There are still dates available if you wish to help with this great cause!
Glasgow’s Flower Power
Winter 2021/22 Newsletter
We’re pleased to let you know that the new edition of the Friends of Pollok Country park newsletter is available to download here.
Summer 2021 Newsletter
We’re pleased to let you know that the new edition of the Friends of Pollok Country park newsletter is available to download here.
Website updates for 2021
We’ve been working to update our website over the last few days. We wanted to make it easier to find information about the park, and to highlight some of the projects the Friends group is involved in.
You can click on the new ‘Projects’ menu item, to see the key work we’ve been involved in. We’ll be adding more over the coming weeks, and there are always fresh ideas coming from members. Why not join us to get involved?
We’re also starting a new ‘Resources’ page, to bring together more of the great information about the park, and also the various groups, organisations in the park, and its environs. Please let us know if there’s something you’d like to see added!
Stay tuned for more over the coming weeks.
Friends’ group donate 10 new firesteels for bushcraft classes
The Friends of Pollok park committee recently approached the Countryside rangers to ask if there was any equipment we could help them with.
The Ranger’s asked if we could help with firesteels which they use in the bushcraft classes they run for young people. Their existing stock had become a little worn.
We were delighted to supply them with 10 firesteels, and felt it was a great way to help support the Rangers’ classes.
North Wood Bridge
Regular visitors to the park will know that the small bridge in the North Wood of the park, has been in a poor state of repair, and closed, for some time.
The Friends’ committee began discussing the issue in September 2020, and a group worked to explore what options may be open to get the bridge either repaired or replaced.
Committee members spoke with specialists and the park management. The costs involved were prohibitive for ourselves, particularly when considering removal, labour and remediation work was included, even before the cost of a new bridge.
But we could push the issue and explore options, so we were delighted to discover a company was already working on a similar project nearby for the council, and our enquiries allowed for their work to be extended to incorporate the North Wood Bridge.
We’re delighted to report that work on the bridge started in March 2021, with the old bridge now removed, repairs made to the foundations, and the replacement installed.
Many thanks to all involved, particularly Bob Marshall and Alan Melville.
Bird and Bat box project
One of our current projects has been in conjunction with the Men’s Shed in Govan. The Men’s Shed have been making bird nesting boxes, and bat roosting boxes, and we’re working with the Countryside Rangers to identify the best locations for them inside the park.
The bird nesting boxes need to be placed to avoid strong sunlight and the wettest winds, and of course to keep them safe.
We need to be careful to that the bat roosts are warm and easily navigable, and well away from predators.
We need your votes !
The Friends have applied for 3 Wee green grants for some left over funds from the original round of grants last year. These are for ‘Finishing off the Wildlife Garden’ with hard core for the paths and buying a notice board and some planters, for some bird and bat boxes and for a new cover for the polytunnel to enable the various groups who use Pollok park to continue with growing wild flowers from seed. The decision as to who receives the grants is decided by public vote.
You can vote at https://weegg.communitychoices.scot/
We hope that you will support us and please do vote as soon as possible as voting closes at 12noon on 16th March !
Thank you.
Wildlife crime incidents
The roe deer we glimpse from time to time are a huge asset to Pollok Country park albeit one which is in very real danger: Several deer are reported to have been injured and very recently one deer was attacked and killed apparently by a dog or dogs and we need your help to deal with this problem: Dogs in the park must be kept under control although the management rules do not require all dogs to be on leads.
This notice has been posted at various locations in the park by the Countryside Rangers and we would ask your help in reporting any incidents.
Park poster
Old Stable Courtyard: Project engagement
Visitors to the park will no doubt be aware of the sad state of the Old Stable Courtyard buildings, adjacent to Pollok House.
Access has been severely curtailed for safety reasons, with fencing installed. A diversion is in place for pedestrians, and the Clydesdale horses that used to be a popular attraction, are currently being looked after in Ayrshire.
It’s a huge multi-year project, and efforts to restore the buildings are led by the council, who manage the park estate.
Members of The Friends of Pollok Park have been engaging with the council, and the various organisations/stakeholders involved in the project, to ensure the views of our members and park users are properly represented, to help ensure a long-term future for the buildings.
The good news from autumn 2021 is that the council’s bid for UK Government funding was successful, with £13m allocated to the project. We look forward to hearing more detail about this in due course. You can read a bit more about this on the council website.
We’ll add resources and details below as the project, and our understanding of its current state, changes.
Resources
- Council news about the £13m funding award
- The Glasgow Building Preservation Trust “Finding a future for Pollok Stables”
- Clydesdale – Saving the Greatest Horse is a programme made by BBC Scotland, and features the park – and the stables – and is occasionally repeated.
