UPDATE 22 : 22 April 2000  'PIECEWORK'

 
With the acceptance of the Countryside Agency's offer for Darwin Gardens to become a Millennium Green, many of the 'jigsaw pieces' making up the project are now beginning to fall into place. Work parties have succeeded in erecting the stone monuments which will stand at each end of the Millennium Maze, a task made possible with the loan of a fork-lift vehicle by Chippindale Plant Ltd. Darren Yeadon will be returning after Easter to continue carving these in his impressive and imaginative style, which has already attracted many admiring responses.

Volunteers have also recycled shredded timber from tree surgery work, by using it as a mulch for the community/wildlife hedgerow, which is now bursting into leaf. Moorfield School children, their parents, and teacher Claire Smith have cleared a planting area for the wildflower meadow; and a class from All Saints School with teacher Jeanette Maclean have enjoyed a lively exploration of the environments over the site, whilst learning about Charles Darwin's contributions to biology.

The Ilkley in Bloom committee under chairman Tony Gilroy have visited the site with Britain in Bloom judges, to inspect the progress of our environmental improvements; and a further visit by members of the Ilkley Access Group with chairman Cynthia Watson has tested the suitability of newly-cleared tarmac paths for use by the disabled or less-able, in order for Darwin Gardens to be included in the Ilkley Access Guide.

A donation of £250 has been gratefully received from Churches Together in Ilkley, and feature flagstones in the Millennium Maze have been dedicated by R W Morten Ltd, Ilkley Parish Council, and Rombalds District Guides Association. A feature stone has been awarded to Ilkley Carnival 2000, in view of the Carnival Committee's choice of the Darwin Gardens Trust as a major beneficiary of funds raised by this year's Carnival. Dedications of Millennium Maze flagstones (£5 each) and Family Trees (£1 each) will also be available from our stand on Carnival Day. So come and enjoy the Carnival on May 1st, and help contribute to Darwin Gardens Millennium Green at the same time!

And when the carnival is over, we can continue to look forward to our official opening on Saturday June 24th, Midsummer Day! Jilly Cooper, who will be performing the ceremony, has also agreed to become a Millennium Greens Champion, adding that she "couldn't do it more proudly for anything". We are planning a warm welcome for Jilly, and also welcome all sections of our community - individuals, businesses, schools and societies, to become involved in this unique opportunity to commemorate the Millennium in Ilkley.

Note this green letter date in your diary! - our official opening will be on 24th June 2000

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