Having finally reopened in April 2018, Kenilworth Station has allowed local residents access to local trains on the Coventry to Leamington Line, but running alongside this service is a group of volunteers who dedicate their time to maintaining the grounds around our new station.

Friends of Kenilworth Station is a group of volunteers who have come together to beautify the station.

The idea was pitched during early discussions between Rosalind Bannister and Juie Shetye, as the two looked for a common experience to be shared between the Kenilworth's old and new residents.

Kenilworth Station gardening venture was one idea that came with less hesitance.

Plans were arranged with West Midlands Railways, to get permission to improve the garden cover and add some colour to the station.

The group came together in late 2019, and was successful in laying the basic foundations. With regular social and gardening events, the group has grown steadily, now receiving regular help from 12 dedicated volunteers.

Work at the garden and themes

Kenilworth station garden is uniquely situated on the periphery of the parking lot. The garden was handed over from Warwick District council to West Midlands Railways during the re-opening of the new station.

The plan for maintaining the garden involved working along the station garden in small sections, clearing weeds and re-planting trees and bulbs. Taking advantage of links with the University of Warwick, the group joined Warwick Volunteers and actively took part in the planting plans. These covered clearing weeds, and planting over 200 bulbs on the first visit.

The station garden group took part in Woodland Trusts' "Big climate fight back" on November 22 2019, with Warwick Volunteers and planted six English oak tree saplings and over 2000 Daffodil, Crocus and Allium bulbs.

Given the shape of the land that the group maintain it has been separated into different sections, which are all dedicated to different purposes.

Sections four and nine of the garden have been converted into a community herb garden where the volunteers grow plants for local residents. There are 32 variety of herbs at the station garden.

The plants at the station are contributed by Kenilworth locals, and mainly local shops such as Kenilworth Pet and Garden Shop.

Sections one, five, six, and seven have been converted into a wildlife garden to improve local biodiversity.

The garden has gone from not having much insect life to hosting five varieties of butterflies, four varieties of beetles, unique varieties of bees, many grasshoppers, earthworms and so on.

This has led to plans for the volunteers to use section five, to construct a bug hotel.

Section ten is converted into a seasonal flower bed, currently hosting gladioli. In addition, there are smaller beds where volunteers work in maintaining local shrubs and flowers, whilst trying to prevent the growth of weeds.

Events at the station

The Friends of Kenilworth Station group has big plans to contribute towards a bigger community picture involving local residents. They want to organise multiple community events in the upcoming years, and become partners with local charities, shops and businesses.

The educational impact of projects at the garden is self-evident and the close proximity of the station to local school as well as Warwick University will hopefully be beneficial to organising future events.

The plans for 2020 include: updating the tree rings, improvement of decor of the station, building a shed and water bath, painting some fences and walls, and overall maintenance of the garden.

The station volunteers are also looking into overall improvement of the station and have been liaising with the Kenilworth Town Council to improve the overall user experience of the station.

Currently in the diary is a work party set for September 26 to finish the herb garden, and another for the end of October to finish the preparations for the bug hotel.

November 5 will also see good news for the group as they announce the winners of Mural Design Competition!

If you live in Kenilworth and want to join the Friends of Kenilworth Station group please contact via email on [email protected] or on 07427617821

Or join their Facebook group by following this link.