Elmhurst Park wins prestigious Green Flag Award for a record twelve years

Woodbridge Town Council is very proud to announce that Elmhurst Park in the heart of Woodbridge has again been included in the list of winners of the 2013/2014 Green Flag Award (the national standard for parks and green spaces) announced today by the Keep Britain Tidy Group.

This is the TWELTH year running that the has won this award, making it the only directly managed Town Council park in the UK that has won the award this number of times, and the impressive award looks to be unbeaten.

The Town Mayor, Councillor Patti Mulcahy, commented that she was delighted that the Park had been included in the list of winners. She said “The renewal of this prestigious award makes Elmhurst one of the top parks in England and Wales. Each year Elmhurst Park is judged against much bigger parks and organisations and this is another impressive win for Woodbridge. I would like to pay tribute to the staff of Eastern Facilities Management Solutions for maintenance of the park.

There are eight criteria which Green Flag Award judges assess –

• a welcoming place
• healthy, safe and secure
• well maintained and clean
• sustainability
• conservation and heritage
• community involvement
• marketing
• management

For further details relating to Elmhurst Park contact the Town Clerk on 01394 383599 or email chris@woodbridge-suffolk.gov.uk

Google Tours of Woodbridge

Get a feel for Woodbridge through these interactive tours. Simply click on the link and explore at the click of a mouse. 🙂

Woodbridge Tide Mill

Elmhurst Park

Church Street

Market Hill

Riverside & Quay Street

St Mary’s Church

Thanks to Choose Woodbridge and Carl at Ambient Light for these fabulous tours.

Judgement Day!

Earlier today two Anglia in Bloom judges were treated to a jam-packed tour of all the horticultural projects taking place in Woodbridge at the moment. Judges Hazel Law and Julia Rackowe were personally escorted around the town’s horticultural highlights by Councillor Charles Notcutt as well as Chris Harrold and Hana Ballard of Choose Woodbridge.

This year’s entry shows off, amongst other projects, the Friends of Fen Meadow’s conservation work with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust to allow the Southern Marsh Orchid to thrive. It also holds up St Mary’s Primary School as a shining example of how a school garden can transform the syllabus into an inclusive horticultural haven – helping to put subjects into context, encourage students out into the fresh air and ensure a good understanding of where food comes from and how it’s cultivated.

The tour also included the superb allotments on Kingston Field, the carpet bedding in Elmhurst Park, the Elmhurst Kitchen Garden and the beautifully kept shared garden at Wilding Court and much more besides.

Speaking after the tour, Hana Ballard of Choose Woodbridge commented; “So much effort and enthusiasm has gone into these ecological and educational projects as well as the planning, planting and maintaining the many verges, beds, planters and hanging baskets that bring Woodbridge to life. It’s a real credit to the town and something that the people of Woodbridge can be really proud of. Woodbridge in Bloom, the local councils and the volunteer groups who make it all happen fully deserve the recognition and support of the town. Fingers crossed that the judges agree!”

Here are some photos of the day

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Our parks, greens and public spaces

Just a little one to remind you all of the wonderful array of parks and public spaces in Woodbridge including; Elmhurst Park, Kingston Field, Fitzgerald Green, Castle Street Park, Broom Heath, Fen Meadow and more!

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The local press get behind us for this year’s competition!

Nice of the EADT to show their support for this year’s Anglia in Bloom submission. Fingers crossed that the judges are impressed when they visit next week!!

Our 2013 Anglia In Bloom Judges Portfolio

It’s taken weeks to pull together and barely touches the surface of all we’ve achieved over the past 12 months but here it is for your pleasure and delectation.

WIB Portfolio

Friends of Fen Meadow

Friends of Fen Meadow – This new group (2012) is working with the Town Council and Wildlife Trust to bring conservation to Fen Meadow. They have already got designated conservation and biodiverse areas where they are growing Southern Marsh Orchids and other wild flowers with great success.

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Kingston Field Allotments

Kingston Field Allotments – Since the redivision of land to create more, smaller allotments, this area has flourished. The introduction of the annual Woodbridge Allotment Competition in 2012 has improved the standard considerably. Popularity has risen steadily and the overall appearance has got better & better.

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St Mary’s School – An inspiration

St Mary’s School uses its garden for every single subject on the curriculum – from science to maths and even French! That’s why it won our coveted School Garden Project Award in October 2012. The Yr5 Wheat Project is quite astounding.

With help from Alison Finlay of the RHS, the Garden Club’s latest project sees them researching and growing their own wheat to grind into flour to make their own bread. A new and very adventurous project!

The children choose, sow, prick-out, feed, nurture and finally harvest and eat the fruit and veg that they grow. We popped by and caught them digging up the spuds for the annual BBQ!

Photos care of Choose Woodbridge www.choosewoodbridge.co.uk who kindly put together our 2013 Woodbridge in Bloom Portfolio.

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Our 2013 strategy

With so much going on in our town – the Carnival, the Regatta and much, much more – it is essential that we maintain the beauty of our environment. It helps build and maintain respect and pride in Woodbridge which is the overarching aim of Woodbridge in Bloom.

This year we have reduced the number of hanging baskets in order to increase the number of permanent planters as we feel this adds greater value to the overall presentation of the town. Indeed, we have planted 4000 spring bulbs and are planting  more trees in the town all the time. This year the Woodbridge in Bloom team of  volunteers has planted forty-five planters and seventy-six hanging baskets thanks to the generous funding received equally from businesses and private donors.