Earlier in the year, Friends of the Mosgiel Memorial Gardens members Rosanne Dee and Robyn Broughton met the Dunedin City Council to discuss potential projects.
‘‘On our walk through the gardens we explained what it is Friends of the Gardens were hoping to have corrected,’’ Ms Dee said.
‘‘This used to be an award-winning garden so we’d ideally like it brought back up to that standard.’’
One of the things they mentioned was the non-functioning fountain, which is believed to have last worked in the 1980s, and asked whether it could be restored.
Recently, Ms Broughton was walking in the garden when she saw contractors working on the fountain.
Council parks and recreation group manager Scott MacLean confirmed staff carried out repairs on the fountain last week with the aim of restoring the ‘‘forgotten feature’’.
‘‘It’s a great relief that we are getting things going,’’ Ms Dee said.
There was an amazing reaction from the community, and the group’s social media sites was flooded with comments.
‘‘A lot of Mosgiel residents can’t remember seeing it going.’’
Things had been improving since the Covid-19 Delta lockdown and staff had started working in the gardens, Ms Broughton said.
The group’s next goal was to improve security, get more rubbish bins installed and have broken paths fixed.
Although the group was not hands-on, it worked with the city council, contractors and the Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board to pass on residents’ ideas.
Anyone was welcome to join. No gardening knowledge or experience was required.
‘‘We’re a voice,’’ Ms Dee said.
