Get Out More is a social enterprise running outdoor programmes to help people engage with nature to feel better about themselves in mind and body.  As a social enterprise they reinvest any profit they make back into the communities in which they work.  Last year they made a small profit which they have used to provide some free outdoor activities in Keighley. And with the small amount of money left they would like to use it to support conservation or other work in the woods which they are lucky enough to use.  Get Out More have enjoyed visiting Park Wood a few times with 2 local groups and they have decided to make a donation of £100 to Friends of Park Wood.

They are also making donations to Friends of St Ives and Friends of Northcliffe Woods (they'd like to donate to Middleton Woods in Ilkley, but sadly it doesn't seem to have any Friends!)

Friends of Park Wood fully support the aims of Get Out More.  We are heartened when as a social enterprise 'you put your money where your mouth is' and re-invest in the local community. 

It is impossible to say just yet what the money will be spent on but we have a number of projects lined-up and we predict it will be spent on one of these priorities:

• Dry stone wall repair (dry stone wall is a fantastic habitat for small birds, invertebrates and plants; repairing it is also a clear statement that the wood is cared for).
• Glade creation (allowing light in by felling a few dominant trees and allowing them to decay; thus providing the energy and nutrients for a range of new species
• Pond creation (increasing the biodiversity value of the whole woodland by providing standing water essential for some invertebrate species)
• Signage (for information and again as a statement that the wood is valued)
• Regular work parties and social events (we will always need replacement tools and to take time out to enjoy the wood ourselves!)
  

Here are some memories shared by Keith, a local Keighley resident ...

"I was brought up on Parkwood Street in the 1950's and early 1960's. My parents ran a shop at the top of Thorn Street. My friends & I used to play in and around the woods. We used to sledge down from the top of the woods(where the houses are now but which were just farmer's fields then). We came down the cobbled path, across the muck road at the top (Kendal Street) and quite often down Dundas Street (or one of those streets), across Parkwood Street (in the days before traffic) and down the street opposite (no longer there), before coming to rest. It was a long walk back up.

In those days there were no trees below the quarry; the wood stopped at almost the top of the quarry. We were able to sledge down the hill at the side of the quarry and come to rest in the play area where the swings are.

We went 'progging' in the Wood. Something no doubt frowned upon now, but which gave us large bonfires.

As I got older I played cricket at Long Lee Cricket Club and we cricketers from Parkwood Street used to walk up through the woods on the cobbled path to play cricket and then walk back down again.
I remember the workers from Dean, Smith & Grace and other firms using the footpath to walk to and from work daily.

I always seem to remember the wood as being very open. There was always room to play our games in there.

My mother lived at Parkwood Top Farm when she was young. She used to walk down the side of the wood where the flats are now on her way to work. There were pens down there where the workers kept hens, pigs, ducks, etc.

I remember some of my friends in their early teens camping in the woods in summer (that was never my idea of a bit of fun!)."