New Chairman has vision for Telford voluntary gardening group

A new chairman has taken up his role and drawn up his list of wishes for a voluntary gardening group in Telford.

Adrian Smith has been appointed chairman of the Friends of Telford Town Park (FOTTP) – a group which has been helping to look after and improve the award-winning park for over 20 years.

Adrian, from Stirchley, is hoping to get children and the community involved in the park more – and has big plans for events and charity fundraising during his time at the helm.

The 66-year-old father of one and grandfather of two said:

“I am so excited to take on this role and have lots of ideas and enthusiasm to really take this group up to the next level.

“The previous Chairman, Chris Pettman, held this role for 18 years and did a brilliant job, he’s a tough act to follow and I’ve learnt a lot from him.

“I enjoy organising things, but I had no intention of becoming chairman, now I am, I’ve got this vision of taking it to the next step.”

Adrian, who used to be chairman of the Friends of Dawley CofE Primary School and helped organise its popular fun day after he moved to Telford from Stourbridge in 1983, has been a member of the FOTTP for one year.

He joined after retiring from his role as a supervisor at Ampacet in Halesfield and previously worked at Pork Farms in Market Drayton.

He added:

“The Town Park really is a glorious space and I’m eager to involve the community and get children more involved.

“I just want to ensure as many people as possible enjoy this brilliant asset we have.

“We aim to do specialist events like a quiz for kids around the Chelsea and Maxell Gardens in the summer holidays and run craft events in the visitor centre during the October half term.

“I’m writing to a lot of local firms asking for funding so we will be able to put on these events and just do so much more for the community – it’s looking good so far and we have some exciting things in the pipeline, so watch this space!”

One change Adrian has already implemented is to introduce a new session for the group.

They have always met on a Wednesday morning but in order to reach those who work at this time, Adrian started the first Saturday morning gardening session on May 18.

He said he wants more people to have the opportunity to experience both the physical and mental health benefits of working in the gardens.

He added:

“Charity fundraising is an important aspect of what we do and I am not going to change that at all.

“We are very proud of the long record the Friends has of fundraising and would like to do more in the future.

“We look forward to helping to make a difference.”

There are 40 members of FOTTP and around 16 who regularly work on the gardens each week, meeting every Wednesday morning at 10am.

The Saturday morning sessions will take place once a month and run from 9am to 1pm, the next one will be on June 8 and thereafter details of the dates will be posted on the Friends Facebook page.

For more information or to join them visit their website: www.friendsoftelfordtownpark.org/ or follow them on Facebook.