The first stage of three which involved a huge clear up as part of a three-year plan to transform the NHS owned Rowlands Dell (adjacent to the Hare and Hounds pub) into a health and wellness sanctuary for humans and wildlife has been achieved on the final Saturday session (15.9.24) following 46+ consecutive weekly sessions by the Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD).
Stage II (two months of work commencing on 17.9.24) will involve a large investment of mainly hard landscaping projects and some small soft landscaping. Whilst stage III will involve repopulating the whole of the Dell with a massive array of wildlife friendly woodland planting.
We are incredibly indebted to all the volunteer’s dedication and hard work who after three years of planning and petitioning have undertaken 46 weekly sessions to remove 30 years of harmful neglect in which the historic quarry now a Dell has been treated as an open tip. The work involved removing dominant and damaging Ivy from walls, protected trees and particularly the ground where all the harmful pollutants had tenaciously been locked in. The volunteers strimmed, flailed, cut the Ivy and painstakingly raked the entire area in which every inch revealed a pollutant that was bagged and removed to the recycling centre. Tons of donated wood chippings have also been spread in ¼ of the site so far, to reintroduce a healthy humus to temporarily restrict dominant species whilst hydrating and enhancing biodiversity.
The clearance work will provide a fantastic foundation for a rich biodiverse woodland planting schedule in stage III.
Thank you to Dave, Christina and Meredith who removed a binbag of rubbish and other debris in the final session last Saturday (15.9.24 pictured) and to the countless volunteers over the last 46 sessions.
Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD)
Together Making Maghull a better place to live.
More information at: www.fomd.co.uk
Contact: admin@fomd.co.uk
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