CONSERVATION & ECOLOGY
Golf Course and Park Manager Alan Merricks
history,” Viv declares, a charity fundraising specialist. “People as far afield as Canada and America wanted to help. Others recall happy times playing in the Woods as children and were only too pleased to pledge support after hearing the broadcasts. Three brothers, who had picked up the Radio 4 programme, remembered sledging here as a family years ago.” “There’s nothing like a financial hardship story to rouse people’s concern about a much-loved local amenity. For as little as £2 a month, supporters can help protect us against disasters.”
Viv runs a team of twelve to help her manage Warley Woods day to day from the Pavilion - a “temporary” structure erected seventy years ago and scheduled for replacement under a proposed redevelopment plan. Warley Woods is run as a public park, whose financial sustainability largely depends on a £70,000 Sandwell Council annual grant - “our bedrock”, public donations and Landfill Tax grants for capital improvement projects. “We have to earn our own keep. Nothing’s ever assured.” A loyal member base now numbering 1,300 helps too.
A new lifeline entered the equation earlier this year - a £100,000 National Lottery Heritage grant, which covers the salary of environmentalist Doug Barber for the next two and a half years.
In bidding for the grant, the Trust commissioned a six-month site survey from Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust.
“His brief is to understand the wildlife 30 PC August/September 2020
here and to engage with staff, volunteers and visitors, Viv explains. “We’re here to get on and move forward, and Doug’s aim is to leave Warley Woods in a sustainable state - educating and training staff and volunteers so that, when he leaves, they can continue the strategy he has put in place.” Within that gameplan is planned a move towards re-establishing former features and creating new habitats. A wildflower meadow is a key priority, as is creating a body of water to replace the Repton designed pond that graced Warley Woods when Warley Abbey, built in 1820, stood as its centrepoint. “Creating the meadow and a new pond will improve micro-level wildlife diversity,” adds Viv, who is unashamedly excited about the prospects and opportunities Doug’s tenure holds for a beloved environment she lives and breathes.
“The project will include surveying birdlife, butterflies, moths and bats and other fauna we attract here,” Viv adds. Due to kick off in April, the programme stalled when lockdown hit but, as measures ease, it will spark into life, she predicts.
Managing volunteers is an evolving process. Charged with tasks as diverse as litter-picking, running events and monitoring site flora and fauna, they can build new layers of involvement over time, she adds. “Often, a volunteer may come to us with a wish to help with a single activity but, as they learn more about Warley Woods, they develop skills and broaden their interest base. We do try to let them engage with the activities they love as much as we can, because that encourages them to remain committed to us.”
Two worlds
Grounds management of the site presents an unusual picture. “Unlike most local councils, who usually run split teams for parks and golf courses, we manage Warley Woods with a single team,” says Viv. Heading it is Golf Course and Park Manager Alan Merricks, whose career before he arrived here in 2015 had been steeped in golf. Viv sat on the recruitment panel that appointed Alan.
“He has a real passion for the site and brought with him a meticulous approach to grounds management learnt at private golf clubs and is applying it across the course
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