Diwali was a confirmed success this year again across the City.

A free event based in and around Nottingham Lakeside Arts built on the success of last years first ever Diwali on Highfields Park. The event included a fire installation, tealight Rangoli, Mehndi and also Diyas-making which were then floated on the lake creating a beautiful spectacle on the water.

There was also a parade of light led by Dhol drummers which featured local school children and their lanterns.

Over 2000 people attended the event despite the rainy forecast. The clouds finally abated however in time for the parade which marked the start of the event allowing all the festivities to flourish. 

Many other schools got involved in Diwali across the city including these children from Year 3 at Blue Bell Hill Primary School in St. Ann's.

Ranger Steve D. led the classes in the making of their own clay Diyas. The class decorated them inside and then went outside to add natural art decorations to them.

The University of Nottingham Conservation Society have made an exciting discovery at Highfields Park.

The student volunteers have been working with Ranger Steve C. in the parks' dense woodland area clearing vegetation and creating a new path network. Overgrown rhododendrons and bramble were cut back to reveal 8 sockets that appear to be the original base for the uprights of an old bandstand.

The old bandstand is believed to have been part of the original park design layout from the 1920s. It can be seen on this historic picture in the bottom left corner with its original canopy and steps leading up to it. The steps have now been partially uncovered next to one of the sockets and work will continue with the students to uncover the structure over the rest of the academic year. 

The woodland improvements form part of the larger restoration project funded by the Heritage Lottery which will start in the New Year. The parks' ranger Steve C. will be holding two more 'Restoration Rambles' this year where you can learn more about the project.

The dates are Sunday 22 November 1pm and Saturday 5 December 1pm.

For more details visit; www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/whatson

The Park Ranger service has been very active at Green's Windmill and Green's Mill & Garden lately working with Windmill Improvement for Neighbourhood Development (WIND) and Friends of Green's Mill (FOGM).

Improvements have included regeneration of beds outside the mill, tidying of entrance areas and repainting of railings and benches and other features with the help of business volunteers from Boots, Browne Jacobsen, Co-op and Ingeus.

Rangers Simon and Steve D. recently helped out at the Green's Windmill Garden Project of planting a native sapling hedgerow in partnership with the Sustainable Travel Collective and Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens.

The hedgerow was a Wild Harvest pack supplied by the Woodland Trust and included Hazel, Blackthorn, Crab Apple and Dog Rose. Cycle Ride group cycled from Arwright Meadows Community Gardens to deliver the saplings and helped to plant the trees along with Year 6 pupils from Sneinton C Of E Primary School.

Wilderness skills are regularly being imparted to willing recruits at Highfields Park on our monthly sessions.

After the popular Bushcraft Summer School last August, the Young Rangers project is gaining momentum as more and more children (and sometimes their parents) get involved in fire lighting techniques, shelter building, woodland tool use, orienteering and other survival skills.

The monthly sessions take place usually on the first Saturday of the month with the next one set for Saturday 5th December at 11am.

For more information and to book on call the Box Office on 0115 846 7777.

Christmas trees are now available to order from Nottingham City Council’s plant nursery at Woodthorpe Park, home of award-winning Nottingham in Bloom. 

The brand new Woodthorpe Park Plant Shop near the Nursery will open its doors on Saturday 28 November, with special offers for the opening weekend.  

The shop will be packed full of plants, Christmas greenery and gift ideas and will be open from 9am to 3pm every day until Wednesday 23 December. Our expert nursery staff will be on hand to offer advice and to give tips on long-term care of your plants.

There will also be a Festive Family Fun day at the Nursery and shop from 9.30am to 3.30pm on Saturday 12 December.  Entry is free and there will be music, refreshments and more. 

For more details visit; www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/xmastreesales

Christmas in the Arboretum is on course again this year too at the historic Nottingham Arboretum.

The event takes place on Sunday 20th December between 4 and 6pm so why not get in the festive spirit and come along and see the trees all lit up and hear some merry music in the bandstand. 

The bandstand line up includes Johnny and the Raindrops and there will be children’s activities and mince pies and non alcoholic mulled wine will be served by the Friends Group (first come, first served).

Nottingham parks have been buzzing with activity since May with the introduction of the ParkLives project.

ParkLives is a physical activity project funded by Coca Cola GB with the aim of getting one million people active by 2020 across Great Britain. Here in Nottingham over 450 activity sessions took place across 20 parks.

There were all sorts of free activities taking place from yoga to tennis to pond dipping and reggae aerobics. Over 15,000 people ended up taking part this year and the project will return in 2016 packed with lots more activities and events.

To keep up to date with when the fun starts again visit www.parklives.com and sign up to the website. Alternatively if you would just like to find out more or to be involved, you can email parklives@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Nature in Mind is a Framework service funded by a grant from The Big Lottery that offers a wide range of nature-related opportunities in Nottingham to people who would otherwise have difficulty accessing them. 

They've had a busy summer attending a variety of events, one of which held the opportunity to host a workshop at the ‘Healthy by Nature’ conference organised by OPAL at the University of Nottingham. The event was attended by a diverse mix of people such as garden designers and psychiatrists. There is recent evidence being gathered by researchers to show the links between green space and wellbeing and the importance of communities having access to quality green areas such as local parks.

Nature in Mind have been working with the Park Ranger service at many different activities including bushcraft sessions and community garden workshops with Ranger Matt and a visit to the Green's Windmill community garden with Ranger Simon.  

Their sessions continue as usual over the winter months and the project is always keen to welcome new members. Visit www.frameworkha.org/natureinmind to find out more.

Dedicated local residents are the life blood of our parks and natural spaces and regularly help to keep them looking pristine.

Simon Birmingham from Friends of Vernon Park is just one of many who are willing to give up their time in tasks such as this where he helps groundsman John to resurface the woodland walk in Vernon Park.

If you would like to help out with similar projects or be involved with the Friends Group please contact either Ranger Simon using the details below or pop over and see John at the park.