The Friends
The Friends of Southwick Country Park, and Wiltshire’s Countryside Team maintain and run the park with the help of occasional groups of volunteers from local organisations.
We trim hedges, clear undergrowth, plant trees, pick up litter, shore up banks, lay paths, pull ragwort, make benches; there is always something waiting on the list. It’s hard work, done willingly.
Wiltshire makes the park a tiny grant and all other monies are raised locally by generous supporters. As well as developing it as a recreational and educational resource, the Friends have ambitions for Nature Reserve status for the park and work constantly to improve wildlife habitat and increase biodiversity.
Photographs by DKG
David Feather, one of our volunteers, invites you to join us:
“We can always use the help and assistance of new volunteers. Age is no barrier in either direction. We each do what we can , not necessarily on the physical side but also with the planning and support matters like running this website or producing a newsletter. No knowledge of wildlife or maintenance of the flora is necessary. We learn as we help.
If you are interested please either use the link on the Contacts button or put on your wellies and join us on one of our working mornings. We meet at 9.30am on the second Wednesday and the last Tuesday of each month in the main car park next to Frome Road. You will be made most welcome.”
The Country Side Team
The Countryside Team, overworked and undermanned at the moment, manage small green sites, like the park, all over Wiltshire with the help of volunteers. Their brief is local access and increased biodiversity; their budget is small and getting smaller.
As well as working alongside the Friends and volunteers, the team runs a series of events through the year to introduce children and their adults to the park’s flora and fauna.
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 