A network for business women in Teesside has planted bulbs in a Middlesbrough park to recognise the achievements of females in the Tees Valley.
Women of all beliefs, race and backgrounds, gathered at Steward Park to celebrate and contribute to the space dedicated to their achievements.
The females ,who are apart of Assist Women’s Network, planted bulbs around the already planted trees to put their own stamp on the Sisterwood.
The ‘Sisterwood’, which was brought to life in 2020 at Stewart Park , consists of a group of woodland trees which were specially selected and planted by the volunteers at Assist Women’s Network.
The networks aim was to create a space which will grow and mature which recognises women of Tees Valleys achievements. They hope to be able to plant a tree each year to represent their elected Goodwill Ambassador.
Yasmin Khan, Assists Goodwill Ambassador 2019-202 said: “I think this is a brilliant day, women getting together as part of the Assist Women’s Network who are really all about bringing females together, and celebrating public spaces especially in light of what happened with the Sarah Everard murder.”
“It’s really all about people coming together from all different backgrounds, empowering future generations and making sure there is some type of legacy connected to nature.”
Due to Covid-19, Assist were unable to celebrate the creation of their Sisterwood like they had hoped. So now that restrictions have lifted, they want the Sisterwood to receive the celebration and recognition it deserves so they have added 500 bulbs to the space.
The bulbs which were planted in Assists colours of purple and white were firmly planted and will hopefully sprout in the Spring. This will create a colourful and welcoming space in the park for women and their families to visit.
Andy Preston, Mayor of Middlesbrough said: “We need to inspire more people, especially women to go out and make changes, make great stuff happen, create jobs and change lives here in Middlesbrough and everywhere else.”
Watch the video below to see the bulb planting in action.
To learn more about the work the Assist Women’s Network does, visit their website here.
