Support for Royton Linear Park boardwalk project

First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) is supporting a new educational interactive trail for young visitors to Royton’s Linear Park.

The friends of the park are working with Oldham College students on the Nature Boardwalk Project.  

It will wind through areas planted with wildflowers and pollinator-friendly species, with signposts to help children identify plants, insects and trees as they explore.

The students are helping with the construction, art and marketing of the project and will play a key role in delivering and promoting it

FCHO has given £475 to the initiative, and the money will be used to purchase essential materials such as compost, mature plants and shrubs.

The contribution will also help the group to track the impact the project is having in their local community and publicise it too.

To raise awareness of the initiative, a family fun event took place yesterday (Sunday) at the park.

“Our support of this project builds on the strong partnership we have with the Friends of Royton Linear Park after previously working together to plant a fruit trail and host community events,” said FCHO ‘s communities manager Naomi Martin-Smith.

“Being involved is also part of our on-going commitment to improve biodiversity and access to local natural spaces that are so important to our customers and help with community spirit and well-being.”

Shirley Ann Brown, community leader from Friends of Royton Linear Park, said: “We are delighted to be involved in a project that benefits the local community while also creating a positive environment for bees and other wildlife in the park.

"At the same time, it offers a valuable learning opportunity for the college students - helping them to develop new skills and encouraging them to put their knowledge into practice.

"We are also very grateful to FCHO for their support in making this project possible.”

Work on the Nature Boardwalk is already underway, with Oldham College construction students having started building the path earlier this year.

They plan to complete the boardwalk in September when they return from their summer break.

In the meantime, Friends of Royton Linear Park have been busy preparing the site, recently laying weed sheets and topsoil to ready the area for planting.

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