. Spring is a perfect time to create new plants by division or "splitting" as it's often called. Words of wisdom from a man who knows his stuff when it's comes to gardening. Steve also revealed to me his place of escapism, his allotments. He's intending on cutting down his work at his allotments by reducing two to one yet still benefitting from the practical yet pleasurable downtime he spends on them. When the clock struck 11.45am it was just about time to go. Another enjoyable time at Preston Parks. With practical involvement and continuous learning it makes for a very productive morning. It really is a genuine privilege to volunteer my time with Steve on Monday mornings. He is the ideal boss and mentor, never pushy or pressured, just relaxed and laidback. I really appreciate him giving me this opportunity. Sadly they'll be no Preston Parks next week but we'll resume gardening based activities in a couple of weeks. This is Alex Ashworth signing off for another eventful morning volunteering for Preston Parks.

Good afternoon and welcome to the next update within the Let's Grow Preston team. I arrived at roughly 10.50am to the Ashton Park Pavilion base. From there, Paul Greenwood ( community involvement worker) let me know how long he'd be able to stay today and what the overall plan was. Soon another volunteer arrived and then another, all in quick succession. Once we were all together we made our way to the Peace Garden and absorbed ourselves in several jobs until Annie Wynn arrived ( chair of Let's Grow Preston ). As mentioned in another blog Annie had kindly received a donation of spades and trowels yesterday so without further ado we got on with a portion of the work. Annie guided the three musketeers ( myself and two other volunteers ) round the Peace Garden in order to resolve what should stay and what should go ( no I'm not breaking into a song by The Clash). Annie let us know the names of several plants and shrubs, the importance of some as opposed to others and the great clearance of some we would have to endure. A fellow volunteer took some excellent notes as we were going round to enable us to consider the general scope of the peace garden and how it can be improved much to the welfare of others and to benefit the general public as they relax and reflect in this neglected haven. As we reached the sign 'Peace Garden 2006' I though it would be good to create a new sign marking the 10th anniversary from it's first makeover. I also came up with the idea to create a rainbow effect in the centre of the peace garden with certain plants representing the colours of the rainbow. Annie thought this was a good idea but she did stress that some plants don't flower all year long so you would have to have quite a wide variety in the rainbow format. Annie gave us some sound advice as to how to go about the transformation of the garden. She gave clear insight and knowledge of the many plant life, grass, flowers and shrubs immersed in the garden. We were all well aware as to the big undertaking that would be needed in order for it look and feel good but we were prepared to take that challenge on when we agreed to get involved. All of us only had a small minority of time today. Paul had to lock up the pavilion base and another member required some much needed TLC, something am sure we wished we could all have sometimes. Despite the small portion of time we began the big clearance job that saw some of deadhead plants, cut back huge plants and, much to the shocked reaction from Paul as it was being taken to the skip, the loss of the lavender. With the work being underway, Paul wanted to capture the action, so the snap happy camera was out again. Picturing a moment in time and giving clear evidence of our time this afternoon. After several trips to the skip and much debating as to what should be removed and included all of us left the tranquil retreat of the peace garden for another week. We left feeling that little bit more reassured from Annie's guidance that our eventual goal in making the peace garden a perfect escapism and a place for quiet solitude, a reality. We've agreed to meet again next Wednesday , April 6th at 11am for another session. This is Alex Ashworth signing off for another eventful day volunteering for Let's Grow Preston.

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