The ranger centres

The ranger centres are based in two of the major parks in the borough:

• Nowton Park in Bury St Edmunds, tel: 01284 763666; and
• East Town Park in Haverhill, tel: 01440 710745.

Email: parks@stedsbc.gov.uk At each of these centres the Park Rangers aim to provide up-to-date information and help to all visitors. The centres are the places to visit to find out about the history and ecology of our parks, current events and local activities. The rangers In addition to the three full-time park rangers we have four mobile park rangers. Their work includes:

• assisting and informing park users;
• education and interpretation;
• habitat protection, including practical conservation tasks and biological surveys. Survey results are used to tailor the management in order to benefit the greatest number of species and to protect vulnerable ones; and
• site management.

What do mobile park rangers do? They:

• discourage and report any form of antisocial behaviour, whether it affects other users, wildlife or the facilities themselves;
• encourage appropriate behaviour, mutual co-operation and consideration from all groups using public spaces and, if necessary, enforce the relevant regulations;
• keep a close watch over all the public open spaces in the towns;
• patrol playgrounds, recreation areas and paths, including footpaths and cycle tracks, within the borough; and
• provide a reassuring uniformed presence in our parks to encourage a sense of security and to provide helpful information.

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Volunteer groups

Volunteers are a valuable support to the Park Ranger Service, giving many hours of labour that contributes to the future of our parks.

Do you want to help maintain and enhance parks and open spaces for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of all? Do you want to get some exercise whilst meeting new people? Then why not join one of our conservation volunteer groups:

• Bury St Edmunds green space volunteers
• Haverhill green space volunteers

More information about these groups is below:

• previous experience is not essential, although an average level of fitness is needed to fully take part in all tasks;
• please wear comfortable weatherproof clothing and stout footwear;
• tools, gloves and light refreshments are provided; and
• training is provided.

Tasks vary according to the season but can include:

• controlling invasive vegetation;
• fencing;
• maintaining ponds and water courses;
• managing special features, such as the Nowton Arboretum, the Hardwick Heath Wildlife Garden and the Hardwick Lime Drive;
• managing traditional hay meadows;
• planting bulbs and plants;
• tree planting and protecting young trees;
• we also get involved in emergency works, such as clearing up storm damage; and
• woodland management.

Bury St Edmunds volunteers

Volunteers meet at a variety of sites around the borough every Tuesday 10am to 4pm and every other Sunday 10am to 12:30pm. If you would like to join the volunteers please contact the Nowton Park Rangers on 01284 763666 for an application form.

Haverhill volunteers

Volunteers meet at the Countryside Centre at East Town Park every Monday 9:30am to 12:30pm and every Wednesday 10am to 1pm. If you would like to join the volunteers please contact the East Town Park Rangers on 01440 710745 for an application form.

For more information on volunteering visit:

• Bury St Edmunds Volunteer Centre: www.volunteercentre.co.uk
• Haverhill Volunteer Centre: www.hvc.org.uk
• Havo: www.havo.org.uk
• Volunteering England: www.volunteering.org.uk

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Events

The annual events and activities programme for the parks has something for everyone, including:

• beginner's craft workshops, using traditional natural materials such as willow;
• guided walks and talks;
• holiday activities for children and families, including art, craft and sport events;
• Nowton Park Country Fair on the third Sunday in June; and
• quizzes and trails, including the popular Halloween Trail at East Town Park;

Craft workshops give the public the opportunity to learn new skills. They are also a great chance to be creative. Activities include Christmas wreath making and willow weaving.

Outdoor activities such as toddler trails encourage children and adults to visit the parks and develop new skills. They also offer people an opportunity to enjoy the sites in an environmentally friendly fashion.

Guided walks around the park allow people of all ages to learn more about the environment in general and the parks in particular. They are also a very good opportunity to meet and chat to the rangers. The walks cover various seasonal subjects, and are fun besides being educational!

To receive the quarterly park ranger event leaflet or book any of the activities, please contact the parks section.

Phone: 01284 757067
Email: parks@stedsbc.gov.uk

Download the Park events leaflet (PDF 165Kb) Please note: this is designed as a double-sided leaflet so the pages will not appear in order unless it is printed out double-sided.


More events in the borough

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Environmental education

The Park Rangers provide an environmental education service to schools, clubs and groups. The activities are planned to take advantage of the different opportunities offered by the four seasons and targeted to different ages and ability levels.

