FoPV Work Morning Roundup - Tuesday 28th October 2025

Lyndon
7 days ago
3 min read

Hello Conservation Volunteers

A great turnout for our latest work morning in Endcliffe Park where we were working with the Parks Dept. helping to create a wildflower corridor along Rustlings Road along with Councillor Peter Gilbert who had initiated the project.

Andy, Darron and the Parks team had arrived an hour earlier and had mechanically cut the turf into narrow strips in an area of approximately 30m by 3m by the railings on Rustlings Road.

The first task for our FoPV volunteers was to cut the turf up into manageable strips (turf can be surprisingly heavy!), roll up and then throw into the Parks Gator 4x4 vehicle which then transported it away for a team of 6 other volunteers down near the playground.....

.....on a bare earth corner near the playground we had installed some post and rope fencing last year and sown grass seed which had not taken in the shaded area. The posts were continually getting knocked down by vehicles so were removed (the other posts we erected at the same time near the Victoria monument have done their job and the desire line across the grass is no more!). The corner was looking in a very sorry state which is on one of the main paths into the park. Andy and Darron's cunning plan was to re-use the cut turf and lay it over the entire bare area!

After many truckloads of turf later and discussions as to how far to bring to the path edge the whole corner was eventually laid with the turf all fully stomped down. It looks like it has been there for ages - hopefully it will take and grow!

Back up by the railings, the "labouring" team had removed all the turf and stacked it up ready for further transportation, and so the Parks team could then rotavate the area before being raked with the stones, roots and weeds removed. A cable was discovered lying close to the surface and although it was thought it was not live it was dealt with some caution - we didn't want the whole of S11 being blacked out!

The "creative" team meanwhile having completed the laying of turf had moved onto a bank a little downstream on a 90-degree left hand bend where the river water washes over when in spate and floods the grass area above the Victoria monument. The remainder of the cut turf has been stacked here to create a turf bund to prevent flooding. As we neared completion and were starting to feel a little weary our saviour arrived, driven down in the Gator by Darron - Mandy the baker with her homemade parkin! Delicious Mandy, thank you.

With the wildflower area complete and ready for sowing, Gerry Firkins, a local ecologist, arrived with the wildflower seeds and explained how he had chosen the seed mix to suit the Sheffield locality, as the plants must have the insects that will thrive on them and pollinate.

The sowing of the seeds was to be done as an event in the afternoon by local residents and children led by Peter.

A big thank you to everybody who helped create this first area. It is intended to create some more wildflower areas along the railings next year, maybe with some plug plants in it.

The next work morning is on Thursday 13th November. An email will be sent out nearer the time with details.

Lyndon

A Selection of photos from the work morning

Assembling and ready to commence work....