Friends of the Cherries Community Garden

29/04/2026

What a lovely day we had at our very first Adults Craft & Chat session!

We spent a relaxed afternoon chatting over a brew, painting pebbles, and enjoying the beautiful surroundings of the Cherries Community Garden.
It was wonderful to meet so many new faces, and even more special to see strangers leave as friends.
A huge thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a warm, welcoming event. We hope you’ll join us again soon!

Keep an eye on our page for details of the next session, we’d love to see you there!

28/04/2026

Tomorrow! (Wed 29th April)

Come along and join us for a relaxed Chat and Craft session at the Cherries Community Garden tomorrow from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm.
This informal adult session is set up as a welcoming public living room, where you can drop in, have a chat, enjoy simple creative activities, and spend time in good company.
We will have paints, stones for painting, colouring books, pens, pencils, and sketching paper available. We may even have a go at pom-poms to hang in the trees. No experience needed, take part as much or as little as you like.
Tea, water and cordial will be available.
The session is free of charge and open to all adults. Come along, take a seat, have a brew, and enjoy good company in the garden. We are looking forward to meeting new friends.
Resources have been kindly funded by Wigan Council through Brighter Borough and community funding, with special thanks to Councillor Lawrence Hunt for his support.

The forecast is looking glorious, so please remember to bring high-factor sunscreen 🌞

23/04/2026

Join us next Wednesday 29 April at 1pm for a Chat and Craft session in the Cherries Community Garden.

This first session of the season is aimed at adults and will be set up as a welcoming public living room space where people can come together, have a chat, enjoy some simple crafts, and spend time in good company outdoors.

The session is free of charge and everyone is very welcome.

Come along, take a seat, have a brew and a natter, and help us make the garden a friendly place to gather.

We look forward to seeing you there.

31/03/2026

At The Cherries Community Garden, tucked just off busy Wigan Lane, one of the main arterial roads into Wigan, nature is quietly getting on with its work.

We have been watching a nuthatch busy at one of our bird boxes, carefully making the entrance smaller with mud. This is a remarkable but perfectly natural behaviour. Nuthatches do this to make the hole just the right size for themselves, helping keep out larger birds and making the nest safer for eggs and chicks.

It is a lovely reminder that, even alongside the noise and traffic of a main road, The Cherries remains a quiet oasis for wildlife. Small spaces like this can make a real difference, giving birds and other creatures somewhere to feed, shelter and breed.

We will be keeping an eye on the boxes over the coming weeks and hoping this is the start of a successful nesting season.
Make sure you zoom in to see the nuthatch more clearly.

12/09/2025

📅 Saturday 13 September, 12–4pm
📍 Haigh Woodland Park

Celebrate the launch of ‘Snail on Me’, a new public artwork by Anne Duk Hee Jordan and the second part of UP Projects’ Bodies of Water.

The free event features new artworks by Dustin Lyon and Magpahi, performances and workshops by Zephie, Everything Human Rights Kubatana Dance Group, Groundwork, and The Frog Performer, plus a conversation with the artist.
Co-curated with local Community Ambassadors, the programme highlights water, biodiversity, and the power of collective creative action. Free and open to all.

25/07/2025

Fabulous free family activity tomorrow in the plantations … combining nature and art.
Need to book a place via Eventbrite.

Aliens Swimming Beside Us - Family pond dipping safari with Groundwork and artist Dustin Lyon

Dive into the hidden world beneath the water’s surface with this interactive family-friendly workshop led by environmental charity Groundwork. Join us for one of two pond dips as part of the Bodies of Water project that launches at Haigh Hall on September 13th. You'll discover the fascinating invertebrates that inhabit our local waters and Groundwork’s environmental experts will guide you in identifying these creatures and explain what their presence reveals about the health of our aquatic ecosystems.

This hands-on exploration not only offers a glimpse into the biodiversity of Haigh Hall but also contributes to an artwork. The observations and findings from the day will inspire Dustin Lyon’s upcoming immersive digital art installation, set to debut at the Bodies of Water launch event 13th September.

First pond dip:
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 1.30pm-3.30pm
Cost: free. Booking essential.
Location: Boat House near Haigh Canal Bridge (60) What3Words ///fetch.faded.units
Book on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-pond-dipping-safari-tickets-1501921701239?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Second pond dip:
Date: Saturday 26th July
Time: 10am-12pm
Cost: free. Booking essential.
Location: Meeting by the bridge over River Douglas near Haigh Plantation Gates. What3Words ///sweep.stones.enter
Book on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-pond-dipping-safari-tickets-1501911771539?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Wear appropriate footwear for being by the water (walking shoes or similar), and weather appropriate clothing, bring flasks or water bottles if needed. Children must be accompanied by an adult and watched at all times.
There are no public toilets near the river Douglas but The Gates cafe, 200 Wigan Lane is a short walk away with refreshments and facilities.

