In this update:
Parks Forum Meetings for 2022
I included provisional dates for our 2022 meetings in the last update, we have now confirmed the dates, with one change - the meeting that was to have been at the end of June will now be 2nd July.
So the confirmed dates (all Saturdays) are
26th February – 2nd July – 15th October
The February meeting will be at Summerhill Methodist Church, St George. This has ample parking, and is on the 44/45 bus route. Being a church there is plenty of space to spread out.
There is also likely to be an additional meeting in the Spring / early summer on the new Parks & Green Spaces strategy.
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Parks Forum Terms of Reference Working Group
At the AGM we suggested that we should review the Bristol Parks Forum Terms of Reference
In particular do we need to update the Forum’s primary aims? As part of this we need to consider whether we should be considering all green space, or specifically sites managed by Bristol Parks with public access.
If you would like to join a working group to look at this - probably via some zoom meetings and some email discussions, please let us know. The aim is to have a recommendation to put to the February meeting.
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Help Your Park win £1,000
Can I ask for 30 seconds of your time, to nominate Your Park Bristol & Bath? We will be in with a chance of winning £1,000 in December.
All you need to do is:
- visit https://movementforgood.com/12days/#nominateACharity
- enter either our charity number ‘1182217’ or ‘Bristol and Bath Parks Foundation’ and submit the short form
The more votes we get, the more chance we have of winning so please do share if you are able to!
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Bristol Future Parks Online Information Session
You are invited to a free, online information session to find out more about Bristol Future Parks and how to submit a proposal to start a project or business in a Bristol park or green space
When: Tuesday 23 November at 6pm
Where: Zoom
Sign up: on Eventbrite
The session is split into three sections:
About the project
- the aims of Bristol Future Parks
- what we're looking for
- commercial and community opportunities
- how to find the information you need to make a proposal
How to submit a proposal
- our spirit of place assessments and how they can support your proposal
- the evaluation criteria
- how to fill in the Expression of Interest form
- what happens after you have submitted your proposal
Questions
An opportunity for you to ask the team any questions.
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New path in Stoke Park
In November, work will start on the planned new footpath in Stoke Park, as part of our plans to provide better access for everyone visiting our green spaces in Bristol.
This project follows a public consultation in October 2018, where we engaged with residents and local businesses on the idea. Following that process, and with full planning permission now in place, we are ready to start construction.
The high-quality surfaced path will be designed to ensure more people can enjoy the park, including people travelling by bike or those who use wheelchairs, mobility scooters or pushchairs. It will also help boost the city’s sustainable transport options and connect with the north of the city, including new housing developments in Lockleaze, which are expected to be completed in the winter of 2022.
The path will run from Romney Avenue to Jellicoe Avenue and the Purdown Gun Battery and be made of an asphalt surface that contains natural quartzite stone. This means it will be a natural colour, similar to the path that already runs through the park from Jellicoe Avenue to the Duchess Pond and Park Road. Please visit Stoke Park accessible path - Travelwest for a map of the route and further information.
Bat and bird boxes will also be installed along the route to support nature in the area. This is part of the park’s ongoing conservation work, which includes goat and cattle grazing. Tree protection fencing has been installed and the path project is expected to be completed by winter 2022.
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St George Park Lake
Part of the footpath around the lake in St George Park has been fenced off for a number of years but repair work will be starting this week. This work is being done during the winter to minimise the impact on wildlife, though this does mean that it will take longer than in would have done during the summer.
Temporary fencing will start going up on Wed next week (17th Nov) with the main works starting on 22nd November.
The funding to improve the lake and surrounds for wildlife, which are part of this work, is from Community Infrastructure Levy allocated Councillors on the Area Committee in 2019. Some years ago Friends of St George Park had an Awards for All Grant to fund a feasibility study on wildlife improvements, so this is the culmination of a long process.
Bristol Parks have sent out the following information:
Bristol City Council will soon be starting an exciting project to restore the Victorian lake in St George Park. The project will not only improve the facilities on and around the lake for local residents and visitors, but will add to the natural environment for birds and other wildlife
The investment of nearly £400,000 will be used to repair footpaths around the lake and replace and strengthen the lake’s walls. A new boardwalk will be installed to allow children to observe wildlife and take samples of the lake to learn more about nature and conservation
The project, supported by the Friends of St George Park, will also enhance the natural environment for birds and other wildlife and improve the habitat and ecology on the island in the lake. The silt from the lake will be used to create new wetland areas for wildfowl and for amphibious creatures and insects, as well as a natural amphitheatre on the side of the lake to form a space for outdoor performance
The area around the lake will be closed to the public from Wednesday 17 November to allow for the installation of security and safety fencing. The main works will then begin on 22 November and will take around six months to complete, this is because the removal of the existing lake edge wall and rebuild is being undertaken in stages to avoid any further collapsing of the footpath. There is also an allowance built in for poor weather conditions as these works are being done in the winter and early spring. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this work
bristol.gov.uk/stgeorgelakeimprovement
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50 Ways to Better Walking
Last week Bristol Walking Alliance (BWA) launched a booklet 50 Ways to Better Walking, which lists fifty practical measures to improve the pedestrian environment.
“We have deliberately chosen this week for the launch, whilst COP26 is underway, to remind policy makers that encouraging walking is an important way to reduce our carbon footprint and help address the climate emergency. Walking has a very low carbon footprint – the activity of walking is zero-emission, and the carbon footprint of improving the environment for walking is less than for other transport modes.
Two of the 50 Ways ask both Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority to allocate a specific budget for improving the environment for walking, and to commit to measuring and increasing walking levels. But ‘50 Ways’ goes wider than that. It includes measures to improve the pedestrian environment for implementation by policy makers, planners, businesses, communities.”
You can read “50 Ways” here
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Field Studies Council Bristol courses 2022
The Field Studies Council (FSC) is running the following courses in Bristol next year:
Field Ecology of Garden Birds – Bristol 13th February 2022
Field Ecology of Garden Birds – Bristol 5th March 2022
Discovering Creative Writing in Nature 5th March 2022
They are continuing to upload courses over the next few weeks.
These are all included in their current offers:
• Early Bird 20% off Jan Feb March courses booked from now until end of December. The voucher code is JFM22
• They are offering organisations the possibility of 10 places for the price of 8, across all Badged Natural History courses. If that is of interest, you directly email the team ecoskills@field-studies-council.org
• The Generation Green project is still running, which gives young people the chance to study at a subsidised priced, £25 off shorter online courses (the cost comes down to £5), or £50 off the Bristol courses and 4 week online courses (£10 for some courses) It’s a great opportunity to get Young People involved.
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Rob Acton-Campbell
Bristol Parks Forum
www.bristolparksforum.org.uk/vision/
BPF meetings for 2022:
Sat 26th February, Summerhill Methodist Church, St George – Sat 2nd July – Sat 15th October – all 9.30am to 12.30pm - venues for July & Oct to be confirmed
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