Friends of Catton Park

The Friends of Catton Park is a voluntary group supporting the conservation, improvement and use of the physical and natural environment of Catton Park.

Since 2005 the Friends have organised a variety of events and other activities. Our aim is to put on a mix of activities in the Park, which will appeal to a wide range of people, and events elsewhere which are primarily to raise funds. We host the children’s Easter Egg Hunt, which is now an annual fixture in the local calendar, and other activities designed with families in mind such as the Elf and Fairy trail and Christmas Crafts. For adults, our annual programmes have included history, tree identification and early morning bird walks and acoustic music events in the park. At our annual general meetings guest speakers have talked about subjects of interest such as Humphry Repton, Bird Identification and Canine Partners. Our enjoyable fund raising events have included Open Gardens in Old Catton, Quiz and Chips and Race Nights. In 2018 the Friends hosted a number of events to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Humphry Repton.

Over the years the Friends have raised funds for the Trust, either as donations or purchasing specific items. In the past five years the Friends were delighted to give over £13,000 to the Trust. In 2017 the Friends also purchased a defibrillator (AED) for the Park, which is kept in Buxton Lodge. In previous years money raised has been used to purchase items for the Park such as three mature trees to mark the anniversary of Repton’s death, the Storytelling chair carved from an old tree trunk, hazel whips for planting in the Park and the tables in the picnic area. More recently the Friends have donated money for planting shrubs around Buxton Lodge and contributed towards the statue trail created in 2021.