The Joy of Seven Samurai

Paul Loughnane (L) and Edwin Jones (R) at Gilroy Nature Park
with their new Samurai pruning saws

Wirral Countryside Volunteers have been working at Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby, one or twice a year since 1998 helping local resident, Edwin Jones, who looks after the park largely by himself.

Edwin who nominated the volunteers for a £150 Hoylake and District Civic Society Award, enthused “The volunteers give a great boost to park when they come. They get involved with great gusto thinning trees, maintaining paths, removing trees from the pond edges and their favourite activity, laying the hedges.”

Bonfire and story telling at Gilroy Nature Park. Photo: Paul Loughnane

Recently at Gilroy Nature Park, the volunteers removed some willow from around two rare native timber trees the volunteers planted 16 years ago. The native black poplar trees will now flourish as the competing willows have been removed. In March, there was an Apple Avenue event at the entrance of Gilroy Nature Park as part of the West Kirby Transition Town programme of events. This brought several community groups together. Here the volunteers provided a bonfire in the woods which gave a cosy ambience to a “home grown banana session” when stories, songs and poems were shared around the glowing embers of the fire.

The money awarded enabled the volunteers to renew their pruning saws so they can perform much work throughout the Wirral peninsula where the volunteers carry out over 50 work days a year. After four years hard service the saws were becoming blunt with the chrome cutting tips wearing away. The seven new samurai pruning saws will make sawing a joy again.

Paul Loughnane