Three cheers for volunteers making our parks and public spaces better for everyone - Donald Anderson

John Munro, right, planting trees in Inch Park with some of the other Lismore Rugby Club members

I never cease to be inspired by what volunteers do to help transform the city and make it a healthier place to live.

Having been involved in the Friends of Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park for many years, and more recently being involved in helping set up a “friends” group for one of the city’s (indeed Scotland’s) finest parks, Inch Park, I find that volunteers still have the power to provide inspiration.

Lismore Rugby Club is an amazing organisation that has been active in Inch Park for more than 50 years.

It has created four youth teams, of which two are girls teams and two are boys teams.

The club does an amazing job of providing sporting opportunities for people of all ages, but it does even more than that.

Just recently the club organised a clean-up and tree planting in the park.

The clean-up focused in and around the hugely popular children’s play area which was in an awful mess in the aftermath of a children’s party. Lismore members cleared that up, but not before planting trees nearby.

Led by John Munro, club stalwart and former city parks officer, Lismore has been steadily transforming part of the park through successive tree planting.

The trees have been planted and are cared for afterwards.

There is now a healthy mix of trees following no less than 16 years of planting and tender care.

Three cheers for Lismore Rugby Club and all the volunteers who do so much to make our parks and public spaces better for everyone.