It’s that time of year for the Autumn bird walk.

Meet at the foot of the steps from Archer Road into the park at 8:00 on Sunday October 29th.

The gentle stroll via the park, Tyzack’s Dam and part of Ecclesall Woods should last about two and a half hours. There will be binoculars available to borrow. 

2023 is off to a flying start – it was great to see such a range of interested volunteers turn out to help plant the new arboretum and the wetland area hedge, a big thank you to all who came along.
Below are the upcoming events this spring, and we hope to see you at some or all of them.
We wlecome all members to get in touch if you have noticed anything in the park that needs some Friends attention, just email us anytime!

Spring cleaning!
Join us on Sunday 16 April 10.30-12.00, for our Spring clean in the park. Meet by the cafe, where you can collect litter picks, sacks and gloves, Children must be supervised.
Any time you can spare to help makes a massive difference. We look forward to seeing you there!

Spring Gardening Event
On Saturday 22 April 10.00-12.00 we will be getting our gloves muddy!
Meet at Sensory Garden and Wetland Wildlife Area. Sow wild flowers and plant shrubs and herbs. All welcome. Children must be supervised. Bring your own forks, trowels and gloves if you have them but we can supply them if not.

Spring bird walk
On Sunday 30 April we have our spring bird walk. Meet at 8am at the foot of the steps into the park from Archer Road. An easy-paced walk through the park returning through part of Ecclesall Woods. All welcome. Children must be supervised. The walk should last about two and a half hours. Pete Brown, the walk leader, has a number of pairs of binoculars to borrow on the day.

All interested folk are welcome to join the next Millhouses Park Bird Watching Walk on Sunday 30 October.

Meet at 8am at the foot of the steps into the park from Archer Road. The walk is a fairly leisurely stroll through the park to Tyzack’s Dam and back through Ecclesall Woods, and should take about two and a half hours. Binoculars will be available to borrow

There is some great footage of Millhouses Park (and other City parks) on this great archive footage on the BFI player. Shot in the 1960’s it shows how popular the park has always been with great scenes of the old paddling pools (now where the fish pass is) and also the old slide and geometric climbing frame.

you can watch it for free at (Millhouses Park is at 6:40 onwards)!

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-sheffield-parks-and-gardens-1964-online

We are very excited to be starting a new project this week to improve the park. What has been a flooded patch of grass for many years is about to become a wildlife wetland/scrub area. Located between the sensory garden and the path, it will have a wetlend area, native wildflowers and new landscaping, with oak fencing and native hedging to keep both the park users and the wildlife safe. Not only will it become a beautiful improvement, it will reduce flooding and increase biodiversity. In the short term it may look a bit of a muddy hole, but bear with us!

As always, this doesn’t come for free. If you would like to make a donation towards the project, please visit our fundraising page here. We are fundraising to contribute to the cost of the planting, fencing and hedges, so every little helps.

We are very pleased to say that our local birdman and Friend of Millhouses Park, Pete Brown, has published ‘The Northumbrian Garden Parrot’; a semi-autobiography with a lot of local references and interesting tales of bird-watching around the world. Many of you will have followed Pete on his bird-walks through Millhouses Park and Ecclesall Woods.

The book costs £10 (a bargain according to the author!) with any profits going towards our efforts to raise funds for a new children’s climbing frame in the park.

Please email Pete at brownpl38@gmail.com to buy your copy.