By Jim Corah
Volunteers at Kirkstall in Bloom are taking a step into Spring with a vision for the year ahead.
Plans for 2025 include a plant sale, hosting during Kirkstall Art Trail and another celebratory year for the Drink and Be Grateful Fountain.
The Kirkstall in Bloom committee met for their AGM and organising session. For personal and work reasons 2024 had been a difficult year for committee members, so it was good to be joined by Grace Hills to help inspire what to do in 2025.
As part of the AGM wonderful committee members were voted to retain their positions, Jim Corah as Secretary, Becky Nicholson as Treasurer, and Hannah Corah as Chair, and all members of the committee agree that they enjoy the impact their volunteering has in the community.
There has been negative impacts in the community. There’s been vandalism at the Drink And Be Grateful Fountain Garden, with the Kirkstall in Bloom sign being ‘pulled out’ and left a couple of hundred yards up the road.
Just before the AGM the community notice board was smashed. The committee is working on how to fix these things alongside maintaining the garden and improving the facilities. To do this there needs to be more volunteer support.
Looking back on 2024 one of the issues faced by KIB was encouraging volunteer support. There are some amazing volunteers who help KIB though it would be good to increase numbers through 2025. Having a more consistent presence on social media and promoting events more widely through West Leeds Dispatch will help.
Volunteering isn’t by being present for every hour of every session, Kirkstall in Bloom would be able to survive and blossom when members of the community gave a couple of hours every few months.
Volunteering also isn’t about knowing everything, Kirkstall in Bloom much prefer enthusiasm over experience because community gardening is an excellent opportunity to learn and develop new skills. Volunteering should always be fun for volunteers.
Kirkstall in Bloom have not received funding for projects from Leeds City Council for a couple of years. With Grace Hills’s input, along with fantastic volunteer Iola Shaw, Kirkstall in Bloom have put together a series of sessions and events that will help keep KIB in the heart of the community.
One of the projects Kirkstall in Bloom would like to complete is updating the benches at the Drink and Be Grateful Fountain Garden.
Many members of the public have told KIB that they enjoy sitting out in the garden, whether waiting for a bus or having a stop on a walk, even with the relentless traffic on the A65 the garden can be a mindful spot that catches the sun. The garden is a stop for Pokémon Go! and Kirkstall in Bloom are hoping to catch the imagination of geocachers.
Events for 2025 include a plant sale taking place on Saturday, 21 June 2025, hosting for Kirkstall Art Trail during the weekend of Saturday, 19 and Sunday 20 July 2025, and a birthday celebration for the fountain on Saturday 22 November 2025.
A full list of dates and times will be posted in the noticeboard (what is left of it) as well as the Facebook page.Â
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I would like to volunteer with Kirkstall in bloom