The activities include:

• pond dipping;
• insect hunts;
• tree and flower identification;
• orienteering; and
• log sculptures.

They are all interactive and maximise pupils’ participation and hands-on experience.

Since many sites are within easy reach of schools they can be used for outings and field study. The parks provide the ideal outdoor classroom and encourage the pupils’ interest in their local environment and community.


Why work outdoors?

• The pupils have the opportunity to interact with each others and with the natural world.
• They can learn how to co-operate and learn from nature without causing environmental disturbance.
• Taking classroom knowledge and applying it to the immediate environment makes it much more relevant and real to the pupils. Information read in a book can be much less interesting than that acquired in person.
  

If you would like to take your school to any of our sites please contact:

• Nowton Park in Bury St Edmunds, tel: 01284 763666; or
• East Town Park in Haverhill, tel: 01440 710745.
  

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Interesting facts

Ponds:

• Frogs, toads and newts all require water for breeding and tend to be associated with a wet environment for most of the year. Therefore, the best way to attract them is to build and maintain suitable ponds. However, if you want to keep them in the area you need to ensure that they have adequate and safe hunting, resting and hibernating areas.
  
  
• A good pond, with well-maintained bankside vegetation, is also attractive to insects like dragonflies and damselflies. Open water is also indispensable to birds and mammals; but you need to ensure that it does not freeze over in the winter, and that the banks are easy to climb out of in case a small animal falls in.

Bird feeding:

• Birds can be encouraged to visit your garden by providing food for them, particularly in late winter when natural food supplies are at their lowest. There are two ways in which you can approach bird feeding. You can either put out food in controlled amounts in specific places, or you can grow the plants that birds require or which support the creatures they feed on.

Food plants:

• Fruit-bearing shrubs and trees such as the wayfaring tree, rowan, bird cherry, hawthorn and elder provide food for birds in late summer and autumn. In the summer, their flowers attract insects such as butterflies. If they are planted in small groups or hedges, they can provide nesting sites and cover for birds and mammals. They also provide a dash of colour to the garden!
  
  
• Insects also depend on food plants. Many insects are attracted to nectar-rich plants positioned in sunny areas.
  
  
• If you would like to encourage bats in your garden, plant some night-scented flowers to attract night insects. Forget all your worries about vampires; bats are a great natural way to control midges!

Hedges:

• Hedges are all man-made or man-managed habitats. The primary reason they were created was to control animal stock. However, hedges have other useful functions. The presence of hedgerows is of vital importance to hundreds of animals, as they are a “natural fuel station” and a linear refuge for birds, mammals and insects.

Woodland management:

• Woodland management skills include ancient crafts like coppicing and pollarding. Coppicing is the cutting of trees at ground level, while pollarding involves cutting the trees off at about seven foot from the ground, in order to provide timber and grazing.

Nest boxes:

• Many different types of animals, including birds, insects and small mammals can be encouraged to nest, roost or hibernate in urban sites by providing suitable homes.
  
  
• Properly designed and sited boxes can be extremely successful in allowing many species to nest and rear young. They are often much more suitable than natural sites and offer better protection from predators.
  
  
• If you want to ensure your nest box is successful, place in a sheltered and quiet spot, where is will not get too hot in the sun and where disturbance won’t be excessive.

Bulbs:

• Bulbs are easy to plant and grow, and give a lot of pleasure for many years.
  
  
• If you would like to help the habitat around your garden, select native varieties. They will slowly spread around. Make sure that you source them from reputable sources, though, as the large-scale theft of wild bulbs from woods is still a great problem in this country.
  
  
• Daffodils are a good choice in grass in open situations.
  
  
• Snowdrops, bluebells, aconites and cyclamen are better in partial shade.

Meadows:

• Meadows are a key habitat, developed historically for gathering hay.
  
  
• Continuing the tradition of haymaking in parks and open spaces means that wildflower species adapted to life in the old meadows are able to thrive, in turn supporting many creatures including butterflies and other insects.
  
  
• Even a small patch of wildflowers can be a wildlife haven. Try to experiment in your garden by leaving some patches of grass uncut; you may be surprised by number of plant species you find blooming there.

Wildlife gardens:

• A wildlife garden is not only good for wildlife. It gives people, and especially children, the opportunity to enjoy and learn to appreciate the environment on their doorstep. A good wildlife garden is full of insects and other invertebrates, with wildflowers, shrubs, and places for small animals to hide, hunt and hibernate. It will reward its keepers with a wealth of wildlife all year round.
  

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