Happy Valley (garden)

Happy Valley is a garden created by Edwin Harrold in Stenness, Orkney, Scotland.HistoryThe area was originally known as "Bankburn". The garden was created from a bare hillside by Edwin Harrold, between the October 1948 and the 1990s. Mr Harrold had to give up the garden, as he was too old to maintain it, and he died in 2005. Amongst his aims, was to create a wooded area on Orkney, as trees are highly unusual on the archipelago.In 2004 the local council, Orkney Islands Council, took over the garden. A group was formed in 2007 called "Friends of Happy Valley"; they are a group of volunteers who meet together not only to discuss the future of the gardens, but also to work on maintaining the garden. The Council Special Projects Department assisted by maintaining some of the paths and steps, and in April 2008 volunteers planted 700 new trees to add to the existing woodland.In May 2011, Orkney Islands Council declared Happy Valley to be an official nature reserve. The reserve is to be financially supported by the Scapa Flow Landscape Partnership Scheme.