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With the help of numerous local community groups, including The Forest Road Green Belt Gardeners, The Friends of Queen’s Park, Loughborough WI, Purple Pumpkin Patch, and children from Watermead Day Nursery, approximately 6,500 handmade knitted poppies have been used to dress one of the lime trees in front of Loughborough’s war memorial, the Carillon Tower, in Queen’s Park.
Each poppy took approximately half an hour to make and was attached to a tennis net, kindly donated by Tony Jones, contract manager at idverde, and the Charnwood team, to form a blanket to wrap around the tree. In total, the blanket has taken the volunteers around 3,500 hours to complete.
The project was installed in Queen’s Park, on 4th November, and generated a lot of media interest, including BBC East Midlands Today, BBC Radio Leicester, and FOSSE Radio.
The Mayor of Charnwood, Cllr Dr Julie Bradshaw MBE, said:
“This display of thousands of handmade poppies is a moving tribute to those who have lost their lives and served our country. The eye-catching poppies are a real centrepiece of this year’s Remembrance Sunday service and I would like to thank Loughborough in Bloom and all the volunteers that have contributed.”
Chair of Loughborough in Bloom, Pat Cook, said:
“Each year, Loughborough in Bloom wants to pay its respects to those who have served and lost their lives in the armed forces, and this project has been our biggest one yet. It has been a long process with lots of hours put in by so many different groups, but seeing it in place in front of the Carillon Tower is a proud moment for the whole of Loughborough in Bloom.”
“A huge thanks goes out to all the volunteering groups and individuals that have helped handcraft the poppies and helped us during the project. I would particularly like to thank all the staff at idverde for all their help, without whom this project simply would not have happened.”
Recycled bottles, painted by children from Watermead Day Nursery to resemble poppies, form the base of the installation.
Nicola Clarke, Community Engagement Officer at idverde, shares:
“It has been a privilege to work with all the community groups over the past year on this project. We wanted to create a fitting tribute in the lead-up to Remembrance Sunday and to give the public the opportunity to look at the installation and reflect upon the service and sacrifice made by so many men, women, and animals on our behalf. I am delighted and proud that we have been able to achieve this.”
