Volunteering in Bangor Castle Walled Garden

World Soil Day and International Volunteer Day were celebrated earlier this month. To mark the occasion, volunteers who work in Bangor Castle Walled Garden revealed why they decided to take up a volunteering role in the Garden...

Derek McClure recently won the Ards and North Down In Bloom Volunteer of the Year award for his volunteering efforts. Until recently, he was a voluntary Director of the Accept Care group of companies and was Chair of North Down YMCA, as well as volunteering on Saturdays in the Cancer Focus charity shop in Newtownards, not to mention his volunteering work in Bangor Castle Walled Garden.

Derek started volunteering in various capacities around 60 years ago, when he was 14 years old, but his hobby has always been gardening. He can recall digging in his grandfather's garden when he was just four years old, and a few years later, his father built a greenhouse for him for his eighth birthday.

"I've continued gardening throughout my life," Derek said. "When the opportunity arose to become a volunteer within Bangor Castle Walled Garden, I jumped at the chance. Not only did it allow me to develop my horticultural skills but it also allowed me to put something back into the local community.

"I've always grown a few vegetables on a small plot in my own garden so it seemed like a perfect match to develop more of my skills in the Walled Garden's vegetable patches. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that my biggest problem would come from the crows and pigeons that basically eat everything that's green above the level of the soil!"

Liam Harrington joined the Walled Garden team to spend more time outdoors and contribute to the community. His volunteering work has helped him to expand his gardening knowledge, which he now applies to his own garden.

"I particularly love working in the vegetable plots," Liam said, "especially with some of the more unusual vegetables that are grown in the Walled Garden. It is very rewarding to see everything blossom over spring and summer after putting the effort in during winter. It's a wonderful space to spend a few hours."

Noel Poots has enjoyed Bangor Castle Walled Garden for many years. Shortly after pandemic restrictions eased, Noel was invited to become one of the volunteers at the Garden. He jumped at the chance to get to know more about plants and gardening in general.

"I enjoy being part of the volunteer team," Noel said. "They are a great bunch of people and good fun to work with. I also enjoy getting involved in the wide variety of work in the Garden and enjoy working alongside the knowledgeable and helpful council team. At this time of year, there is a lot of hard work such as cutting back plants, digging out weeds and mulching but then spring arrives and everything in the garden comes alive again!"

Heather Shiell returned to Northern Ireland in 2019 after living abroad for several years. Having previously enjoyed tending to her mother-in-law's garden during the 1990s, complete with vegetable plot and fruit bushes, she returned to her passion after walking through Bangor Castle Walled Garden with a friend.

"I had definitely missed the garden during all the years that I'd been away," Heather said. "In autumn 2022, I was walking with a friend through Bangor Castle Walled Garden and was enjoying the wonderful planting schemes and the autumn colours. We chatted to some people who turned out to be volunteers and I couldn't believe it when they said there was a slot free to become a volunteer.

"I am learning a lot about plants but there are extra benefits like making new friends and being outdoors. We also helped at events such as the springtime 'Awake the Garden',  fun and games days for kids, music nights for adults, helping with wildlife education and sustainable garden practices. Generally, though, every week we're busy digging, cutting, mulching, trimming, planting or cropping. We also meet a wide range of visitors who we love to chat to. It's very heartening to see so many people enjoying the garden and I love being a part of it all."

Taylor Boyd was recently forced to retire from his window cleaning business after 35 years and found he missed working with many of his customers. However, he decided to volunteer and has found a lot of enjoyment in working outside and being with other like-minded individuals.

"I needed something to do and volunteering at Bangor Castle Walled Garden suits me as I was used to being outside. I knew I would be interested in gardening as I created my own garden from scratch. I enjoy making things grow, especially when sometimes I don't know what was going to appear in my garden! I am going to keep volunteering and that will allow me to make new friends and keep busy. I love it."

Ards and North Down Borough Council is currently developing its volunteering opportunities in parks and cemeteries across the Borough. If anyone is interested in volunteering, email andparks@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk or phone 0300 013 333.