Fulford Cemetery set to get a makeover thanks to volunteers

Fulford Cemetery in Fordlands Road will see an army of volunteers land on  Tuesday, July 29 from 9am onwards with the likes of Rudding Park, Menfulness, Piglets Farm, First Bus and Clucking Oinks joining in the big clear-up. 

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In May, campaigners claimed the cemetery was ‘falling to bits’ after the parish council announced that fewer areas of grass were being cut – and less frequently – as it bid to reduce costs within its 30-acre grounds.

Mark Tubridy said he had been visiting the cemetery for 44 years and looks after five graves. He said: “It’s slowly getting worse."

The older graves in 78 per cent of the 50 plots were set to be left unmown apart from an end-of-season trim of annual rough cut, the parish council said at the time.

And earlier this month City of York Council agreed to manage the site and burial services for York for one year from August.

There are large areas of long grass at Fulford Cemetery (Image: Supplied) The event is being coordinated by Matty Lewis who is head of foundation at the York-based Fortus Foundation which helps support community groups, schools and small charities across the region.

Matty said: “Whilst The Fortus Foundation is a grant-giving foundation, we also want to have as broad an impact as possible. So when one of our funders – Kev Widdrington of Hindle Controls – called on the Monday morning after Father's Day, we knew we could pull on the foundation’s network and make it happen.

“It was awful to hear that whilst families were visiting their loved ones at the cemetery on Father's Day, there were people in tears as they couldn’t even get to their plots due to the site being overgrown. It prompted a call to action, and thanks to Piglets Farm, Rudding Park, Menfulness, First Bus and Clucking Oinks, we’ve now got a team of volunteers to come and get on top of things.”

“We’ve worked closely with Fulford Parish Council, and it’s clear that it’s a position they didn’t want to be in. So they really appreciate the support, and through collaboration we’re collectively having a positive impact on many families who visit the cemetery and cannot afford the maintenance fee. It goes to show that there’s a lot of great people out there willing to do a lot of good in the world when it counts.”

Matty Lewis from the Fortus Foundation (Image: Johnny Mennell) A spokesperson for Fulford Parish Council said: "We are extremely grateful to Matty, the Fortus Foundation and to Kev for reaching out to us and proactively organising an Action Day in the grounds of Fulford Cemetery on July 29. 

"They have brought together a team of incredibly charitable and kind volunteers from the Fortus Foundation, Menfulness, Piglets Farm, Rudding Park, Clucking Oinks and First Bus.

"This day of action, working in the cemetery grounds will help to make a real difference to the visitor experience at Fulford Cemetery and the Parish Council has been bowled over by the community spirit demonstrated by all those involved, to whom we are very thankful."

If you want to volunteer for the clear-up event please email matty.lewis@fortusfoundation.co.uk