Junior Rangers are doing great work across park

My name is Rachel and I have been trained as a volunteer's leader by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust in conjunction with Derby City Parks and am one of the leaders of Allestree Park's Junior Rangers.

- WITH RACHEL HORTON, FRIENDS OF ALLESTREE PARK

We currently have up to 15 secondary school aged young volunteers who work on the park once a month.

They fulfil many of the jobs that the park rangers also do.

The Junior Rangers are a great group of people, they work enthusiastically and we have never yet had to encourage them to get on with the job.

They are a joy to be with and disappointed when the session is over!

We get a very positive reaction from other park users, who seem surprised and pleased to see teenagers working so hard and with obvious enjoyment, volunteering and keeping the park safe, and people and wildlife friendly.

You, too, may have seen them on the park, planting trees, pushing back bramble, balsam-bashing and clearing rhododendron, to name but a few of their activities.