Community rallies round after park wildfire
BBCA community clean-up has been held at a Sheffield park devastated by fire.
The 13 August blaze at Manor Fields Park left around a third of the park scorched and bare.
Once part of the Great Sheffield Deer Park, the site spreads over 24 hectares and features meadows, woodlands, and sculptures.
"Seeing the blackness of the park was heart-wrenching," Diane Cairns, secretary of Friends of Manor Fields Park, said.
The blaze, which is not thought to have been started deliberately, destroyed part of a wildflower meadow, originally designed by renowned horticulturalist Nigel Dunnett.
The professor of planting design and urban horticulture at the University of Sheffield, who died earlier this year, was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in contemporary landscape design.
The chief executive of social enterprise Green Estate, which manages the site after rejuvenating the space in 2003, said she was hopeful the majority of the grassland would return quickly.
"One third of the park has been damaged, but two thirds of the park is still looking fantastic," explained Roz Davies.
The litter-picking event was co-organised by Green Estate, Friends of Manor Field Park, and Manor After School Kids Klub (MASKK).
Cairns was born and bred in the area and said she was hopeful for its future.
"In the 1980s it was a no-go area and there were burnt out cars but now we've got the 12th year of the Green Flag Award," she added.
"There's hardly any litter, that's because local people look after it."
More than 75 people joined the clean-up effort, including Sophie Bennet, who organises the Sheffield Castle Parkrun.
"I think it's nice to come in solidarity to show there's a lot of people that care about the park and use it regularly. Without it we don't have a parkrun," she said.
Despite the damage to the park, MASKK has continued to use the site to host school holiday schemes and outdoor activities.
Organisers decided to integrate fire safety and prevention into their forest school lessons.
"Since the fire it's been really sad, but we're helping to rebuild the park and get it back to how it was before and even better," said Emma Okpalaeke from the group.
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