A team of firefighters ditched water cannons for shovels to make a new garden in south Cumbria.

Firefighters from the Ulverston Blue Light Hub worked alongside Ulverston in Bloom to start work on the green space on Wednesday, August 28.

The idea behind the work is to make the local fire station look even more inviting as well as building upon the market town's recent nomination in the Britain in Bloom awards.

The work came about after Ulverston Blue Light Hub saw the local group in actionThe work came about after Ulverston Blue Light Hub saw the local group in action (Image: Ulverston in Bloom)

Kim Farr, of Ulverston in Bloom, commented: "The fire station manager approached our group when we were planting up the Boat at the Barrow end of town near the Blue Light Hub and asked for help in creating a garden.

"Now that we have removed turf to create a windmill design, we will add our own compost and plant up with bulbs and pollinator friendly flowering shrubs as part of our strategy to improve the biodiversity of Ulverston."

Read more: Volunteers plant hundreds of flowers around Ulverston | The Mail (nwemail.co.uk)

The design was marked out with ropes and paint with the volunteers removing four areas of turf in the process.

Volunteers are still needed to finish the gardenVolunteers are still needed to finish the garden (Image: Ulverston in Bloom)

"We got very wet but were rewarded with tea and cake," Kim added. 

"A second team weeded the new flower bed at Mill Dam and spread Strulch [a straw-based mulch for gardens]."

In recent months, Ulverston has been championing its local flora as it takes part in the finals of the 2024 RHS Britain in Bloom ceremony, which is celebrating its 60th year.

In the middle of August, locals came together to spruce up the town ahead of the visit of Royal Horticultural Society judges.

It was a change of scenery for most of the firefighters involvedIt was a change of scenery for most of the firefighters involved (Image: Ulverston in Bloom)

For the time being, Ulverston in Bloom's current work is designed to give back to the first responders looking after the community, as well as also building upon the town's growing green reputation.

If people would like to volunteer with the group each Wednesday morning to transform the Blue Light Hub space, then they can email farraway@hotmail.co.uk to find out more information.