Instead of putting up with the eyesore opposite his house, Frank Noble took action. The result of his dedication won him the RHS Britain in Bloom Community Champion award in 2009. Here is his story...
It all started exactly 37 years ago - with the planting of a single chestnut tree and some daffodils in a vacant piece of land.
The plot in question is opposite my house and, nearly four decades later, it is still an important space for me, but also for everyone in the village. I have lived in the same house for 45 years, in Barwick-in-Elmet, a large village six miles east of Leeds. When I first moved here, there was a piece of land that belonged to the highways and was 20 x 150m (66 x 490ft). It was a great place for fly-tippers; any old rubbish was dumped, from Morris Minor carburettors to rusting motorbikes. You name it, I’ve found it.
So instead of putting up with it, I started to convert it into a mini-woodland and, over time, a place for wildlife. Now it boasts owl boxes, insect ‘hotels’, plum trees, honeysuckles, a range of shrubs, selfseeded trees and so on. Everything I have made has been created from recycled materials, found objects – what is the point of using new things when a hammer and screwdriver can put existing material to good use? I have also tried to jolly the place up, reusing anything I can get my hands on; a mangle and old ‘peggy tub’; wheelbarrows planted up with bedding plants; disused flower pots from the local florist; more than 30 pairs of workers’ boots planted up on top of a log pile… and so on. They look good, but I also like the historical link these materials provide, reminding us of a different age, with different values.
I do all this because I enjoy it, of course. It only takes about 10 hours a week to keep on top of it. But I am a part of a larger team, of 18 or so volunteers, who contribute to making this village look great. Every Wednesday morning, those who can meet up in the centre of the village and get stuck in – whether that is planting up pots, sorting out the various compost heaps we have across the place, or weeding and tidying. The piece of land I look after, for my personal interest as well as my immediate neighbour’s, is one part of the jigsaw to improve our village: for the people and the wildlife. What could be more rewarding than that?