Are your Christmas decorations up or is it still too early? We know it’s not too early for one Derbyshire village as we were able to give a helping hand last week by planting a Christmas tree for everyone to enjoy.
The tree was put in by our grounds maintenance team on a large green space that we own on Danesby Crescent, Denby where we were joined by Parish Councillor, Matt Waterfall. Councillor Waterfall contacted us last year after residents had said how nice a Christmas tree would be for this space after it was used by Denby Bottles Methodist Church for a successful carol service.
Our elves have been busy this year to try and make the Christmas wish come true and, thanks to a donation we received from Efficiency East Midlands (EEM) to spend on our communities, the seed of an idea was able to blossom.
Janene Haywood, Community Engagement Project Delivery Officer at Futures said: “Beyond the physical action of planting a tree, supporting this project was about what it will bring and add to the community. The local area is actively supported by Councillor Waterfall, and Denby Bottles Methodist Church provide a variety of community activities. So, when the request came through and we got to understand the deeper impact of planting a tree on the communal space it was an absolute yes!”
Councillor Waterfall said: “As well as a place for the community to gather for future carol services, the tree sits as a centre piece and will grow alongside the local children in the coming years. The children have already made their feelings known and told me they’d like to put some decorations on it which we’ll help arrange.
“I would like to say thank you to Futures for supporting this idea, as it highlights a great working relationship between Denby Parish Councillors and Futures in delivering improvements for the residents of Denby.”
Janene added: “As the tree grows and each year the community comes together to decorate, celebrate and sing around it, it represents the strength and growth of the community too. It’s been a pleasure to support this and the EEM donation enables us to help community projects that count to customers and their local areas.”
