A walk around the Ponderosa

I love the fact that this 25 acre green space near Sheffield city centre got its name from children, who nicknamed it 'the Ponderosa' after the ranch of that name in the 1960s TV Western series 'Bonanza'. The nickname stuck, and became its established title.  

There is an old and now very politically questionable mosaic at the bottom end (see first extra), making a reference to this aspect of the area's history.  There is also a community orchard (second extra), now adjoined by an area of native woodland.  Community and conservation groups have been active, in waves, in looking after the site since a slum clearance programme opened it up in the 1960s.  The demolished streets of small terraced houses were replaced by modern blocks of flats, some high-rise and some smaller.  Later proposals to build more housing there were resisted by local residents, wanting to keep it as a green space.

Richard and I had a morning walk there, and while I was scrutinising fruit trees, R got talking to a local dog walker. He turned out to be a mine of information, not least because he remembered visiting his grandparents, as a small child,  in one of the streets that were later demolished.  'All these climate change issues, they're not new', he said - remembering the intense air pollution that was typical of Sheffield from the 19th century into the mid-20th, when clean air measures began to be implemented. 'This pollution, it's been building up for two centuries...'  We chewed the fat for a bit, and then went on to finish exploring.

There's a little more info here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponderosa_(Sheffield)