Issue 012.

Start planning for Love Parks Week
Over 160 events have already been registered on the new Love Parks Week website. 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....

GreenSpace News

Start planning for Love Parks Week
Over 160 events have already been registered on the new Love Parks Week website. 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. For this reason, if you hold an event in a park or green space between 25 July and 2 August 2009 and register it on the Love Parks Week website, you will be helping to send the message that parks are an essential part of every community.

To make it easier to get involved, whether by organising an event or attending one, we have updated the What's on guide so that it is simpler to register and easier for people to search. We will be using the information gathered from the events registered online to call for continued investment and support for parks and green space.

Go to www.loveparksweek.org.uk to start planning and registering your events or to sign up for further updates on the campaign.

Subsidised places available for the Spaces to Grow conference
The next GreenSpace conference, Spaces to Grow, will take place on 24 June in Birmingham. The conference, which will focus on how to capitalise on the benefits of growing food in public green spaces and allotments, is organised in association with the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (FCFCG) and IPGS.

We know the benefits to communities and the environment of producing food locally, but how can we capitalise on the current interest in food growing? What funding is available to support food-growing initiatives, and how can communities be successfully involved in these projects? This one-day conference will explore these questions and more, with a packed programme of presentations, workshops and site tours.

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.

GreenSpace Online Community Network Forum
Some of the current topics of debate currently on the online forum include:
• Bradford's Lister Park could lose its Friends Group
• Managing parks in a sustainable way
• Strategy change regarding events in the park
• Love Parks Week events

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. Log on now. More

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, so 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

Community Spaces
The closing date has now passed for Stage 1 applications for the large and flagship grants that are being awarded as part of the Lottery-funded Community Spaces scheme. Projects that have already received money include the Friends of Paignton Park in Seven Sisters, who have been granted almost £50,000 to create a community square in Paignton Park. The square will create a focal point and bring the community together, hosting a variety of local activities and attracting more people to enjoy the green space.

Small and medium size grants are still available from £10,000 to £49,999. Applications can be downloaded from the Community Spaces website. More

B&Q Better Neighbour Grant Scheme
The B&Q Better Neighbour Grant Scheme is offering funds to help to get community projects up and running. The scheme provides £50 to £500 of B&Q materials to be spent on a project that will have long-lasting benefits for the community. Schools, community groups and charitable organisations can apply for the grants by contacting their local store. More


If you find a grant/funding scheme you think may help other community groups please email Matthew Hartgrove at community@green-space.org.uk

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General news and features

Carry on gardening
Thrive, a national charity that uses gardening to change lives, has a launched a new website aimed at helping people who have a disability to carry on gardening. The website provides extensive tips to make gardening easier for individuals with common ailments such as arthritis, back pain, and heart conditions, as well as advice for those dealing with sight loss and the effects of a stroke, on how to keep active in the garden. One of the sections on the website offers information about the equipment and tools that can make gardening easier and more enjoyable for those with disabilities. More

Government launches Asset Transfer Unit
The government has launched the Asset Transfer Unit to help empower local people and community organisations to transfer under-used land and buildings from public sector to community ownership and management. The website is aimed at supporting groups who wish assets such as a green space to be transferred to their control, and to help community groups to develop a long-term strategy for its management. More

Spring in to action
BTCV is looking for volunteers to spare a few hours to help local wildlife and improve green spaces in their local area as part of their Spring into Action programme. Events are being run throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland between 1 May and 7 June - visit the website to find out what's going on near you. More

The Big Tidy Up
Keep Britain Tidy is currently urging community groups to take part in the Big Tidy Up, a campaign that aims to get the entire country cleaning up and tackling litter in public places. More

Seeds for schools
The News of the World has joined forces with the Forestry Commission to provide seeds for schools around the country in order to meet their target of planting one million trees. They have also launched the Seeds for Schools website, which contains information that could be used by community groups to help organise their own seed growing event. More


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Events

2 June
Dementia, Environment and Community
Organiser: Sensory Trust
Location: Eden Project, Cornwall
Contact: www.sensorytrust.org.uk
A one-day event exploring how to create supportive outdoor environments that meet the needs of people with dementia.

4-5 June
Great Places, Great Cities
Organiser: Greenspace Scotland
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Contact: www.greenspacescotland.org.uk
A two-day conference exploring the role of public space in creating truly sustainable cities.

6 June
Grow Healthy Plants
Organiser: Garden Organic
Location: Ryton
Contact: www.gardenorganic.org.uk
A one-day event focusing on the basics of recognising and diagnosing common garden pests and diseases and how to deal with these problems.

6-7 June
Dirty Weekend
Organiser: Breathing Places
Location: Nationwide
Contact: www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces
Two days of events encouraging people to get their hands dirty by doing one thing for nature at their local breathing place.

24 June
Spaces to Grow
Organiser: GreenSpace
Location: Birmingham
Contact: Jessica Reid, 0118 946 9068
A one-day conference focusing on how to capitalise on the benefits of growing food in public green spaces and allotments.


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Community Profile

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.