{"id":677331,"date":"2026-01-06T09:01:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T09:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/677331\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T09:01:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T09:01:20","slug":"tributes-paid-to-karen-the-angel-of-redcatch-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/677331\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes paid to Karen, the ‘Angel of Redcatch Park’"},"content":{"rendered":"

“How we shall miss this dear member of our community”<\/p>\n

Tributes have been paid to a woman who dedicated time every day to pick up litter in her local park, who has died from cancer months after a surprise party to celebrate her efforts.<\/p>\n

Karen Rich was dubbed the \u2018Angel of Redcatch Park\u2019, after the Knowle<\/a> resident became a familiar face with her litter-picker and rubbish bag, quietly picking up the rubbish every day.<\/p>\n

Last summer, modest Karen was surprised by her neighbours and park volunteers with a party<\/a> and a trip to City Hall to be awarded a prestigious Lord Mayor\u2019s Medal to honour her services to the community.<\/p>\n

The heartwarming moment she walked into her surprise party<\/a> was captured by Bristol Live photographer Paul Gillis, as years of doing something valuable on a daily basis were recognised with a big \u2018thank you\u2019 from her local community.<\/p>\n

Back in the 2010s, Karen decided something needed to be done about the amount of litter in her much-loved Redcatch Park, and following the adage that if you want a job done properly, you\u2019ve got to do it yourself, she decided to simply carry around a litter picker and a rubbish bag on her daily walk around the park.<\/p>\n

It was really during Covid lockdowns that Karen became a familiar face in Knowle, as people used the park more frequently, and she became a friendly face to all the dogs in the area too, as a guaranteed source of dog treats every time she met one.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Heart-warming surprise for incredible woman who has spent years cleaning up her local park<\/a><\/p>\n

Always modest about her efforts, Karen was surprised to receive the Lord Mayor\u2019s Medal, with a trip to City Hall that involved getting to sit in the Lord Mayor\u2019s chair and even trying on his tricorn hat.<\/p>\n

In the speech, the Lord Mayor praised her \u2018kindness, compassion and tireless work\u2019 for Redcatch Park, adding that her contribution deserved recognition. He said thank you on behalf of the city and county of Bristol \u2018for all you\u2019ve done and all you continue to do\u2019.Back at Redcatch Park, local residents and the Friends of Redcatch Park organised a surprise party for her too, just simply to say \u2018thank you\u2019 for all her efforts.<\/p>\n

\"SurpriseSurprise party being thrown for Karen Rich, Tuesday 5 August 2025, who last week received a Lord Mayor’s Medal for her volunteer work picking up litter from Redcatch Park in Knowle. (Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach PLC)<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a stalwart member of the Friends of Redcatch Park and at the time, a spokesperson for that voluntary organisation said: \u201cKaren is always modest, and never one to chase the limelight. She said she was delighted to receive the award, and her family were glad and proud to see her honoured in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those who know Karen, the recognition couldn\u2019t be more timely \u2014 or more deserved,\u201d she said. \u201cHer quiet presence in the park is a daily reminder of what makes local green spaces truly special – passionate people who care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether she\u2019s picking up litter, being greeted by a stream of four-legged friends, who all know she never forgets treats), or exchanging a kind word with a passer-by, Karen has become part of the very fabric of Redcatch Park. She truly embodies its heart,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

\"KarenKaren Rich receiving a Lord Mayor’s Medal from the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Cllr Henry Michallat, for her years of voluntary work litter-picking in Redcatch Park, Knowle(Image: Friends of Redcatch Park)<\/p>\n

Sian Ellis-Thomas, from Friends of Redcatch Park, said on Friday: \u201cI am so very sad to announce that our much beloved angel of the park – Karen Rich passed away this morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a fighter to the end. Huge condolences to her amazing husband John, who fought at her side to keep her mobile and active for as long as possible. I saw her just a few short weeks ago in Redcatch Community Garden and the only complaint from her was that she was unable to bend to pick up some litter she saw on her way in,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was typically Karen. How we shall miss this dear member of our community. We will organise a memorial dog walk & cuppa in the garden very soon,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“How we shall miss this dear member of our community” Tributes have been paid to a woman who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,10648,748,393,4884,16656,457,10002,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-677331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-bristol-live","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-knowle","14":"tag-people","15":"tag-south-bristol","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115847343913337554","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}