Bovey Tracey community transforms Mill Marsh Park with bulbs and litter pick

Dozens of Bovey Tracey residents turned out last Saturday (November 1) to help tidy and brighten up Mill Marsh Park.

The community event, organised by Bovey Tracey Town Council and the Friends of Mill Marsh Park, brought people together for a morning of bulb planting and litter picking.

It followed an earlier call for volunteers published in The Moorlander last week, which invited local people to help brighten Mill Marsh Park with hundreds of new plants.

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Starting at 10.30am, the volunteers got straight to work, with some putting on hi-vis jackets and litter-picking around the park, while others began planting more than 1,500 native bulbs. 

These included daffodils, snowdrops, bluebells and fritillaries, deliberately chosen to give the park a colourful boost come spring.

The event attracted residents of all ages, and among them was ten-year-old Myri Hearthwood, a pupil at Bovey Tracey Primary School, who took part as part of her Civic Award project.

“It’s basically when you do stuff for the environment and charities for four months,” explained Myri. “You also have a physical and non-physical hobby, then you get an award if you’ve done well enough.”

ABOVE: Mum Laura Hearthwood-Finch and Myri Hearthwood (Credit: Bovey Tracey Town Council)

Mayor Cllr Sheila Brooke was on hand to help and thanked everyone for turning out.

“The sun shone, people came and were really keen,” she said. “We must have had 49 or 50 join us for either bulb planting or litter picking. The children in particular were wonderful, they really enjoyed it and will join us again in a couple of weeks to scatter wildflower seeds and finish the job off.”

The project was funded by donations from Craft Festival organiser Sarah James and Cllr Sally Morgan’s Save Bonds Meadow fund. 

It was also inspired by the Friends of Mill Marsh Park and a wish to do even better in the South West in Bloom competition.

Cllr Brooke said the bulbs might take a year or two to reach their full effect, but the results will be worth the wait.

“I’m hopeful that everyone, not least the children, will soon be able to walk past and say ‘I planted that,’” she said. “The day was a great success and it was so good to see the community of Bovey Tracey rise to the occasion and really enjoy themselves in the process.”

ABOVE: (L-R) Dave Whitehead, Cllr Brooke, Heather Manktelow and Sheila Clark (Credit: Bovey Tracey Town Council)

The next improvement planned for Mill Marsh Park is a wildflower bed, to be created by members of Brimley Women’s Institute.

Earlier this autumn, The Moorlander also reported on plans for a £60,000 upgrade to the park’s outdoor gym and a £10,000 CCTV improvement proposal.

With community projects like these, Mill Marsh Park is fast becoming a true hub for local activity and pride.