Culture Volunteers - Some great work now completed at Moseley Old Hall
Our six week pilot project, working with volunteers from refugee and migrant communities at Mosely Old Hall, has come to it’s end, and what a lovely project it has turned out to be. Our volunteers turned up every week, ready to put on the gardening gloves, grab the loppers and secateurs, and get grafting.
Here’s how the brush fencing and hedging used to look …
… and here’s how it looks now.
and of course, it wasn’t just that little patch that has been improved. Whole stretches of the boundary fence have been made good, not only smartening it up but also improving the security and quality of the wildlife habitat. The bugs and wee beasties will be snug in there!
Completing the fencing was an important task, but there were other jobs to tackle too that will make the grounds nicer for the human visitors. There’s now more seating around the woodland campfire, with new tree-stump seats added alongside the benches. A lot of hard work was needed to get those dug in and made secure.
And there was plenty more lifting and digging to make the new tree-stump walk.
It needed testing out of course, and that was beautifully done by Amy from the National Trust who has been managing our team of volunteers over the past six weeks.
The project has shown us all what can be achieved when everyone is willing, and though the six weeks are completed it’s not the end of the story. Our volunteers have enjoyed their time at Moseley so much they have asked if they can carry on after Christmas.
That’s a real testament to how volunteering can create connections, friendships, and help people feel part of a wider community It’s also testament to the wonderful team of staff and other volunteers at Moseley Old Hall who have made everyone so welcome. THANK YOU.
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The Culture Volunteer WM project was funded by Arts Council England and the DCMS. The project took place in the Black Country, Stoke and Birmingham. Culture Central led the project, with CBC responsible for delivery in the Black Country region
During the Culture Volunteer WM project, we were lucky to be able to work with the team at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre. There hadn’t been any volunteers at the theatre for roughly ten years, so it was big step to take for them to get them back on board. 71 people came to the recruitment days and there’s now a lovely team of 30 volunteers. The following film tells a little of that story …