It was great to see everyone out at Cotteridge Park with cake at our July Coffee morning and last month in the woodland at Ten Acres in Stirchley, toasting marshmallows over the fire.
We still want to carry on with our online socials as well, so you are invited to our next BOSF Tea Time on Thursday 29th July at 4.00pm.
This will be on Zoom and the link for joining is:
Topic: BOSF Tea Time
Time: Jul 29, 2021 04:00 PM London
We are having a break over the summer and then our September Social will be a walk around Stirchley Fruit and Nut Village on Wednesday 8th September. More details to follow.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Part-Time Job Opportunity: Birmingham’s Erratic Boulders: Heritage of the Ice Age
Four local organisations have worked together over the last 18 months to win an award of £112,800 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a project called “Birmingham’s Erratic Boulders: Heritage of the Ice Age”.
The project will run from July 2021 to January 2023 and the award is to a partnership of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust, the Black Country Geological Society, Birmingham Open Spaces Forum and the Lapworth Museum of Geology.
Thanks to National Lottery players, the project aims to restore the large boulders, which were brought from the mountains of North Wales in the Ice Age, to their rightful place as a prominent feature of Birmingham’s natural heritage and a source of local pride.
One or two individuals are needed to fill the part-time roles from September 2021 to the end of 2022. We are looking for people with experience in project management/working with volunteers; geological expertise is not essential. For role descriptions and person specifications, please click here.
Applications should take the form of:
a one-page letter explaining your interest and suitability and making it clear whether you want to take up the Project Manager role, the Volunteer Coordinator role, or both.
a c.v. giving factual information on your educational and other qualifications and employment/volunteering history.
Following the huge success last year, the FREE Northfield Beach is back this summer from 21st to 24th August.
They are bringing the seaside to the heart of the town centre for five days between 10am and 4pm daily... complete with sand, deckchairs, arts and crafts, face painting and more!
This year, our parks and green spaces have been a vital lifeline to many of us during the lockdowns.
Around 9 in 10 people surveyed by Natural England in May 2020 agreed that natural spaces are good for mental health and wellbeing.
And yet, our green spaces have been under immense pressure, with local authorities telling us they collected, on average, an extra 57 tonnes of litter during the first lockdown alone.
As we head into summer, our annual Love Parks Week provides a moment to send a rallying cry; to Love, Respect, and Protect our parks throughout the summer of 2021 and beyond.
Update from the National Federation of Parks & Green Spaces
All Party Parliamentary Group for Parks - A Report
Dave Morris, our Chair, represented Friends and green space volunteer groups across the country at this meeting yesterday. His report can be seen by clicking here.
As Dave states in his report, "the covid era has demonstrated the central importance of access to well-run parks for all sections of every community. Since the Select Committee Inquiry the funding gap to achieve this has continued to grow, and the crisis for the country’s parks is deepening. The Inquiry needs to reconvene urgently". At the end of the meeting, the chairs of both the APPG and the Select Committee agreed to look again into the Future of Public Parks report and its recommendations, into what has happened to the Parks Action Group liaison and advisory body, and into Government commitment to parks.
Better Friends Tool
Our free Better Friends group strength checker tool has now been used by nearly 200 groups and the feedback is great.
The Better Friends tool aims to help you understand and strengthen the effectiveness of your group, it will get you thinking about how you operate, how effective you are and highlight areas for improvement.
You will receive an emailed feedback report with an overall score for your group, plus a more detailed breakdown covering key topics such as:
organisation
structure
strengths
effectiveness
ambition.
Follow the link above to complete the tool for you group and get valuable pointers about how to strengthen as an organisation.
Involving Young People with Friends of Parks Groups
Fields in Trust has partnered with green space charity Groundwork and The National Youth Agency to on the 'Future Proof Parks', programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The project is supporting Friends of parks groups and local young people to work together in a series of innovative projects which will support heritage parks and widen the understanding of their importance. The aim is to encourage young people to join their local friends of park groups and volunteer to preserve and celebrate the local spaces that matter to the communities they live in.
The three-year programme has been awarded funding through the National Lottery Heritage Fund's Kick the Dust programme, which aims to enable more young people to be involved in the UK's heritage.
Importance of Urban Green Space to Children's Development
Green spaces can significantly benefit children’s physical, mental and social development - from infancy into adulthood. This discussion paper from UNICEF outlines the many benefits of green spaces on children's health and development, as well as actions to improve access to green spaces.
Recommended interventions focus on empowering communities to claim and maintain their local green spaces, securing government support to improve and create green space in cities, and prioritising schools and childcare centres for green improvements.
Get Grants have a busy line-up of Meet the Funder events happening over the next few months, where we will be joined by funders to talk about their funding programmes. These events give attendees the opportunity to speak directly to funders, take part in discussions, get unique insights, and ask questions specific to their project or organisation. We have the following upcoming opportunities:
FREE Meet the Funder – BBC Children in Need: Monday 19th July, 1pm – 2pm
Get Grants will be joined by Carla Belle, Regional Officer for BBC Children in Need, who will share insights on both their Main Grants and Small Grants Programmes. BBC Children in Need’s vision is that children and young people in the UK have a safe, happy, and secure childhood and the chance to reach their potential. To achieve this vision, they award grants to charities and other non-profit organisations that support and work with children and young people who are disadvantaged and face challenges in their lives. Register your FREE place via Eventbrite.
FREE Meet the Expert – easyfundraising: Monday 27th September, 10am – 11am
At this Meet the Expert event, we will be joined by Becky Coleman, Partnerships Manager for easyfundraising, who will explain how changing your organisations and networks online shopping habits can support your fundraising goals. Through attending you will have the opportunity to take part in a session discussing easyfundraising, which is free for any not-for-profit organisation to use. Register your FREE place via Eventbrite.
FREE Meet the Funder – Severn Trent Community Fund: Tuesday 12th October, 1pm – 2pm.
Get Grants will be joined by Severn Trent Community Fund to explore their Community Grants with participants. Through attending you will have the opportunity to take part in a session discussing the Severn Trent Community Fund, a programme that aims to support community wellbeing and protect and sustain water and natural resources focussing in three different areas: People, Places, and Environment. Register your FREE place via Eventbrite.
