GreenSpace News |
New website for Love Parks Week 2009
The new Love Parks Week website will be launched this month, complete with resources that will help community groups to get involved in the campaign. Love Parks Week 2009 will take place between Saturday 25 July and Sunday 2 August. This year we are asking as many people as possible to get into parks to join our campaign for continued investment and support for these valuable assets.
By holding an event in a park, or even just attending one, you will be helping to send the message that parks are an essential part of every community. Resources that will soon be available on the site, such as the campaign toolkit and promotional material, will help you brand your events as part of Love Parks Week, but if you want to start planning your events now take a look at the Plan It! guide in the community resource section of the GreenSpace website.
We will be sending out a special issue of the Community Bench to let you know when the new website is launched.
Join the discussion on the GreenSpace Online Community Network Forum
The online forum provides the opportunity to share experiences and pass on advice to other groups - the more people post and reply to messages, the more useful the online resource will become.
Currently people are discussing how to tackle the issue of dog fouling in parks - log on now and join the discussion. More
Programme announced for play conference
GreenSpace’s next conference, Parks for Play, will take place on 21 April in Sheffield. The event will focus on play, exploring the possibilities for the future with practical advice and examples of how to create successful play spaces.
Speakers at the conference will include Grant Lambie from Free Play who will explore the best way to move from the consultation process to delivery of excellent play areas, advocating a slow and sustained approach with regular feedback from stakeholders. PLAYLINK’s Bernard Spiegal will explore the issue of risk in play, and Helen Woolley, senior lecturer at Sheffield University, will provide advice on the design and maintenance of natural play areas.
The afternoon session will offer delegates the choice of several practical site tours and workshops, including how to involve teenage girls in play and sports in parks, provide inclusive play opportunities, involve children in the consultation process and adopt a partnership approach to play provision. There will also be site tours to Sheffield City Council’s parks, focusing on recent play projects undertaken by the council.
There are a limited number of subsidised places, priced at £90.00, available to registered GreenSpace Community Network members and those in full-time education. To find out more and book your place, please call Jessica Reid on 0118 946 9068, email events@green-space.org.uk or go to www.green-space.org.uk.
Contribute to the Community Bench
If you have any useful information you think would be of interest to other community groups (perhaps a website, publication or resource you have used) why not send us an email and we'll try to include it in the Community Bench. We are also looking for more Community Profiles, if your group has done something you'd like to share with others, please email community@green-space.org.uk.
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Funding news |
Biffaward now open for 2009
Biffaward is a national environment fund managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services. Community groups can apply for small grants of £250-£5,000, a main grant of £5,000 - £50,000 or a flagship grant of £150,000 - £500,000. The project must be within 10 miles of a landfill site, and eligibility can be checked by entering the postcode on the Biffaward website.
The small grants scheme is open all year round, but flagship applications will only accepted until 1 July 2009. The application process for the main grant scheme has now changed and applicants are now required to put in an expression of interest, which will help speed up the initial assessment process and save applicants' time.
More
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is one of the largest independent grant-making foundations in the UK. They aim to improve the quality of life throughout the UK and often support work other funders may consider difficult to fund. The grants available are divided into two groups - main grants and strand grants. Strand grants are available for more specialist projects such as biodiversity. More
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General news and features |
Survey shows parks to be people’s top simple pleasure
Research by the National Trust has shown that the current economic situation means that people are now more likely to spend quality time at a nearby beauty spot rather than expensive theme parks or other visitor attractions. In a survey of 2,000 people, 84% said that days out were equally or more important to them this year. Simple pleasures were at the top of people’s priorities, with walks in the park (64%), visiting galleries (36%), historic buildings (34%) and beautiful gardens (30%) all more popular than the quick but more costly thrills offered by theme parks (26%) and sporting events (13%). More
Ancient tree hunt on tour
The Woodland Trust is holding several free ‘recording events’ as part of its Ancient Tree Hunt. The chosen sites for the events are home to a number of interesting trees that are in need of recording, and attendees will have the opportunity to gain recording tips as well as hear a talk from a guest speaker. More
“Say NO to exemption registration charges for community composting” says the Community Composting Network
Community composting groups could face a fee for registering their activities if a proposed Environmental Permitting exemption is introduced as planned in October 2009, according to the Community Composting Network (CCN). Groups may have to pay £50 to register their compost or worm bins, so CNN is urging people to write to Defra ministers and their local MP to oppose the planned registration charges. More
New website with advice on growing vegetables
The BBC is launching a campaign to encourage members of the public to grow their own vegetables. The Dig In website launches on April 2 and will provide advice and information, including how to get started if you have never done any gardening before. More
Organic growing charity urges everyone to give composting a go
As part of Compost Awareness Week (3-9 May), Garden Organic is calling on everyone to have a go at composting. They are promoting the idea of a home wormery for those who don’t have the room for a compost heap and suggest that it is a great way to reduce the 12.4 million tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill each year. As well as being an eco-friendly way of disposing of unwanted waste, womeries also create a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser and soil conditioner that can be used in gardens. More
Free trees for schools
Schools and youth groups across the country are being provided with free saplings by the Woodland Trust, which will result in 115,000 trees being planted in school grounds and community spaces. The hedge and copse packs are being distributed as part of the trust’s Tree for All scheme that aims to plant one tree for every child under 16 in the UK. Each pack contains either thirty native hedge trees including; hawthorn, hazel, holly, dogrose and dogwood, or thirty native copse trees including; birch, rowan and wild cherry. Instructions on how to plant the saplings and links to downloadable worksheets about the different species are also included in the packs. More
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Events |
2 April: Wales
30 April: East Midlands
Ancient Tree Hunt events
Organiser:
Woodland Trust
Contact:
www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk
A one-day event exploring how to record ancient trees.
