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Welcome to the Friends of Castle Park website, a hub for news, activities and events in your local park. The Castle Park Project is entering its last phase as it transforms in to the ultimate community park supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Community Fund.

The Friends of Castle Park are always looking for new members to volunteer for conservation and archaeology activities. Volunteer for an hour or two as you have time, or come along to regular activities, these are generally monthly. Check here for dates of coming events.

There are multiple activities as part of the project and something for everyone to participate in and enjoy. You can keep up to date with the Castle Park project through our Facebook page.

Conservation Group

We are a small group of local people who are interested in wildlife and conservation and enjoy spending time in Castle Park. We undertake activities that enhance the environment for the benefit of wildlife and park users.

We usually hold an activity every 1 or 2 months throughout the year. Volunteers can choose which activities they participate in and there is no commitment that requires you to attend every time.

Activities are usually held on a mixture of week day mornings or Saturday mornings, normally between 10:30 and 12:00. We provide the tools required and will give an introduction to the task and a safety briefing before each event. We often finish with a sociable lunch or drink in Bishop’s Stortford after the event.

We also organise guided walks in Castle Park and have recently held nature walks, bat walks and have had events focussing on winter tree identification, fungi and taking nature photographs on a mobile phone.

The main conservation activities include:

• Clearing vegetation on the Castle Mound,
• Pulling out the invasive species, Himalayan Balsam, from the banks of the River Stort,
• Litter picking,
• Tree and hedgerow planting and maintenance,
• Clearing nettles.

You can also get involved by helping to organise an activity or leading or marshalling an event or helping to provide publicity for our events through designing posters or using social media.

To find out more please email Chris Brolly: focp.conservation@gmail.com

Archaeology Group

We are a small and friendly group who have been carrying out excavations in the park under the supervision and guidance of professional archaeologists.

We are currently preparing for our fourth community dig in the area around the castle mound.  The dig will be held 1-12 July 2024. We are looking for volunteers to assist in a variety of roles including

• hand excavation to find out what lies beneath the ground
• recording of archaeological finds
• cleaning and processing of finds
• research and field work to identify possible locations to excavate
• carry out the recording of the excavations and assist in preparing a report of the work carried out.

No previous experience is necessary, training will be provided.

To find out more please email: focp.archaeology@gmail.com

The Friends of Castle Park would be delighted to receive new ideas and are open to adding monthly events to the calendar as well as larger annual events.

£2.5m was awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Community Fund for the Castle Park Project. This will enable East Herts Council and their partners Bishop’s Stortford Town Council and the Countryside Management Service to deliver detailed enhancements to Castle Park. Vast improvements are planned to ensure accessibility, diversity and community engagement, whilst raising awareness and interest in the rich heritage of Castle Park.