The closest public toilet facilities and refreshments to the canal are a 30 mins walk to the Stables at Haigh Hall.

The River Douglas is not accessible to wheelchair users and terrain is not suitable for prams, the closest bench is a short walk to the bridge.

The Canal is not ideal for wheelchair users due to slope on bridge, it can be accessed by pram. There are no benches close by.
Please cancel your ticket if you cannot attend to free up places for other people.

About Groundwork: Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire & Merseyside is a charity dedicated to creating a fair and green future in which people, places, and nature thrive. Through practical projects, Groundwork empowers communities to improve their local environments and promote sustainability.

About the artist: Dustin Lyon is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in immersive site-specific installations that blend sculpture, light, video projections, and sound. His work creates ethereal environments that merge scientific understanding with the supernatural, inviting audiences to experience hidden dimensions of the natural world.

Curated and produced by UP Projects ‘Bodies of Water’ is a site-specific public art commission by German/Korean artist Anne Duk Hee Jordan, which will unfold across two locations in England A la Ronde in Exmouth, East Devon and Haigh Hall in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 2025. Dustin’s work will be part of the launch event for this public work.

24/07/2025

Setting the Record Straight 🌳

We were devastated to discover last Saturday morning, just ahead of our Bee Day celebrations, that several of our young cherry trees had been deliberately damaged. The bark had been stripped, branches snapped, and sadly, it’s unlikely these trees will survive.

Out of respect for the families attending the event, we chose to carry on quietly and not let it overshadow a lovely day. However, now that the damage is being discussed publicly on other pages, we feel it’s right to clarify what happened.

This was not caused by wildlife or deer. The damage occurred during a large gathering the previous day, when numerous children were seen in the garden, with several people (including parents) present at the time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just tree damage, plants were trampled, rocks thrown into the pond, and more.
We won’t be naming individuals or schools publicly, but we want the community to know that we are addressing it appropriately and directly. What matters most now is that it doesn’t happen again.

💚 Our garden is a shared space, looked after entirely by volunteers who give their time freely.
💚 Please, if you visit, treat it with care.
💚 Talk to children about respecting nature and the efforts that go into creating spaces like this.

We are heartbroken, but we’re not giving up. Thank you to everyone who continues to support us.

Friends of the Cherries Community Garden

19/07/2025

🐝 What a Buzzing Day! 🐝

We had a brilliant time at our Bee Day event today! Huge thanks to everyone who came along and made it so special.

A big shoutout to Derek, our local bee expert, for his absolutely enthralling presentation and hive demonstration..we all learned so much about these amazing little pollinators and their hives 🐝

We were blown away by the fantastic bee-themed creations from the children who were so imaginative!

🌻 Massive thanks to the amazing volunteers who worked hard to bring today to life, to Cllr Lawrence Hunt for his continued support, and most of all, to our wonderful community for helping us make the Cherries,Community Garden such a special place 🍒

Here’s to many more days like this..watch this space! 🐝🌸

18/07/2025

18/07/2025

🐝 REMEMBER 🐝
We’re Buzzing for Bee Day Tomorrow!
Saturday 19th July, 1-5pm, Cherries Community Garden

Come and join us for a bee-autiful afternoon of fun, facts, and family-friendly activities in the garden!

We’re thrilled to welcome local bee expert Derek, who will be sharing his amazing knowledge about these fascinating pollinators. (No live bees) While the bees themselves are busy making honey, Derek will be:
🍯 demonstrating how a hive is built
🌼 explaining how honey is made
🐝 telling us all about the wonderful world of bees!

Plus:
🤹‍♀️ Play activities
🎨 Bee-themed arts & crafts
☕ Refreshments and scrumptious honey cake

Children can scatter their own bee bombs, decorate our trees, or take home their bee creations as special keepsakes.

🌦 Don’t worry about the weather, we’ll be sheltered come rain or shine thanks to our three brand new gazebos, kindly funded by the Wigan Council Community Fund.💚

🌻 Free entry, but donations are very welcome (cash or QR code) to help us keep buzzing!

Let’s celebrate the bees, learn something new, and enjoy the garden together.
Please share and help spread the word! 💛