Volunteering opportunities at Hanley Park

With our £5.8m restoration project gathering pace in 2017 (and due for completion next year) there's never been a better time to get involved as a volunteer and Friend of Hanley Park.

Read on to find out more about the opportunities to get involved and help the park to prosper well into the future.

Our restoration project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund through their Parks for People programme, thanks to National Lottery players across the UK.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am, we welcome all abilities of gardener and helper to get involved and help us to improve the look and feel of the park for our 993,000 annual visitors, as well as developing habitats for wildlife.

Projects can include planting, pruning, path laying, graffiti removal, litter picking and occasional leaflet delivery to help shout about the work our volunteers do and spread the word about our exciting park restoration.

Our groups currently meet at the former bowls pavilion close to the canal. To find us, starting from the play areas and north car park, simply follow the main path through the park, cross the canal by the bandstand, and look over to your right.

In 2017, Hanley Park will host well over 100 activities and events (not including those that run weekly). These range from walks for a handful of people to bandstand concerts and annual institutions like Six Towns Carnival.

Our volunteers work with us throughout the year at times to suit their needs, and help to plan and deliver some of these events. They also play a big role in helping to promote the improvements to the park or run small activities at our promotional stalls.

There's a strong emphasis on celebrating and exploring the park's wildlife, ecology and heritage, so if you'd like to get involved, please do get in touch using the details below.

With the restoration of the park's historic buildings and landscape under way, we're itching to uncover and celebrate more of our past.

Whether your interest is in recording oral history with long-time park users, or delving more deeply into the archives, we'd love to hear from you.

The better we understand Hanley Park's history, the more we can celebrate the huge the park has played in the lives of local people since 1894.

Let's work together to make sure it lasts for another 100 years and beyond.

Friends of Hanley Park is a constituted community group that works with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to improve the park for all of our communities.

Many of our volunteers choose to become members of the group, which plays a key role in supporting events and gardening projects throughout the year

Friends of Hanley Park work hard to bid for funds, help to lead our volunteer groups, provide a 'volunteer voice' and keep an eye on all things Hanley Park.

Open meetings for 2017 take place at the former bowls pavilion by the canal on:

• Saturday, February 11 - AGM
• Saturday, April 8
• Saturday, June 10
• Saturday, August 12
• Saturday, October 7
• Saturday, December 9

To find us, simply cross the canal by the bandstand and look over to your right.

These dates may be subject to change.