DEARNE AREA TEAM - GOLDTHORPE RAILWAY EMBANKMENT OPEN DAY

Goldthorpe Railway EmbankmentProject is about turning a disused piece of railway embankment into a useable area for all of the community to enjoy. Conditions on site were bleak, it was a dark and dirty area. Trees flourished in the area but not much plant life or species were on the site, butthere where plenty of rats. There was a naturally occurring spring that was full of litter and human waste that you could smell from the bottom of the hill. The project is replicable asthe approach has been from a bottom up approach and not only meets our council priorities but came from the Community itself.Because of the bad TV coverage, they wanted to do something positive for the area. Its innovative because not only has it dealt with the flytipping issue but also can used as an educational space for future generations. The group have worked with services and schools to clear the site of tons of rubbish, plant the orchard, flowers, bedding boxes for herbs and vegetables, weather board, compost heap, bird viewing platforms as well as installing a memorial stone for two boys that died on site many years ago. Ian McMillian came and met the family and then wrote a few words which we have had etched in the stone. We have had so many people, residents and services involved that they now feel they own the site which in turn makes the project more sustainable. Schools and local services have different areas on the site which they are going to maintain. The commissioned environmental service will also continue undertake activities down there and recruit volunteers from the wider community. The area is already an ecological valuable habitat, with different species of birds including mallards using the space. As the project has developed the bio diversity in the area has increased massively. Volunteers and staff have been down there twice per month for the last couple of years putting hours into the project. Dearne Valley Landscape have brought in experts to undertake an ecological survey but also train the volunteers on the best location of hedges, trees and plant life. NEXT STEPS !!! On July the 14th the group will be working with 248 children that are in their transition year and they approached the group to see if they could use the embankment as their project. They will be weeding, planting a wild meadow, litter picking and designing pebbles to leave on site. The group are still awaiting signage and interpretation boards to put on site before the opening celebration. So.... Save the date as Goldthorpe Railway Embankment will be holding an open day on Friday 20th September & Saturday 21st September 10am - 12pm for anyone in the Dearne and surrounding areas to pop along and see exactly what work has been completed in the past few years..... It's now nearly ready for local community groups & schools to use, we invite you to come along and see for yourself all the hard work and dedication of all the volunteers that have been working tireles...sly week in, week out for the past 2 years to get this great outdoor space in the heart of the community up and running whilst keeping nature's habitat safely in their own environment. It's worth a visit, TRUST me! It's absolutely stunning and you don't get to visualise it properly until you’re actually there, the birds, the ducks, the flowers, the trees, everything is just stunning and everything is yours in the heart of Goldthorpe. This is what ‘Town spirit’ is all about - coming together as a community, bringing businesses together with the same vision, you want it, you achieved it, you built it, you will live within it and you will definitely LOVE it. #imagineit #changeit #Developit #Buildit #Achieveit #Protectit #Liveit #Loveit A big Thankyou to all the volunteers, organisations, businesses and individuals that have contributed to this amazing project #wellproud Goldthorpe Development Group, Goldthorpe Scouts, Goldthorpe Railway Cuttings, LP Goldthorpe Reform, Goldthorpe Salvation Army Shop, Salvation Army Goldthorpe, Twiggs Dearne Area Clean and Tidy Team, Goldthorpe Shotokan Karate Club, Aldi, RDC Goldthorpe, BARC Goldthorpe shop, Highgate Auctions, Dearne, Highgate Community Group, Bolton-On-Dearne Voluntary Action Group, Goldthorpe Reform WMC, Goldthorpe Town Centre, The Parish of Goldthorpe and Hickleton, HOurbank Dearne, Our Shed Dearne, Big Local Thurnscoe, Barnsley Council, We Are Barnsley, Goldthorpe Library, Barnsley Libraries, The JoJo, Thurnscoe Winter Wonderland, Salon53 Hair & Beauty Goldthorpe, The Snap Tin, Dearne and District Football Club, Dearne ALC, Dearneside Leisure Centre, Barnsley Football Club, Dearne Valley Group Practice, RSVB, Wendy Lowder, BBC Yorkshire, BBC News, Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership.