The Mayor of Milton Keynes, Cllr Amanda Marlow has officially reopened the popular bird hide at Emberton Country Park following its refurbishment.
Construction firm Wilmott Dixon stepped in to refurbish the building, whose roof had become damaged, at no cost to the city council as part of the council’s More for MK initiative, which asks its suppliers to create value for local people. Wilmott Dixon has previously created local jobs as well as getting involved with community projects like this one.
Emberton Country Park was one England’s first country parks and was transformed by the council from a former gravel works site. Visitors can enjoy more than 200 acres of parkland for walking, playing, fishing, camping – and birdwatching. The park’s resident birds include woodpeckers, cuckoos, herons, grebes, and kingfishers, common terns, teals, wigeons and hobbies.
The refurbished bird hide isn’t the only recent update to the park. A new boot wash has been installed for people to clean shoes, dog paws and buggies, and visitors can now buy food for ducks from a solar powered duck feeding station made from 20,000 recycled bottles.
Pictured left to right: Cllr Paul Trendall, Cllr Keith McLean and the Mayor of Milton Keynes, Cllr Amanda Marlow.