Issue 022.
	Community Farm in the running for best Green Flag Award site A community green space in Gateshead is in the running to be announced as the country's favourite Green Flag Award-winning site. Bill Quay Community Farm is currently second out of over 1,000 eligible sites...
	Launch of new charity Civic Voice A new charity has been launched to fill the void left in the absence of the Civic Trust. Civic Voice will represent the civic movement and support civic societies, acting as a voice for local communities across England...
	The People’s Millions is now open for applications ITV's The People’s Millions, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, is offering grants to projects that aim to improve local facilities or help people get more out of their local area...
	Spotlight on Bugle Greenspace Kevin Marsh from Bugle Greenspace in Cornwall shares his group's experiences in this issue's Community Profile...

GreenSpace News

Community farm in the running for best Green Flag Award site
A community green space in Gateshead is in the running to be announced as the country's favourite Green Flag Award-winning site. Bill Quay Community Farm is currently second out of over 1,000 eligible sites in the online competition, trailing Queens Park, Heywood by around 100 votes. Winners from each region will be presented with the People's Choice - Site of the Year Award on 23 September at a national Green Flag event. Those who have not yet registered their vote can still do so. More

Subsidised places available for Saving your Service
A limited number of subsidised places are available for community group members at GreenSpace's next conference, Saving your Service. The conference, taking place in Birmingham on 8 June, will focus on maximising park assets and exploring opportunities to secure the future of green space services.

The subsidised places are priced at Ł90 to cover costs, and are available to registered GreenSpace Community Network members and those in full-time education. Provisional places can be booked by calling Caroline Carsey on 0118 946 6068. More

Contribute to 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 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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General news and features

Launch of new charity Civic Voice
A new charity has been launched to fill the void left in the absence of the Civic Trust. Civic Voice will represent the civic movement and support civic societies, acting as a voice for local communities across England.

Civic Voice has also launched its first campaign, Love Local, which aims to uncover exactly how the make-up of an area makes it distinctive and a source of pride for the community. Initial results of the survey, which took into account views of 250 local civic volunteers, found that open space and garden provision was the most important factor. More

Call for greater grassroots funding from the next government
The Community Sector Coalition has published a report calling for more grassroots funding from the next government. The report, Unleashing the Potential, suggests that doing so would give community groups a better say in the way they grow rather than relying on top-down funding. More

Start planning for Playday 2010
Play England have released an online guide to support those celebrating Playday. It includes ideas and information to help community groups plan and run an event celebrating children's right to play in the community. In 2009, over 834 events took place across the UK making it the biggest Playday ever. This year Playday takes place on Wednesday 4 August, so now is a great time to start planning an event in your park. More

Report highlights influence of parks on wellbeing and satisfaction
A new report published by CABE Space has highlighted the role of parks and green spaces in enhancing people’s health, wellbeing and overall satisfaction with their local area. The report, Urban Green Nation, aims to highlight the importance of parks and green spaces for local communities as well as informing future investment in parks and green spaces. More

Community spaces receive lottery boost
Nine community projects have been awarded funding from Community Spaces, a grants programme managed by Groundwork UK and funded by the Big Lottery Fund (BIG). The nine projects, ranging from play parks and wildlife gardens to village squares, have received a total of Ł4m. More

New networking site aims to develop community partnerships
A new online resource designed to allow organisations to benefit from one another's strengths is being piloted in London. Collaborate is a website that allows users to share best practice and publicise events, as well as to advertise for partners, mentors, mentees and contributors to projects.

Upon registering with the site, new users select topics such as sustainability and environment, or community safety to see information relevant to them. Collaborate is funded by Capital Ambition and administered by London Training and Resource Centre. More

Are you wild about plants?
Conservation charity Plantlife has launched a project to celebrate wild plants across England. The project, Wild About Plants, is funded by Natural England through Access to Nature, as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme. Online resources include habitat guides, which are useful ways of finding out about local wildflowers and habitats, as well as suggestions for family expeditions to get young families outside and exploring the natural world together. More

Three initiatives to encourage home food growing
As more people decide to have a go at growing their own food, many organisations are looking to help communities get the best out of their plots. Below are three initiatives that will interest 'grow your own' enthusiasts:

1) Dig In: This BBC campaign aims to get people growing their own food no matter what sized space is available, with free seeds and information starter packs available to get people started.
2) Local Food Project: The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens has launched this lottery-funded project to offer community groups hands-on support, information resources and an interactive online map.
3) The One Pot Pledge: Garden Organic's national campaign is hoping to recruit 30,000 people to pledge to grow their own food for the very first time.

