A new series of weekly walks aims to encourage people to explore their local community with fresh eyes over the summer.
The Nature and Neighbourhood Walks will take place each Wednesday morning until August 20 from Station South in Levenshulme, with each one taking place in a different part of the community.
Greenbank Park and Nutsford Vale were the destinations on the first guided tour last week, with Highfield Country Park, the Secret Lake and Cringle Park among the other beauty spots being highlighted.
“Levenshulme is home to so many amazing green spaces including parks, community gardens and alleyways, however lots of people don’t know what’s in their neighbourhood,” said walk organiser Augusta Ward.
“We wanted to link as many of these together and show people how to make their daily walks or commutes more interesting.
“Lots of these greenspaces link together via Levenshulme in Bloom who have been instrumental in organising these walks and showing off their gardens.
“Station South has recently created an Active Travel Map with TfGM; this shows walking and wheeling routes to local parks and highlights low traffic routes – the walks are using as many of these as possible.”
The walks start and end at Station South from 10am, are around two-and-a-half to three miles long and last for roughly 90 minutes using pavements and footpaths. They will visit:
23/7 – Cringle Park
30/7 – West Point Gardens
6/8 – The Secret Lake
13/8 – Crowcroft Park
20/8 – Highfield Country Park
“Knowing about local initiatives can help you meet local people and build community which is very strong in Levenshulme,” Augusta added.
“Spending time outdoors is really beneficial for mental and physical health and gardening in particular can a positive impact on all aspects of health.”
She is also Station South’s gardens coordinator and runs a drop-in gardening session between 10:30am-12:30pm each Thursday.
“People are welcome to just turn up and help out, we always have a range of activities and a brew for all our volunteers.
“We also host other events such as seeds swaps and talks at evenings and weekends.”
