Brymbo Heritage Project
During my spare time I enjoy volunteering most Sunday at the Brymbo heritage site which is located in the village of Brymbo near Wrexham in North Wales. The site itself is the location of a former iron and steelworks which closed in 1990. Whilst some of the oldest buildings remain, including the stone ‘Old No.1’ furnace from the late 18th century, the area covers a range of interests from an ancient fossil forest (currently being excavated with the help of volunteers) and an ecology area. More information can be found at their website here: http://www.brymboheritage.co.uk
I first became involved with the site when a plan was put forward to plant a heritage apple orchard, which i hope to post more about in the future. I have been tasked with looking after the maintenance of the young orchard as well as advising on pruning.
Whilst working in customers’ gardens in the snow can be a problem, damaging the grass and churning up mud, I can use some of these chilly winter work days to do a bit of volunteering. Current jobs on the site have included clearing a trackway through some of the undergrowth for a narrow gauge railway and to give access to certain areas of the site. This week a chipper was hired in to clear the brash and waste.
Its both nice to spend time on such an amazing site as well as give something back to the community. There is still a lot of work to do and a lot more to discover hidden in the undergrowth.
It is not easy to find volunteers anymore. The Heritage Rose Garden in San Jose could really use more, but everyone living near San Jose must work such long hours at their jobs, or work a few jobs, just to be able to afford to live there. Consequently, volunteers are scarce,, even within a city of more than a million.
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Yes, the volunteers we do have are very dedicated but a lot are retired and we do always need more. We are hoping to get the younger generation involved especially with the orchard project. Any profits from the cider and juice we make goes back into school orchard projects and local events.
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