We would love to thank everyone who helped out the Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD) one-hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday (6.1.24), we continued the big tidy up preparation work at our newest and most exciting environmental project yet, entitled the NHS Wellness Dell (adjacent to the Hare and Hounds Pub). The Dell was an historic quarry which nature has transformed into a precious tranquil oasis in the heart of the busy centre. However, following decades of neglect in which it appears to have been almost an open tip, based on the rubbish we are unearthing, progress is being made. It has been strimmed back to access and to wrestle the removal of decades of harmful to wildlife litter and debris tenaciously held in the grip of Irish Ivy. As beautiful and nature promoting as the Ivy is, it has become the dominant species to the detriment of many other extinguished flora and fauna and not least for the suffocating effects on the vulnerable protected trees and damage to perimeter walls.

The session was the 10^th consecutive one-hour sessions at the Dell and remarkably we have now collected 78 bags of litter, a huge array of debris and 18 (even more not bagged!) agricultural bags of tree and wall damaging Ivy, receiving some wonderful feedback and clearly seeing the difference every time we are there.

Huge thanks to: Jorden, Harry, Diane and Joanne, (Main Picture L to R), and not pictured Rebecca and Frank, for removing further ivy from several more tree trunks, litter picking, removing brick debris, resulting in two agricultural bags of Ivy.

Dell Update: having consulted over three years to provide green improvements, we are now waiting with great anticipation for the imminent feedback from the landscape architect’s draft plans.

If you would like to help without raising a finger, please join our Co-op charity partner by simply becoming a Coop member and choose our cause. All the amazing information is available on this link:

https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/85311

On Sunday (7.1.24), FOMD started refocusing on the neighbouring Stafford Moreton Way Project by litter picking one bin bag and filling two agricultural bags of weeds from the two oblong tree and bulb borders on either side of the road leading up to Morrisons. In addition, we raked the perimeter and semicircle of both oblong borders, which is the home for several thousand pounds worth of crowd funded Wildflower Turf, in preparation for further wildflower seeding, as the Oxide Daisy appears to have become the predominant wildflower.

SMW Project Summary. We started this project in 2019 by crowdfunding for one year and created the following: wildlife friendly hedge, to borders containing thousands of bulbs and dozen fruit and blossom trees, this the recycling rhinoceros (highlighting endangered wildlife and plastic recycling), an ecology/community noticeboard (to signpost people to local natural resources e.g. Jubilee & Roughley Woods and Lunt Meadows), planted a donated wedding layer tree (at Morrison’s car park entrance), planted a boulevard of 11 large blossom trees in the path between Morrisons and the health centre, installed a path to join the two car parks together, and organised the public art mosaics made from bottle tops and floral bins.

Check out our website project tab to learn more about the SMW Project which also includes a short introductory video and will be joined soon with a thank you and completion video.

Best Wishes,

FOMD

Together Making Maghull a better place to live.

More information about this and other projects at: www.fomd.co.uk

(website created/sponsored locally by www.abbeytech.net/)

Contact: admin@fomd.co.uk

#fomdcic #Maghull #Environment