5 April
Get Set Grow
Organiser:
Garden Organic
Location:
Ryton, Warwickshire
Contact:
www.gardenorganic.org.uk
A one-day event offering everything you need to get you started in the garden.
28 April
Income Generation Workshop: Getting Ready for Enterprise
Organiser:
Voscur
Location:
Bristol
Contact:
www.voscur.org/training
A one-day event providing advice for groups who want to move away from grant funding and develop their own ideas for income generation.
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Community Profile |
Sam Bell, Chairman
Friends of Centenary and West End Park, Airdrie, Lanarkshire
What inspired you to get involved with the Friends of Centenary and West End Park?
The first time I visited Airdrie I was impressed by Centenary and West End Park, and remember a lovely flowerbed laid out with the words ‘Welcome to Airdrie’. Over the years these two parks became seriously neglected, so in 2004 I joined the Friends group with the aim of returning them to a high standard.
What does being part of the group involve?
We have regular monthly meetings where we discuss what improvements we would like to see in the parks. Once agreed, quotes are sought for the work, and we seek the help of North Lanarkshire Council or appropriate funding. This takes a lot of time and effort. Most of our committee is retired, but their past skills come into play and it often feels like they are back at work.
What do you feel has been your greatest success as a group?
Our greatest success was in December 2007 when we restored and reinstated the 1887 Robert Hamilton Memorial Drinking Fountain, in memory of his considerable achievements as Provost of Airdrie. This fountain had been dismantled and removed during council cutbacks around 1970. It cost £70,000 and was funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and North Lanarkshire Council.
What have been the main challenges?
It has been challenging to obtain funding for our projects, monitor the progress (and complications), and then on completion of the project present the final report to the funding bodies to show how the money was spent.
What interesting projects have you been involved in?
We have been involved in the following projects:
• Installing the Children’s Play Park in Centenary Park, funded by WREN and North Lanarkshire Council.
• Erecting 10 plaques in the parks that form a heritage trail.
• Installing new modern art in Centenary Park, in the form of metal sentinels.
• Improving paths by laying tar macadam at various locations within the two parks and installing lights on the pathway in Centenary Park.
• Lighting the trees in both parks with 42,000 LEDs.
• Commemorating 100 years since the creation of West End Park.
What does the future have in store for the Friends of Centenary and West End Park?
We have been successful in obtaining £58,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s People’s Millions scheme to illuminate the B-listed Victorian viaduct at the bottom of Centenary Park, which we aim to complete by September 2009. In conjunction with North Lancashire Council we plan to upgrade the flower arrangements in West End Park.
If you had to offer a new friends group advice, what would that be?
Have a vision of what you wish to achieve in improving your park or open space. Involve your local council for guidance, be motivated and use the talents for your committee. Run your group monthly at a regular time and place with an agenda and take minutes. Always remember there are lots of funders who have funds to spend on good causes such as ours.
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Feedback |
COMMUNITY BENCH is the online newsletter of GreenSpace aimed specifically at community groups. It reports on community green space issues across the country and the work of organisations and groups that take an interest in the green spaces.
Past issues can be viewed in the community news section of our website, at http://www.green-space.org.uk/community/cgparchives.php/
Written by: Matthew Hartgrove, Network Officer, GreenSpace
Edited by: Emma Donaldson, Communications Officer, GreenSpace
To be removed from the list reply to this email with ‘remove’ in the subject header. To add someone to the COMMUNITY BENCH please follow this link http://www.green-space.org.uk/community
The COMMUNITY BENCH e-newsletter is published and circulated by GreenSpace. Any comments, opinions or views expressed in the COMMUNITY BENCH do not necessarily reflect the views of GreenSpace Forum Ltd, its staff, partners or funders. Replication or duplication of this publication, in whole, or in part, without written permission is strictly prohibited. © 2008 GreenSpace.
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