Cumnock Action Plan celebrate a job well done on Woodroad Park

As part of the event they unveiled new information boards and also opened a fairy trail through the woods.

Five years ago the CAP sent out consultation forms to locals, asking what they’d like to see improved in Cumnock, and one of the things that was mentioned by many was the Woodroad Park, and so the CAP set out to make it a more attractive and accessible local resource.

With help from the East Ayrshire Woodlands project the park has since been transformed by the maintenance of paths new and old. One such path was rerouted because of rain problems, and the park has been made accessible for wheelchair users and buggies and prams. Around1,000 trees have been planted too.

Councillor Jim McMahon turned up to thank the team behind the improvements.

John Senior, CAP secretary said of the work East Ayrshire Woodlands did on the park: “They’ve done a tremendous job at trying to improve the park, we worked in close coordination with them and they’ve been very good at listening to what we wanted and putting forward their suggestions.”

John added: “We wanted to thank them and thank Julie and Barry from the Green Action Trust who helped us organise the management plan and Forestry Scotland, who were the main funder for this. As well as all the volunteers who helped us plant around 1,000 trees.”

All those who were directly involved in making improvements to the park were invited along on Monday afternoon (August 2), as well as family members of Cumnock poet John Graham, who passed away in 2019.

Graham had written a poem about the Woodroad Park, which was read out at the event and which has been immortalised on a notice board in the park.

The family of the late John Graham, who wrote a poem about the Woodroad Park, which is now on display, were in attendance.

A key part of the improvements to the park was making it a much more accessible and welcoming environment. To that end, Helen Ng, CAP board member, made sure that a wide range of people were involved in the opening of the fairy trail, with folk young and old making their own tiny fairy doors to be placed on trees in the park. After the messages of thanks had been given, the fairy trail was opened by the 85-year-old Helen Rodgers and it has been well attended since.

Helen Ng said: "We wanted to be all-inclusive so for asking people to make fairy doors, we asked all the groups in the community, groups like the Things Ta Dae club, the senior citizens group and the Zero to One Hundred club, and Riverside and Hillside School, Lisalanna, all these children and elderly people, we asked them if they'd like to make doors for the event, and they were all very happy to do so. Making it all-inclusive was very important to us."

Helen Rodgers, 85, opens the fairy trail.

Helen Ng from Cumnock Action Plan

John Senior says there are a few things outstanding that they’d like to complete, even though their five-year term is over and he says that a new consultation will be issued later on this year to once again seek the opinions of those in Cumnock about the changes and improvements they’d like to see.

Well done to all at the Cumnock Action Plan and all the volunteers that got involved from us at the Cumnock Chronicle.