The team from the Isle of Wight Council Parks and Countryside Department were today basking in the enthusiasm from the team at the Royal Parks who are visiting the Island this week.
As you might guess, the Royal Parks team know a thing or two about encouraging plants, given that they look after Hyde Park, St James’ Park, Kensington Gardens, Richmond Park, hence the reason there’s such value in the IWC Parks and Countryside Department working with the Royal Parks.
It sounds like they’ve been touring the Island, seeing some of the highlights and generally being impressed with what they’ve seen, as Matthew Chatfield, Manager of Parks and Countryside at the Isle of Wight Council put it, “It’s really nice to be reminded that people who come there think that there’s something really special going on, on the Isle of Wight.”
In these times of belt-tightening, it sounds like the whole thing is a bargain, “this isn’t costing anyone anything. We’re just sharing our skills and knowledge with our colleagues. We’re not talking of building anything or buying anything,” Matthew told VentnorBlog this afternoon.
IWC Parks and Countryside staff will get to swap their skills and experience with those at the Royal Parks, learning how they organise events, work with their contractors and volunteers, etc.
As Matthew said, the whole thing is a, “great way to develop the skills of Island people and people working on the Island, without having to spend money.”
It’s amazing what can happen when people work together. [audio:http://otw-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/matthew-chatfield-royal-parks-visit.mp3]
