Located in the heart of Faversham and already enjoyed on a daily basis by many in the local community, The Friends of Faversham Recreation Ground are looking to make your visit and experience of Faversham Rec even better.
Established in 1860 using funding from the Henry Wreight Charity and public subscription toward the cost of purchasing 20 acres of land and initially laying out the open space, Faversham Recreation Ground is owned by Faversham Municipal Charities and leased by Swale Borough Council with the aim of providing valuable green space and recreational facilities for the community.
Parks for People is a joint Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund programme which aims to protect and enhance historic parks, helping to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy these important public open spaces.
The Rec is one of the most significant heritage parks in Swale, retaining much of its original Victorian layout and contains listed features such as the Gardeners Lodge and Loggia. It is well used and valued by the community.
Given its age, some areas of the park and buildings are tired and there is a lack of appreciation and understanding of the park’s history and its links to the community.
The aim of the project at Faversham Recreation Ground is to ensure that this heritage is protected and that people have more opportunities to visit, understand and be involved with the park and learn about its history.
In July 2018, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund (BLF) announced the project has been awarded more than £1.6m for an ambitious, heritage-led, regeneration scheme of more than £1.9m that will restore many of the park’s historic features, and improvements to facilities.
The funding also supports a five-year action plan of community engagement which will open up the site’s history to current users, and target groups who may not have thought about using the park previously.
Given the state of the reopening world it is wonderful to see that the supportive community have utilised their newfound freedoms by volunteering themselves to this noteworthy cause. Volunteers planted a massive 6000 bulbs in the first section of the woodland walk including 3000 Snowdrops, 2000 English Bluebells and 1000 Wild Garlic. The Friends stated “We are not expecting them to produce anything of note this year, but hopefully with the assistance of some leaf mulch and a spot of rain here and there, they can produce an abundance of flowers in the years to come”. They haven’t stopped since, building ten bat boxes, tidying and weeding the bumble bee garden, it’s fair to say the rec has been buzzing of late.
CommunityAd had the pleasure of speaking to Park Ranger Lewis Monger who is brimming with enthusiasm for the future of this community asset. Lewis speaks highly of all the volunteers that have put in the hours, those who have done so in the pre-arranged volunteer mornings, to the joggers who incorporate a bit of litter picking into their daily exercise, as well as those he refers to as ‘guerrilla volunteers’ as he’s never seen them but he knows they operate for the greater good. A mystery volunteer has been watering the bumble bee garden at the crack of dawn. If you are reading this article as a secretive volunteer, Lewis would like to send his thanks.
Having only taken over as Park Ranger in March of last year, Lewis has only known the role in a pandemic so naturally progress has been limited, however as restrictions have begun to lift positivity is very much the vibe of the rec. Having the help of volunteers is crucial as it is intended that the community will one day run this asset by themselves without council supervision.
Lewis notes that there has been a massive increase in appreciation of local green spaces since the pandemic and also a massive increase of appreciation to volunteers “it’s been really nice to see people stop and say well done to our volunteers as they get on with a task, I think it proves that people are starting to get on board”. If you’re reading this and thinking you’d like to get on board then why not make contact with Lewis on 07756 500073 (please note Lewis works Monday and Wednesdays); “every volunteer can offer something and what we find is that each volunteer brings something different to the party, they all have their own skillset which is great”.
The rec has been utilised at weekends for the junior park run and further sporting activities are welcomed. Any ideas for what the park can be utilised for are encouraged by Lewis, who expects to see the rec offering arts and craft activities soon, as well as some nature trails i.e. bat walks if the creatures have taken to their new purpose-built homes, that is. There’s never been a better time to get involved and help shape this community asset’s future.