Consett Youngsters Get on the Nature Trail

Youngsters in Consett will be getting their hands dirty this spring creating a nature trail and mulch paths after winning a green grant from Northern Gas Networks.

The Friends of Blackhill Park have been awarded £2,000 from Northern Green Networks, an environmental scheme run by the region’s gas pipeline company.

They will use the funding to create a nature and art trail which will run through a currently overgrown part of the park. Local schools and youth groups will be getting involved building bird and bat boxes, planting wildflowers and creating mulch paths.

The Friends of Blackhill Park is a voluntary organisation and has beaten tough competition from green groups around the region to secure the funding. Northern Green Networks is now in its second year and has this year donated over £60,000 to 23 projects.

Maria McArdle from the group said: “This grant is fantastic news for us. It will allow us to breath new life into a previously neglected area of the park and create a nature trail for the whole community to enjoy. “

Presenting the funding from Northern Gas Networks, Deborah Yewdall, said: “Northern Green Networks was designed to support local community groups who are getting out there and making a real difference to their environment and their community - this is especially true of the Friends of Blackhill Park.”