We were delighted and privileged to receive a visit (13.6.24) from Don Billington, who has won 14 consecutive gold medals at the RHS Chelsea flower show and many other distinguished awards elsewhere but has now received his highest accolade by becoming an RHS Judge this year. Don is one of the friendliest, good-humoured, down-to-earth people you will ever have the pleasure to meet. He lives in Maghull and has been a wonderful servant of Maghull through his unrivalled expert support of Maghull in Bloom for many years, which as a community we are enormously indebted.

Don has had a keen interest in Rowlands Dell for over 10 years and was delighted that positive progress is being made that will be shaped further on completion of the imminent meticulously planned and consulted hard and soft landscaping. It represents an extraordinarily generous health and wellness investment by the NHS landowners that will commence in Autumn. We would like to convey hugely deserved congratulations to Don on behalf of our grateful community for his prestigious accolade and community kindness that uplifts our spirits on a daily basis.

Next Up – Can you spare one hour, without any commitment, on Saturday (31.8.24) meeting at 10.00 hrs in the Dell (adjacent to the Hare & Hounds Pub). This beautiful haven for wildlife has been treated as an open tip for decades, where every inch is revealing a variety of pollutants harmful to wildlife. We hope to remove all the debris this summer and commence stage II in September 2024 involving a huge programme of planting, rewilding and some hard landscaping that will be healthy for wildlife and humans, whilst ultimately preventing building on yet another perceived neglected green space.

Main Tasks.

• We will continue raking out the huge amounts of harmful to wildlife debris that has accumulated from over 30 years of sad neglect (eg vegetation, rubble and litter), along the worst west section and removing bramble regrowth at the top of the North slope.

 Equipment. All you will need are:

• Sturdy boots, garden gloves (essentials)
• Ground ivy and debris removal: please bring litter picker, garden fork, rigid soil rake (essential) not a lawn rake, to remove some of the embedded litter.
• If you are interested in helping to remove the ground Ivy to enable us to access the debris beneath, please bring a brush cutter/strimmer, protective glasses.
• For the bramble removal just a spade.

 Thank you to our Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD) volunteers who last Saturday (24.8.24) made some wonderful progress removing ground ivy to access three bin bags of embedded litter and even more debris, from the final West area and dug out bramble regrowth of Rowlands Dell. In addition, to transporting several carloads of rubbish and rubble to the recycling centre and watering donated plants in the holding area.

Pictured: Christine, Christina, Joan, Joanne (pictured), Colin and Frank (not pictured).

Overall, our one-hour sessions over the last 43 consecutive weeks have resulted in collecting 251 bin bags of litter, a huge and shameful array of polluting debris and tons of tree and wall damaging Ivy, with multiple trips to the recycling centre.

We have received some wonderful feedback and are clearly seeing the difference every time we are there.

Thank you once again for your generous support of our group, you really are amazing and making such a massive difference to our community at so many levels.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD)

Together Making Maghull a better place to live.

More information and for any last-minute changes please check ‘Events’ at: www.fomd.co.uk

Contact: admin@fomd.co.uk

#fomdcic #Maghull #Environment