A POP-UP community cafe is coming to a city wilderness park as plans are made to clear the so-called 'jungle' and reclaim the space for the community.
The cafe will meet at the green space at Woodmancote in Warndon, Worcester on Tuesday, September 26 at 12.30pm, building on the interest generated by Discovery Day.
The Woodmancote community pop-up cafe is a chance for people to share their views as the so-called 'jungle' will soon to be cleared.
The cafe follows the successful Discovery Day where residents, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, Sanctuary Housing and other interested parties gathered to discuss the future of the site and how to make the best use of the available green space which has become overgrown and had attracted some fly-tipping.
Cllr Jill Desayrah, Warndon's Labour city councillor, who organised the pop-up cafe event, said: “I’m very excited to continue the conversations started at the Discovery Day in August.
READ MORE: Discovery Day at Woodmancote green space in Warndon
READ MORE: Warndon's wild vanished Woodmancote park will soon be cleared
"Firm plans on what is achievable will be made. We are about to start clearing a small area in the “jungle” to conduct a Citizen Science Nature Survey.
"This will inform the wider, careful clearance activities that will follow. Local participation is sought at every stage and this pop up cafe will encourage that. I hope to see lots of interested people join us and stay with us as the project gets properly underway at last.”
One idea is that wild Woodmancote could become a forest school for adventures for city children in built-up Warndon.
Led by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and Sanctuary Housing, the Discovery Day was the start of planning the regeneration of the site which fell into disrepair in around 2008.
Over time Woodmancote has become derelict and inaccessible and was even used by some to dump rubbish but its potential is now being rediscovered.
Some of the ideas collected include the provision of adventurous play, outdoor gym equipment, nature study areas and raised beds for vegetables.
A dog-free section was requested and a pleasant walkway through the trees and shrubbery.
While seating areas were considered welcome by many, there is a concern that this could create spaces for antisocial behaviour.
One proposed solution is to involve local youths in building the park furniture. This plan would see local young adults given a small budget, materials and support to build the seating themselves. Practical guidance and training and the necessary tools could perhaps come from the Building Block in Shap Drive.
The hope is that local people become stakeholders and protective of what they themselves have designed, built and delivered.
Cllr Desayrah hopes to set up the Woodmancote Wombles, an idea suggested by Liz Yorke of the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, to keep the area clean and tidy.
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