The Love Parks event
I had a great time at the Love Parks event last month that was held in Oaklands Park. Having this role gave me the privileged opportunity to be taken around by one of the senior parks officers at the city council and introduced to every stall. I got to meet so many great people, and had plenty of long chats, including with the Forest School based at Hylands Park who had a stall. I would love to learn more, it sounds magical.
The parks team at Chelmsford City Council did a fantastic job organising the event and everyone that took part demonstrated the wonderful work that they do. This included the groups and organisations that do so much good work across the Chelmsford district and who through the relationships with the city council share ideas and support what we are all trying to do – to make beautiful places for people and nature.
What I was not expecting was to be so moved and inspired by so many people doing good things. The day was filled with hope, kindness and beauty, I believe the more people interact with nature the more they will respect it and feel connected to the natural world. The Love Parks event was an opportunity for families to play in a green space, feel a sense of community, and learn about nature (birds of prey, bats, plant herbs etc). This ties in with the council’s vision to create a greener and safer Chelmsford and encourages action to support the climate and ecological emergency declared by the city council in 2019.
Another Place, Another Time
When I was younger, I always had a slightly lost feeling and would sometimes think “what would it be like to be someone else?”. I have said before that writing this blog is a little like therapy and if this makes sense to you, maybe you should take up blog writing, too. As I have grown as a person, I now understand that a connection to wildlife and nature anchored me. I have always had a strange desire to want to remember a time just before my first actual memories and learning about history or sharing my childhood memories fills that hole. My children are always taking the mickey saying, “Dad remembers the Battle of Hastings or World War 2”. I enjoy them doing this as nothing feels better than “When you’re lost and need to find yourself,” you can say I have found myself.
So, for my pleasure, let me share another childhood memory. My aunt and uncle were both nurses at Runwell Hospital and I would spend a lot of time with my aunt looking after her “Old Ladies”. The ward was set in beautiful grounds, now I know the hospital is long gone but the memories are special to me. I had my first cinema trip watching with patients and staff the classic musical – “Fiddler on the Roof.” It was only checking now that I can see that it’s a three-hour film, quite a long time for a six-year-old boy to sit still. We sang the songs from the film for many years after. Spending the day in beautiful Oaklands Park, all those memories came flooding back, the building that now houses Chelmsford Museum was built in 1865 and set in such well-kept grounds it is “In Another Place, Another Time” and watching the children doing willow craft under the shade of a big old tree was something good for my soul.
The Climate Café
My next trips to Oaklands Park will be for the Climate Cafés. There is one taking place on Saturday 10 August 2024 and another on Saturday 14 September at 10am. It’s upstairs inside the museum and I hope you can come along as well. Oaklands park is the perfect setting for the Climate Café. As Climate and Ecology Ambassador, I am always trying to bring more people who read this blog to the values of community and benefits parks, green spaces have to nature, playing a key role in a maintaining a healthy planet and for us a healthy mind. I enjoy meeting people who are also passionate about solving climate change, hearing talks and presentations. The Climate Cafes offer an excellent opportunity to have a nice cup of tea, some great chats and meet new people and learn from each other. This is organized by Florence from Save the Children and at the last event I learned about the street stalls they have in Chelmsford City Centre. When the next Climate Café finishes, I think I will have a little quiet time on the bench looking at Horus and Poppy, the two new willow peregrines that have been placed in Oaklands Park. They were added to note the J.A. Baker exhibition and the successful conservation efforts made to save the peregrine population in East Anglia and nationally.
I hope you can make a trip along to Oaklands Park one time and enjoy it as much as I do. You can visit Chelmsford Museum and check out the display showing what the Marconi Room looked like on the Titanic and see the exhibition on J. A. Baker, the author of the Peregrine. What a delight it was to see a ‘real’ peregrine falcon at the love parks event. You can grab lunch in the Hive Café and after see if you can find the old train carriage that once ran up and down Southend Pier that dates back to 1890 – I have told my children I remember it.
My final thoughts
I hope you will have a listen to the song Searching by China Black and check out the links about how you can find your special place with nature.
Get involved, become a Parks volunteer helping in Parks & Nature Reserves
Forest School in Hylands Park – Love Your Chelmsford
Events | Essex Wildlife Trust (essexwt.org.uk)
Cllr Terry Sherlock
