Fryent Country Park is a calming sanctuary amid the bustling streets of Kingsbury.

With more than 100 hectares of meadows, woods, hedgerows and ponds, visitors can easily forget they are still in the depths of suburban London.

The park has been cared for and restored by the Barn Hill Conservation Group, which was formed in 1984 by the Brent Countryside Ranger service.

It boasts more than 800 species of wildlife, including 80 recorded birds, 21 species of butterfly and more 500 wild flowers.

One of the founder members of the group, Kathy Northcroft, 76, became involved after she retired and moved to Kingsbury in 1983.

She gave me a tour of the charming Roe Green Walled Garden, which forms part of the park and is situated just off Kingsbury Road, Kingsbury.

Behind the quaint, converted sheds which serve as offices, a workroom, an exhibition area and a second hand shop, there is a tree nursery with containers fashioned from recycled railway sleepers.

Neatly planted, yet more fledgling trees burgeon from the frosty ground in the main garden, while shoals of brave goldfish flash around the bottom of the ornamental pond.

It is clear children have been taking part, too, as I spot handmade scarecrows, miniature ponds and a sandpit, and the generous vegetable patch promises a wide range of organic produce in the spring.

Welcome bursts of colour are provided by the last roses of winter, struggling to twist themselves around the pretty arches which form the garden's focal point.

Kathy was first introduced to Fryent Country Park nearly 20 years ago, and she has never looked back.

"I went out on a guided walk one May when the buttercups were in flower," she said.

"It's a gorgeous place when it's like that, absolutely spectacular."

When she was invited to do some work on the grounds, Kathy jumped at the chance.

"It keeps me young," she said.

The group started with digging all the old farm ponds, which had silted up over the years, and moved on to the hedgerows.

Using a 16th Century map of the area, Barn Hill Conservation Group have been able to restore the hedges to mark the original field boundries, and now refer to the fields by their original names.

Now the chairman of the group, Kathy has helped to care for and restore many aspects of Fryent Country Park, including gardening, litter collecting, planting shrubs and trees, and helping with recycling.

"The work always continues because there are always brambles and things growing over the hedgerows, and they have to be trimmed or we would have no fields left," she said.

The conservation group always needs volunteers. There is no official membership, tools are provided and no experience is necessary as training is given.

Volunteers can enjoy a range of activities including community gardening, helping in the tree nursery, wildlife surveys, coppicing, organic gardening, hedgerow maintenance, pond digging and exploring their interest in woodwork by building bird and hedgehog boxes.

It is also a safe haven in which families can enjoy walks and picnics.

Group members can be seen working in the park every Sunday morning, whatever the weather.

"There is enormous satisfaction in seeing what you've done," said Kathy.

"Sometimes you look around and you can see the difference, that you have made things better.

"I can see trees which I grew from seeds that are now 15ft high."

Barn Hill Conservation Group, which is a registered charity, relies entirely on grants, donations and the proceeds made from sales in its second hand shop.

Grants received so far include those from English Nature, the National Lottery, Shell Better Britain and the Yorkshire Tea Trees for Life scheme.

It has also been helped by the Bridge House Estates Trust Fund, which financed their publicity material, and the Harvist Trust, a local fund which provided seats, sign posts and interpretaton panels to assist visitors to the park.

For more information about Fryent Country Park, Roe Green Walled Garden and the Barn Hill Conservation Group, contact Kathy Northcroft on 020 8206 0589 or 020 8206 0492.