Make the most of our parks for Love Parks Week

Love Parks Week 2019 takes place from 12 to 21 July, and is a great chance to make the most of North East Lincolnshire’s parks.

Love Parks Week is an annual event to celebrate and showcase open spaces, which are an important part of our community.

By visiting your local parks, you’re helping to protect them for future generations.

For more information about Love Parks Week, visit: https://keepbritaintidy.org/loveparks or search for #LoveParks on social media.

Councillor Stewart Swinburn, cabinet member for Environment, said:

Local parks and woodlands are great places to get in touch with nature and take in the sights. We pay a lot of care and attention to our maintaining our parks and making sure they’re a safe and welcoming environment for everyone to enjoy. Whether you visit parks to play, walk your dog or just take in the atmosphere, North East Lincolnshire’s parks offer an outdoor sanctuary which is great for health and wellbeing.”

Parks aren’t just for enjoyment, they also provide habitats for numerous species of animals, birds and insects.

Many varieties of tree can be found in North East Lincolnshire, including some which are native to the East Coast.

Cleethorpes Country Park and the Boating Lake host walks and tree trails where you can enjoy the sights and learn more about our local environment.

Other parks where you can follow nature trails include Weelsby Woods, Duke of York Gardens and Victoria Park in Laceby.

For more information and ideas, visit: https://www.nelincs.gov.uk/sports-and-leisure/parks-and-green-spaces/

If you’d like to organise an event in a park, you can register it on the Keep Britain Tidy website.

Hundreds of volunteers give up their time to help look after the area’s parks and it’s a great way to get involved and get active in your community.

Friends of Weelsby Woods is one of the groups which help look after our parks. Volunteers recently installed new benches in the historic woodland, with help from North East Lincolnshire Council.

This year’s Love Parks Week is timed to coincide with the Ørsted Great Grimsby 10k, which finishes in People’s Park on Sunday 21 July.

Thousands of runners and spectators are expected to descend on People’s Park at the finish line of the annual street race.

You can join in the festivities at the free event featuring the Humber Taiko drummers, a climbing wall, a children’s High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT) organised by Walkers Total Fitness and more.

There’s also lots of food and drink to enjoy on the lawn as you watch the runners cross the line.

More information about the race can be found at www.greatgrimsby10k.com