A community group in Royton is hosting a Springwatch event this weekend to promote and raise funds.

The public has been invited to visit on Sunday (May 15) from 1pm to 3pm at Royton Linear Park, known locally as the ‘Railway Track’.

The day’s events will be packed with activities from children’s crafts and face painting to planting and seed bomb making.

There will be stalls of home-baked food and other goodies which will go towards fundraising for the maintenance of the park.

Wildlife experts are also on the line-up to reveal all about the insects, hedgehogs, birds, butterflies and even spotted bats that reside there.

The team behind the event, Friends of Royton Linear Park, are local residents.

Since the group was established 12 months ago, the team have been working hard to keep the green space free from litter.

The Oldham Times: The green space is beautiful and brimming with wildlife. Photo by Shirley Brown.The green space is beautiful and brimming with wildlife. Photo by Shirley Brown.

They have been determined to create a wildlife corridor and it seems their efforts are finally paying off.

Shirley Brown, a leader and organiser of the group, said: “With only 12 months since our group formed, it's fantastic to note the difference.

“Feedback from residents is so positive – ‘it’s so much more cared for and cleaner’, referring to our litter picking efforts, and ‘it feels safer’ with more users and a maintained environment.”

Ms Brown added that it is now ‘peaceful’ due to the influx of birds and their birdsong in the green patch - and anti-social behaviour is less frequent.

For the past week, the team have been getting ready for the big day and has planted more than 40 fruit bushes and almost 20 fruit trees to create a mini orchard for the benefit of the community.

Fittingly, Ms Brown said they organised the bushes into blocks of red, white and blue, while the trees are 'English pudding' varieties to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this coming June.

Ms Brown added: “We have an ambitious action plan and have already achieved some of the things on it.

“We have received some funding to start planting fruit trees and establish a bluebell wood.

“Of course, we’ve so much more to do – but we’ve forged strong working relationships with partners such as First Choice Homes Oldham, local garden centres, RSPB to name but a few, and support from OMBC with our local councillors".

However, the park is still on the hunt for more volunteers to help bring the vision to life.

Ms Brown said they need more people to help with planting and weeding the area, and all experience levels are welcome.

The park can be accessed one of three ways: by a path from the top of Edge Lane off Shaw Road, from the steps on the Turf Lane bridge near Newbank Garden Centre, and finally from Salmon Fields.