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| About Friends of Acornfield Plantation |
Acornfield Plantation, known locally as Spinney Woods, is a natural haven in the highly industrial and urbanised Kirkby area. The Friends of Acornfield Plantation (FOAP) was set up following a series of community meetings attended by local residents concerned for the woodland's preservation and seeking to address the anti-social activity that plagued the site at the time. It was apparent that many people who lived on the doorstep of the site did not venture into it, particularly older people and families.
The site is prized for its rich bio-diversity and is Knowsley's only Local Nature Reserve. It affords great interest from a conservation perspective as well as offering a beautiful and peaceful space for local residents and the wider community. The site also offers an excellent opportunity to generate a range of education, skills and health benefits to the local community. With the support of the group over £90,000 was secured to install new signs, paths and restore some of the habitats. Visitors to the site have increased significantly and Acornfield Plantation is now more accessible to people with mobility issues. FOAP continually seeks to secure resources to raise the profile of the site and to engage the local community to come and enjoy their local community woodland. We work in partnership with our local authority rangers and Green Space Development Officer.FOAP has delivered a small number of small scale community events and volunteer task days, which were well supported by people of all ages. Lancashire Wildlife Trust also recently delivered a one-off habitat restoration project on the site and reported a great need for ongoing conservation management to be delivered beyond their project, which volunteers could support. Our most recent achievement has been to secure a £10,000 Awards for All grant from the Big Lottery to continue this conservation work through local participation. Our group is open to anyone interested in conserving and celebrating our local woodland, Acornfield Plantation. If you would like to join us, please contact us on info@acornfieldplantation.org.uk |
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The New Ranger - Profile |
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I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the Green Space
Ranger for Kirkby, and to say just how much I am looking forward to working
with the Friends of Acornfield Plantation and the local community over the
coming years.
During my career I have had various roles within other local authorities and the charity sector, all of which have been related to Environmental Education. I was a Ranger in Wigan for just over ten years undertaking habitat management projects and delivering activities for the community and local schools. I then moved onto a Recycling Education Officers position with Wigan Council. Recently I spent some time overseas in Thailand teaching environmental education to Thai and international school children. This involved taking students camping in the rainforest and exploring in the mangroves. After two years I returned to train as a teacher in Secondary Geography. Once I qualified I worked in a number of schools across the region as a supply teacher, until June this year when I began my role as Green Spaces Ranger. I have heard about and seen some of the fantastic work that the Friends of Acornfield Plantation have been doing over the years and I look forward to supporting the group in the years to come. Louisa Bibby Green spaces Ranger Environmental Sustainability Service Communities and Neighbourhoods 07810054097 |
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Events...
News...
| Wednesday 5 August 2020 |
| Acornfield Plantation - Boardwalk Repair Works |
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I am writing to give you notice of some imminent works due to commence in Acornfield Plantation in the week commencing 3rd August 2020. These works will be delivering essential repairs to the boardwalks along some of the main walking routes within the site and also the viewing platform for the mire in the centre of the site. The works are anticipated to last for about 8 weeks and, due to their nature, will involve sectional closure of some of the walking routes whilst the the repair works are undertaken. The contractor will be managing this situation to minimise disruption to access around the site where possible. Should you require any further information regarding the works or indeed about Acornfield Plantation generally, please do not hesitate to contact me on 07771 550 854 or philip.hurst@knowsley.gov.uk. You can also keep up-to-date on activities associated with Acornfield Plantation through the Friends of Acornfield Plantation who can be found on Facebook. Philip Hurst Green Space Development Officer |
| Wednesday 11 October 2017 |
| Bat Walk |
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On Friday evening 29th September, around 60 people gathered at the entrance to Acornfield Plantation on Spinney Road to be greeted by Gordon the Ranger and members of the FOAP group. We were all there in anticipation of detecting bats flitting about in the woods. Initially as we snaked our way along the paths there was little bat activity to witness, but the group was still delighted to see that so many had come along. Gordon led us past the mire and through to the pond, the little torches on the children's heads lit the way. On the way out there was an occasional flutter, but when we arrived at the clearing by the tree stump the bats decided to put on a marvellous display, and we were able to detect pipistrelles, soprano pipistrelles and noctules. One little boy even told us he had detected a thousand vampire bats! Next year we plan to have more bat detectors available. We hope you'll join us then. |
| Sunday 3 September 2017 |
| New Resident at Acornfield Plantation |
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After a damp start to the day, not a particularly promising start, the Friends of Acornfield Plantation were out in force to welcome our new resident squirrel as sculpted by Mike Burgess, chain saw artist on Tuesday 29th August. The squirrel sculpture is situated at the woods entrance at the top of Acornfield Close and is the first of two works that Mike is sculpting as part of our Awards for All, Big Lottery Project. As well as watching Mike put the finishing touches to the squirrel, there were other activities onsite such as face painting delivered by Carmen from Colourfull Face Painting and a bug hunt conducted by TCV, (The Conservation Volunteers). The Forest School Experience was also on site to provide expert knowledge about the woodland and craft activities. Sue from the Friends group kept everyone going with refreshments and Gordon the ranger was there to co-ordinate the afternoon. It was good to see everyone out and about exploring the site and meeting up with friends and neighbours. The sky brightened and fun was had by all. See more pictures of the event in our gallery. We are all looking forward to our next sculpture which will incorporate some of the children’s ideas from our consultation in the design. Watch out for news of our Autumn activities including a bat walk in September |
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