Green Hive, the Nairn and Nairnshire Community Partnership and other local community groups with an interest in the Riverside Park are joining together to provide a free and accessible afternoon of activities.
Green Hive’s recent survey in Queens Park highlighted that the Riverside Area, including the play spaces and football pitch, were of value to the local residents. It was apparent that people wanted to see more done to improve play spaces and promote a stronger sense of community. As part of the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative, working to reduce species such as giant hogweed from our riverbanks, Green Hive was already planning a volunteer day inviting members of the public to help clear Himalayan balsam plants from the woodland area along the riverside.
“The idea for a fun day was suggested in a few survey responses. So it seemed like a good idea to turn our volunteer day in to a family friendly activity and invite other groups to join us to make this day a riverside park community event. Other groups such as Nairn PLAY, the Mill Road allotments, the Forres and Nairn welfare football league and Highlife Highland have been keen to become part of it and we’ve developed a really good network of people that all have an interest in seeing a flourishing riverside environment that provides a safe space to play and explore nature.”
– Kirsty Ellen, Green Hive Development Officer
The Nairn and Nairnshire Community Planning Partnership (NNCP) is made up of people from the local council, health, police, fire, voluntary and leisure/culture/wellbeing services, striving to improve access to public services and promote equality.
“We believe that community members should play an active role in shaping the future development of services and spaces in Nairnshire. As a Partnership, we hope to see a great attendance on July 20th, with many people engaged with the activities and groups present. We hope to gather community perspectives on how the Park should be developed during the event and to feed these insights into our Partnership planning and future actions.”
– Rhona McNicol, NNCP Community Engagement Officer
Support for resources for the day will come from the Boy’s Brigade, St Ninian’s Church and Highland TSI who are lending a marquee, tables and chairs and notice boards, the Highland Council with bins and extra park maintenance and Nairn BID to coordinate food vendors.
“So it’s a real community effort for this day to take place.” – Kirsty Ellen, Green Hive Development Officer
Park development:
“The Riverside is Common Good Land administered by local members and The Highland Council. There is a need to improve the facilities in this area especially for the use of our citizens. We will be having some fun on the day but also seeking the views of locals concerning how they would wish to improve this area for the benefit of all. It would be good to develop a plan for the improvement of existing facilities and ensure they are maintained for the future.” – Cllr Tom Heggie
Engagement activity – The event is the first part of working together with the Places and Spaces group of the Nairn and Nairnshire Community Planning Partnership. We intend to help each other enhance the riverside area and gain support from the wider community to develop activities and possibly annual events. During the day there will be the chance to find out more about the plans by Nairn PLAY and the Welfare League. There will also be the opportunity to contribute your ideas and express what you hope to see happen at the riverside park. If you are part of a community group that uses this area get involved by contacting Cllr Tom Heggie
Parking is limited so please walk if you are able to. The car park by the Jubilee will be closed to vehicles and the car park by the football field will be open with preference for disabled users.
Activities:
Inflatable kick darts
River dipping and nature trails
Himalayan Balsam conservation activity
Bunting making
Bushcraft
Mill Road allotment’s open day and treasure hunt
Highland cycle ability bikes
Fire Scotland fire engine
Bouncy castle
Rodeo bull
Facepainting
Raffle
Youth led sports and games
There will also be food vendors where you can buy snacks and lunch
3 comments:
I had a walk down the riverside from sewerage bridge to harbour, I had not been down there for a few months .
I was shocked to see how overgrown the edge of the path had become on the side nearest the river. You can hardly see the river now.
Not only was it very untidy and overgrown it would be quite dangerous if someone didn’t t realise that below all that grass weeds and trees is the actual river.
Who is responsible?
Anonymous @ 7.35 PM I too have noticed that a lot of areas on the Riverside are overgrown, but it does not bother me at all, in fact I like it that way. It means our pollinators and moths etc are having a ball, not to mention ground nesting birds. What may appear to be untidy to us humans is exactly what wildlife requires. My garden is wild and I have hedgehogs living here, moths and bats in the evening are a treat. I would say that untidiness from litter should be addressed, but as for nature, then we are all responsible. Time to realise that having everything manicured is not really the way to go.
Although my comment is not really relevant to the Riverside Fun Day, I think it is important that we maintain the ecological sustainability on the Riverside. Earlier today, at Sainsburys front door, I picked up a Garden Tiger Moth off the ground and moved it to a safer location. It was incredibly beautiful and it is a joy to see these around. The field next to the store is a paradise for pollinators, with the burn and damp areas nearby. We need to encourage wild areas, e.g. verges and stop cutting back important plants.The days of having everything tidy hopefully will be coming to an end. Time to persuade Councils and Transport Scotland to lay off the grass cutting.
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