Greenspace Community Empowerment and Co-Management Project
Promoting and helping to embed community empowerment in the management of green spaces throughout the UK
This Website
This website is being developed as a ‘one stop shop’ of information for the Friends Groups movement. Once developed it will be transfered to be run by the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces (see below).
Aims of the project
The overriding aim for the Project is to support Friends’ groups across the country to feel better equipped and more confident in their active involvement with their local park. We will identify key elements of community empowerment and how it can be encouraged, developed and supported.
The Friends of Lordship Rec have been given grant funding from NESTA of £145,000 over a two-year period (from Sept 2018) through NESTA’s Rethinking Parks programme. The purpose of this fund is to find and replicate the best models available for the overall management, maintenance and development of parks.
The Friends of Lordship Rec have been awarded this funding because of our success in working in partnership with Haringey Council to attract significant investment for restoration and improvement works in Lordship Rec, for facilitating the active involvement and empowerment of independent user groups, and for the overall growth in both the numbers using our park and the diversity of those users.
The approach we are taking towards delivering the Project is based on peer learning and support.
Elements include:
- Working with up to 12 Pilot sites over a two-year period to exchange experiences as Friends Groups and for FOLR to support them in working towards their goals.
- Providing grant funding to the 12 groups in recognition of the time and commitment required in working with us on the Project
- Engaging with the 12 local authorities/landowners with a view to promoting more effective partnership working between them and the Pilots.
- Generating interest in the Project from across the Greenspace sector.
- For FOLR to capture, share and disseminate learning via peer learning events and by establishing a new website to support the Friends Groups movement and those wishing to support and work with such groups. This website to include a range of learning resources including ‘How to’ guides, best practice case studies and links to complementary websites such as The Conservation Volunteers, Fields In Trust etc. The aim is to eventually ‘hand it over’ to the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces, the voice of the Friends Groups movement, for long term promotion & sustainability.
The 12 Pilot sites have been selected following an open invitation to participate sent to Friends Groups across London. There are also 2 pilot sites in Peterborough and Manchester.
FOLR have engaged Dave Morris and Paul Ely as consultants to deliver the Project on their behalf.
The Project is managed by the Friends of Lordship Rec. It is supported by National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces, London Friends of Green Spaces Network, Fields in Trust, Groundwork UK, Keep Britain Tidy, The Conservation Volunteers, Locality and Haringey Council. The Local Government Association has agreed to share learning from the project with its members.
Funded and supported by Nesta, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund as part of the Rethinking Parks Programme.
