The flower and the glory
The crew of Warwick Fire Station have been blooming with pride recently after picking up their tools and getting to work on the garden outside the station.
The crew have entered the Dennis Lawrence Garden Competition, in which fire stations across Warwickshire compete for the best garden. Equipped with £100 funding from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and a well of good intentions, the crew at the station began the transformation of the garden.
It soon became apparent that this was going to become a community venture with local people turning up to help. One resident brought his digger along to turn over the difficult ground, the local pub – The Antelope – donated plum, apple and pear trees and in a partnership with the county council’s Youth Offending Team some local young offenders gave their time at weekends to help with the work.
One local, Andy Wells a gardener at Dorsington Farms acquired some cheap plants from Shipston Market and drew up a plan for the firefighters at the station. Watch manager Tony Kent speaks glowingly of Andy’s contribution.
“We couldn’t have done it without Andy. I’m amazed that someone would give their own time so freely. Mind you, the way people have been responding, stopping to congratulate us on how good the garden is looking shows how much the station means to people so perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Work is not yet finished with the crew still having plans to plant a wishing tree for the local community to tie a wish to, more fence panels and posts are needed and the crew also hope that they can get enough funds for a bench.
However, the garden will be ready for the open day on July 25th when Warwick Fire Station will be opening its doors to the public. Activities will include face painting for the kids, specialised operational vehicles and equipment on show and the community fire safety trailer.
Local residents are invited to come along and book a free of charge home fire safety check and where necessary have a smoke detector fitted in your home free of charge.
A VIP tour shows how station works the retained duty system. Soft drinks and food will be available all day at the station whilst the nearby Antelope Pub is providing discounted drinks and meals that can be purchased using a voucher that will be available at the station on the day.
Looking forward to the open day, Tony says: “We hope to see many members of the local community. It is a great way to put across fire safety messages which can be very different in a hot, dry summer to other times of the year. And people can have a bit of fun and a laugh whilst we’re getting the message across. It should be a great day.”