On Monday (17.11.25) Andrew Swarbrick (RHS Community Outreach Manager North and Scotland) attended Rowlands Dell to present the Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD) with the national prize of £1000 worth of RHS vouchers, for winning the 2025 UK BBC One Show/RHS Growing Together Community Garden Award.

It was really lovely to meet Andrew from the RHS, along with FOMD volunteers Ian, Linda (Andrew – centre), Nikki, Joanne (pictured) and Frank (not pictured). We gave him a grand tour and he was really complimentary and said, I am blown away by how much has been achieved in such a short period of time”. Andrew is going to return in the New Year, when we are hoping to get some top tips from him. He’s also really keen to network and proposed to host a future RHS education event on site. Andrew is mainly based at RHS Bridgwater (near Manchester) and has kindly offered to invite 10 of us to this lovely inspiring garden for free in spring.

We are hoping to use the £1000 to support our latest crowdfunding to populate the Dell with mass woodland planting. Consequently, we have already purchased with a 10% discount 12 Amelanchier trees and 12 Dicksonia ferns from Robbins Bridge Nursery, 1200 Carlton daffodil bulbs with a 16% discount from Sandy Lane Nursery and 600 (five species) ferns from JA Jones Tree Nursery with £20 off the £80 delivery charge. We are also hoping to install two health and wellness extension pathways measuring 35 m and 50 m in December.

Huge thanks to the whole community for your incredible support in making all of this possible.

 If You Would like to Help?

  • Volunteer sessions this week (everyone is welcome without any commitment) can be found on our Events calendar page at https://www.fomd.co.uk/events/ where you will find all the details.
  • Crowdfunding Campaign. So far, with your help, we have raised enough money for one path extension (£7,600) but we are hoping to raise another £7000 for another crucial connecting path and much-needed large-scale woodland shrubs. Please donate online at www.fomd.co.uk or with cash at the Hare & Hounds PH, Morrisons, Esso Petrol Station.
  • Rowlands Dell Introduction (3min Video): https://youtu.be/lxrTdudVza8?si=AM_znsaI35Cose-M

Background to Rowlands Dell.

This beautiful haven for wildlife has unbelievably been treated as an open tip for decades, where every inch has revealed a variety of pollutants harmful to wildlife. In our three-stage plan, stage I has resulted in Maghull’s biggest ever 46-week cleanup in which FOMD have removed 300 bin bags of litter and 25 tons of debris.

In Stage II (completed in November), with the help of our NHS landowner partners we successfully obtained a health and wellness grant (Maghull’s largest green investment) to fund an amazing legacy array of hard landscaping installations. These features provided accessibility for the whole community and included: accessible path, viewing/picnic area, sunken garden, bins, 10,000 bulbs and planting at small junction points, bug and bird boxes, and a dry waterfall feature). A Morrisons grant has enabled us to create the ongoing bog garden and wishing well.

We are now engaging in stage three to repopulate Rowlands Dell with woodland planting and need your help.

Best Wishes,

Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD)

Together making Maghull a better place to live.

More information at www.fomd.co.uk including: (1) Events tab for everything about the meeting and (2) Projects tab for the project background.

Contact: admin@fomd.co.uk

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