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40 Years Later: Gardener's Pride in Festival Park
9 Jun
Summary
- A gardener continues maintaining Festival Park 40 years after initial planting.
- The park, on a former steelworks site, opened in 1986.
- A fond memory includes Queen Elizabeth II opening the park in 1986.
Helen Sherwin, a gardener with Stoke-on-Trent City Council, feels a deep sense of pride maintaining Festival Park. She was involved in planting thousands of tree whips on the site of a former steelworks in the winter of 1984, ahead of the park's public opening in 1986.
Now 63, Sherwin fondly recalls the challenging but ultimately rewarding work of transforming the industrial land into the Etruria woodland she cares for today. She remembers the official opening by Queen Elizabeth II on May 1, 1986, when her team was still finishing the site.
Sherwin, who began as an apprentice at 15, continues to work as a team leader. Her crew of five maintains approximately 220 acres of Festival Park and other city locations, finding fulfillment in the freedom and visible achievements of their work.
