RESIDENTS in West Auckland are being urged to flex their creative muscles to bring some cheer to the village this festive season.
Not satisfied with simply beautifying the green with planters and bulbs, West Auckland-in-Bloom volunteers have taken it upon themselves to lift the Christmas spirits by creating a Santa’s grotto for children and launching a new painted-pebble trail.
The grotto has been installed along a pathway regularly used by children from Oakley Cross Primary School.
The display includes elves, snowmen, Christmas trees, Santas and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.
Evelyn Sewell, from the group, said: “Virtually everything is handmade. It was the idea of Audrey Beck, one of our members – she just thought it would be nice to cheer the children as they walk to and from school.”
Fellow volunteer Jean Pattison added: “It hasn’t cost us a thing. It is stuff we have in the garage like plant pots and pieces of wood.”
The group has hung messages in nearby trees and are encouraging other people in the village to add their own messages too.
Ms Sewell came up with idea of a painted pebble trail after seeing something similar outside a community centre in another village.
Volunteers have since been gathering pebbles and stones from their gardens and washing and disinfecting them so that people can collect them from the Pant, on the village green, to paint.
Once painted the stones are placed around the border of the memorial to create a trail.
Ms Sewell said the trail will be a reminder of what people went through 2020 and particularly the coronavirus pandemic and consequent lockdown.
She added: “It is not about how good you are [at painting], it is about giving people something to do. It is to give childminders, parents and grandparents something to do together with their children.”
Those who would like to take part can collect a pebble from a box placed at the Pant.
