About the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces
The National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces, formerly known as the National Open Spaces Forum, is a UK network of area-wide forums. It exists to promote, protect and improve the UK’s parks and green spaces by linking together all the friends and users forums and networks throughout the country.
Community, or 'friends of' groups exist in their thousands and area-wide forums help to represent their efforts at a local level. In order to give a voice at a national level NFPGS is committed to sharing information, best practice and experiences, supporting the member forums and lobbying at a national level.
NFPGS members can communicate via an email network. They will share minutes of their meetings and will look to hold local and national networking meetings in the future. They wish to aid the development of further friends forums, identify funding for their activities and, by working together, conduct political lobbying to raise the profile of their aims.
Membership is open to any forum or network of local friends groups, which are run by and for such groups.
On 8 March 2008 GreenSpace facilitated a meeting between representatives of friends group forums, following requests for this at its Great Parks, Great People community group conference in autumn 2007. At this meeting, the attendees* decided to form the National Open Spaces Forum, to provide the means for area-wide forums:
At the steering group meeting held on Saturday 15th May 2010, it was agreed that the group would be called The National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces (NFPGS) going forward.
Community, or 'friends of' groups exist in their thousands and area-wide forums help to represent their efforts at a local level. In order to give a voice at a national level NFPGS is committed to sharing information, best practice and experiences, supporting the member forums and lobbying at a national level.
NFPGS members can communicate via an email network. They will share minutes of their meetings and will look to hold local and national networking meetings in the future. They wish to aid the development of further friends forums, identify funding for their activities and, by working together, conduct political lobbying to raise the profile of their aims.
Membership is open to any forum or network of local friends groups, which are run by and for such groups.
Aims of NFPGS
- the protection of green spaces.
- addressing green space deficiencies.
- lobbying for more resources for green spaces (capital and revenue).
- tackling staffing and management issues.
- encouraging full involvement of friends/users groups in management of their parks and open spaces.
History of NFPGS
On 8 March 2008 GreenSpace facilitated a meeting between representatives of friends group forums, following requests for this at its Great Parks, Great People community group conference in autumn 2007. At this meeting, the attendees* decided to form the National Open Spaces Forum, to provide the means for area-wide forums:
- to make contact with one another
- to share experiences and discuss issues
- to support one another in seeking to improve parks and green open spaces
- to promote best practice
At the steering group meeting held on Saturday 15th May 2010, it was agreed that the group would be called The National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces (NFPGS) going forward.