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Funding news

The People’s Millions is now open for applications
ITV's The People’s Millions, funded by the Big Lottery Fund (BIG), is offering grants to projects aiming to improve local facilities or help people get more out of their local area. Groups can apply for grants ranging from Ł20,000 - Ł50,000 before the deadline on 14 May 2010. More

Improving community spaces
Groundwork's Community Spaces programme is open to applications for grants from Ł10,000 to just under Ł50,000 until January 2011. The programme helps community groups in England create or improve green open spaces to enhance people’s quality of life, and has an online eligibility test. More

Biffaward small grant funding now open
Biffaward currently has two grant schemes aimed at community groups. Community groups are invited to apply for grants of between Ł250 and Ł50,000 if their project can make a difference to a community facility and enhance communities and biodiversity. More

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Events

2 May
International Dawn Chorus Day
Organiser: The Wildlife Trusts
Location: Worldwide
Contact: www.idcd.info
The international celebration of the dawn chorus, comprising several small events in various locations.

12 May
Low Cost Ideas for Environmental Interpretation
Organiser: Environmental Training Network
Location: Birmingham
Contact: shop.btcv.org.uk
A one-day practical workshop demonstrating how to engage people with interactive environmental exhibits for event stands and fundraising stalls for as little as Ł5.

22 May
International Day for Biodiversity
Organiser: The UN
Location: Worldwide
Contact: www.biodiversity-day.info
A morning guided walk around Richmond Park, focusing on skylarks. Part of a series of guided walks held on the first Saturday of each month.

25-29 May
Chelsea Flower Show
Organiser: RHS
Location: London
Contact: www.rhs.org.uk
A five-day world famous flower show, celebrating and demonstrating a range of horticulural expertise.

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Community Profile

Bugle Greenspace

What inspired you to get involved with Bugle Greenspace?
Bugle Greenspace came about following the announcement by Imerys of their plans to build an ecotown over five sites in the clay area of Cornwall, including one in Bugle. Local residents were concerned that the development was partly on greenfield sites and that this, along with numerous other developments and infill occurring in the area was generally leading to a loss of accessible green space around the community.

A core group of like-minded people then decided to take action by finding ways to utilise local green spaces so that they are regarded as community assets and amenities rather than waste ground only fit for dumping or building on. From this common desire to effect change Bugle Greenspace was born.

What does being part of the group involve?
Bugle Greenspace is formed entirely of volunteers who contribute whatever they are able in whatever whey they can. We have a core group of twelve or so committee members who plan the activities and projects of the group – although anyone is welcome to lend a hand in this. We then organise volunteer activity days to get people of all ages involved in improvement or maintenance work to enhance local green spaces.

What interesting projects have you been involved in?
We continue to liaise with Imerys about the development of the ecotown site in Bugle, and opportunities there are to utilise green space within the development to make an attractive and desirable community that people would want to live in. They have listened to what we have said and changed development plans to reflect views we have expressed, which is very encouraging.

What do you feel has been your greatest success as a group?
We have turned some waste ground in the centre of Bugle, which was overgrown and strewn with litter and fly-tip, into a picnic area planted with fruit and oak trees. This included raising money to install some recycled plastic picnic benches and scrounging some litter and dog-poo bins, which have also been erected. Our first activity day had 45 people turn up to lend a hand – we never expected that many and it was great to see people of all ages working together to improve their surroundings.

What have been the main challenges?
To date, our main challenge has been trying to get our local parish council to be more dynamic and support the ideas we have had for projects. These ideas have been supported by local people, but the council seems intent on using bureaucracy and lack of engagement as a way of stifling any creativity or enthusiasm local people might have.

If you had to offer a new community group advice, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to ask. We have been amazed of how supportive organisations and the media are of local voluntary groups doing local activities. We have been able to secure funding, equipment and tools to help us along the way and great media coverage to increase awareness.

What does the future have in store for Bugle Greenspace?
We have just celebrated our first anniversary as a constituted group, and looking back it has been amazing what we have achieved in 18 months. However, the next 18 months will hopefully be equally productive. We are currently applying to for lottery funding for a project called Growing Together, which is a garden sharing initiative. If funding is forthcoming, this project will be a big focus for us over the next two to three years.

We also to continue to liaise with Imerys about the ecotown development and are hopeful that this will result in green spaces which we can help to manage and maintain for the benefit of the community and local wildlife. We will also continue to try to overcome the apathy of our parish council so that other projects might come to fruition…one day even they might see the light!

For more information on Bugle Greenspace, visit buglegreenspace.org.uk.

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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 at: www.green-space.org.uk/community/communitynetwork/bench.php/

Written by: Sarah Cox, Project Officer, GreenSpace
Edited by: Shaun Lowman, Communications Assistant, GreenSpace

To be removed from the list reply to this email with ‘remove’ in the subject header. To subscribe to Community Bench please visit: 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. © 2010 GreenSpace.