‘FRIENDS OF ANGMERING STATION’ WILL BE MAKING A RETURN JOURNEY!

The 2020 project ‘BeeAware and BeeCycle’ may be in suspended mode during these strange times, but the ‘Friends of Angmering Station’ will keep chugging along ( by email and phone of course!) allowing plans to continue at a pace which, in turn, will allow the project to speed ahead once we get the go-ahead to get back to normal.

All involved are looking forward to digging and planting in the newly planned herb garden without having to keep 2 metres apart! Plants are being nurtured in volunteers’ gardens in readiness for planting out.

A poster is being designed to recruit more volunteers to help with this exciting project, funded by ‘Community Rail Network’. Once we are all travelling around again watch out for the ‘recruitment’ posters in the Booking Office……you will be needed!

‘Gladys’, our WW1 figure, who stands proudly in our herb garden will be wearing a new shawl created from recycled plastic waste, fashioned into spring and summer flowers. This has been created by members of our local not for profit art group ‘Artworks’. You may remember the Poppy Shawl worn by Gladys to commemorate WW1 in November; made along similar lines and much admired by passengers and Station Staff alike.

Thanks to Southern Water, who donated a water butt (installed by GTR), one of the most time consuming tasks of last summer (carrying cans of water over the footbridge and across the level crossing) will be considerable easier….in fact the volunteers are keen for the garden to need watering!  The rainwater harvesting is also in line with the environmentally friendly ethos of the group and of the Community Railway Partnership organisation.

 

The local youth group and their leaders, Charlie and Grace, are working on prototypes of planters created from plastic bottles. Using the technique of ‘Eco Bricks’ which involves cramming as much non-recyclable plastic as possible into plastic bottles to form rigid, study and long lasting units they are designing shapes that, once filled with plants, will enhance the platform gardens and reinforce the message of reusing plastics.

The young people in the Youth Group and the children from Georgian Gardens Community Primary School who created the prototypes earlier in the year, are keen to get back into production and to play their part in enhancing the environment of our community station. There is also a planned poster competition for children. They will be asked to promote travelling sustainably by train and bike; something we’ll all be looking forward to being able to do once more. There will be great prizes of Family Day Rail Passes so, once back to normal, watch out for the promotion in the Booking Office at Angmering Station. The posters will make a great display there, as the children’s artwork always does.

 

Good wishes to all, from all members of ‘Friends of Angmering Station’ and safe travel to those still needing to use the railway.