It was recognised that certain areas of the town needed attention throughout the year therefore the Task Force was set up comprising of Otley in Bloom members who wanted to be more "hands on". It's a simple matter of Civic Pride to improve the appearance of the Town we live in. The Otley in Bloom Task Force does jobs such as planting, digging & weeding and also larger clear-up jobs throughout the town. Otley in Bloom recently applied for and was successful in getting £500 of funding to supply the necessary equipment such as tools and protective clothing.    For a complete list of all the Task Force events this year have a look at the Notices page. And if you'd like to join the Task Force and lend a hand please contact our Task Force co-ordinator. Charities OiB And HOPE 08 Combine Efforts To Brighten Up Police Station In 2008 over a dozen dedicated members of both Otley in Bloom and HOPE 08 got together in a quest to brighten up the Otley police station with 2,250 crocuses. After a short introduction and some advice from Courtyard Planters, armed with shovels, forks and trowels, the group split into teams and got stuck in, to plant in total 2,250 white, yellow and purple crocus bulbs underneath the roadside trees. With so many hands at work, both young and old, the job was done quickly. As a reward for all the hard work, tea, hot chocolate and a good chat were awaiting at the end. You will be able see the result of their joint efforts every Spring, as long as the squirrels have not been feasting! If you see any doing so, please report them to the police. Ellar Ghyll Clean Up - a continuing project Clear up and replanting of a large, eighty square metres piece of land near the Ellar Ghyll Recycling site at the west side of Otley. The initial work was done in late Autumn, 2007 and involved twelve of our members. Visits are now made when more work is needed on the site and to add new plants. This Taskforce project was one of the bigger ones we’ve tackled because the land was very overgrown before we started and needed to be completely dug over before we could start planting. We believe this work has made a significant difference to the appearance of this very visible green space on one of the important corridor routes into the Town. It will be the site for one of the Gateway Structures as proposed in the Otley Town Enhancement Study document. During the tidy up After the tidy up Our Allotment Members of Otley in Bloom have their own personal enthusiasms for gardening and growing vegetables. Two years ago members were allocated a derelict site and are beginning to transform this into a workable patch. A small area of this allotment has been allocated to Otley in Bloom. The group has cleared this area and laid down plastic and shingle to suppress weeds. Plants and planters are stored here and being in close proximity to a member's home means the site is well looked after and plants are watered and cared for as appropriate. We've now added a useful raised bed and future plans for this area include creating a cold frame. We use the allotment to grow flowers which are then transplanted to the hanging baskets and barrier planters around Otley. Shown in the photo above are some of the Otley in Bloom team right at the start of the clearing up and ground digging. If you'd like to be part of the Task Force which manages the allotment please contact us... Otley in Bloom - working with the business community and the people of Otley to make our town a greener place to live. Home | About the Group | Awards | Sponsors | Grants | Yorkshire in Bloom Calendar | Current Projects | Task Force | Constitution | Notices | Downloads Otley Town Enhancement Study | Gallery | Meeting minutes | Links | Contact