FRIENDS OF GROUPS: Hosting Have a Field Days for communities
One of the important roles played by Friends of groups in our green spaces is organising community events to help encourage more of us to get out, use and enjoy our local parks.
On Have a Field Day today, around a fifth of the 250 plus events are being organised by Friends of groups. With Have a Field Day about celebrating all the different ways local communities use and love their local parks, however, it's no surprise that there's lots of different ways these Friends of groups are championing their parks today.
Many groups are taking advantage of Have a Field Day to introduce members of the community to the important work they do year-round in their park. In Glasgow, for example, the Friends of Cross Park are combining children's activities with a litter pick of the park, whilst in Leeds the Friends of Fearnville Fields will also be helping the space look at its best by combining planting activities with a variety of games.
For some groups, Have a Field Day is an opportunity to encourage people to explore their local green spaces and find something they might not have seen before. In South Shields, the Friends of Temple Memorial Park are organising a fun run and encouraging people to explore marked walking routes within the park.
There's also a sport theme in Birmingham with the People's Park Friends organising community games whilst in Doncaster there's an opportunity to have a go at bowls as well as some crazy golf on offer along with drinks and snacks hosted by the Friends of Elmfield Park.
Good old-fashioned celebration is the aim of the game elsewhere and up in Dumbarton, the Friends of Levengrove Park are celebrating with their Gala Day including lawn games, arts, kids entertainment and more, as well as information stalls. In Hasland, south of Chesterfield, the Friends of Eastwood Park have organised a Teddy Bear’s Trail with prizes for 'Best Dressed Teddy' and more, whilst down in London there's live music, and refreshments, including honey from the park's own bees and fruit punch made from community-orchard-grown apples, hosted by the Friends of Broomfield Park.
That is just a handful of the many ways groups across the UK are showcasing and celebrating their parks today. As our Summer of Parks celebrates Friends of groups this week we say a big thank you to all those groups organising events for the community today on Have a Field Day and throughout the year. If you're inspired then why not get involved with this week's 'One Small Thing': try to find out if your local park or green space has a Friends of group and if it does, see if they have any events coming up that you could go along to!
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