A Host of Purple Daff Crocuses

We reported in December last that 11 volunteers, including club member Peter Greene, and Bob Tyrell from Billericay Mayflower, gathered to plant 4,000 purple crocus corms in the grounds of Christ Church, in aid of End Polio Now.  All corms from Rotary Foundation.
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years, was a founder of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.  We’ve reduced polio cases by 99.9% since we started vaccinating Philippine children in 1979.
In endemic countries we identify children who have had their polio vaccine by staining one of their fingers purple.  A key Rotary Program in this push to eradicate polio around the world is Purple4Polio, recognising this staining by planting millions of purple crocus corms.
Beating The Squirrels
We recently revisited the site of the planting and were delighted at the show – a host of purple crocuses.  (A far cry from the purple planting disaster in Lake Meadows Children’s Garden some years ago – we planted, squirrels won!)
Our thanks to Margaret and all the volunteers – their efforts have been so well rewarded.