your natural health service See what your council’s Parks Development Team, partners and community groups have been doing for your area this year. Issue - 2 June 2021 Introduction Welcome to the 2nd edition of Glasgow City Council’s ParkLife newsletter. The last 16 months has been a challenging time for all of us as we strive to continue to go about our everyday lives in the midst of a global pandemic. What Covid-19 has done is bring in to focus the importance of our parks and open spaces as areas that not only assist with our general health and wellbeing but valued spaces that are appreciated and provide the opportunity to meet friends and family in a safe setting as well as providing the opportunity to exercise or get closer to nature. In addition, as the city hosts COP26 and seeks to deliver on its commitments as part of the Climate & Ecological Emergency Declaration our parks will play a pivotal role in achieving our outcomes for the benefit of all whether through food growing, additional tree planting, wildflower/ green connector projects, active travel routes or creative play, the opportunities are endless. I would like to thank our many community and Friends of Parks groups, allotment associations and external partners for their continued support of their much loved spaces. This contribution is invaluable in ensuring not only that we get things right but providing a sounding board for any proposed improvements where possible. With the support of our Parks Development team, additional groups continue to emerge across the city and I would encourage you to get in touch if you are interested in becoming involved. I hope you enjoy this latest newsletter which highlights the breadth of projects currently ongoing across the city by many individuals, groups and organisations. Stephen Egan Head of Parks & Streetscene, Neighbourhoods, Regeneration and Sustainability, Glasgow City Council your natural health service Contents Your Parks - Helping to Beat Climate Change 15 Click on story below to go straight to this section. Please note that Glasgow City Council is not responsible for the content on any links to facebook groups or external partners pages within this Nitshill Community Greenspace 16 document. Community Green Flag Winners 3 Repairs to Victoria Park Galleon 17 Community Participation 4 Best Fence in Glasgow 18 You Need Friends 5 Resident Robins 18 Queens Park Pollinator Park 6 Overnewton Square Play Area 19 Spaces for People 7 The Fascinating World of Algae 20 Dawsholm Park Cycle Paths 8 Glasgow Ramblers Winter 9 Challenge Restoration of the Spiral Staircase at Glasgow Botanic Gardens 10 Meet Our Team 11 A New Woodland for Glasgow 12 Mansewood Park and Allotments 13 The Art of Restoration 14 your natural health service Community Green Flag Winners If the ongoing Covid-19 This initiative is designed to Yorkhill Green Spaces pandemic has taught us reach community groups in anything, it’s how much we Glasgow’s less affluent areas and value our local parks and engage people that have never Gorbals Rose Garden Orchard greenspaces. considered managing or getting Group Keep Scotland Beautiful are involved in their own precious excited to launch a new spaces. We would encourage Gorbals Rose Garden Orchard initiative in Glasgow which will anyone that is interested to get Group having a well deserved cuppa help community groups to in touch and learn more about improve the places that they live this exciting project. in and care for - making sure that everyone in the city can The project, supported by the access safe, clean and inspiring People’s Postcode Lottery and green spaces. Glasgow City Council, will see Gorbals Rose Garden Recognising the important role community groups with an Orchard Group that well-maintained parks and interest in the project accessing open spaces play in better health workshops, forums and hands- outcomes, we will be working to on support - building skills to identify community groups that confidently cultivate their own it can support and empower to green spaces and effectively manage their local parks, green manage their parks to spaces and outdoor places. international Green Flag Award This project will complement winning standard. the existing work being carried out by Glasgow City Council Glasgow announced 7 new and other voluntary projects in Community Green Flag winners the city. in 2020 including: Click Click All the parks, green spaces and Friends of Linn Park outdoor areas across Glasgow Here Here provide an invaluable resource Friends of Castlemilk Park to the city - creating a safe space to play, to think, to exercise, to Alexandra Food Forrest learn. Being able to access quality green space is also vital Friends of Maryhill Park in helping to tackle some of the To visit Friends of To visit Yorkhill health and well-being Friends of Southern Necropolis Southern Green Spaces on challenges we face. Necropolis on FB Facebook Alexandra Park Food Forest Click Click Click Click Click Click Here Here Here Here Here Here To visit Friends of To visit Friends of To visit Alexandra To visit Friends of To visit Gorbals To get in touch Linn Park on Castlemilk Park on Food Forest on Maryhill Park on Rose Garden with Keep Scotland Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Orchard on FB Beautiful 3 Community Participation Theresa Martin from our team representing GCC with Green Health Strategist Ian Mackenzie from NHS/ Greenspace Scotland hosting international workshop on ‘Green Health’ with Sean Kelly from NRS Connecting Nature team Again, our Parks Development From late 2019 and through close second. Our team, with the Team are trail blazing recent times, there have been a help of the Glasgow Disability innovative work developing series of outdoor ‘walk and talks’ Alliance Young Peoples Forum, community participation gatherings, indoor and online The Village Storytelling Centre within our services. ‘catch up drop in’ meetings. and support from COSLA and From group participation we the NRS Connecting Nature Pre pandemic, the Greater have 4 GCC (Glasgow City Team have designed and Pollok Greenspace and Council) depts collaborating delivered an online workshop Sandy Paterson from our Food Growing Woodlands Development Group and at least 5 community groups exploring ‘Accessibility – what team representing GCC with Dom Hall was set up by our Community are now aware of each other and this means to everyone’, this was Co-founder National Park City, Sharon Engagement Team in response have agreed to communicate specifically about what people Morgan National park City Schools to evidence from previous better and support each other in Greater Pollok face when hosting international ‘National Park’ community consultation from when planning up and coming accessing greenspaces and workshop with Sean Kelly from NRS the former Pollok 8020 project work. This is a fantastic woodlands. Being a total success, Connecting Nature team. (which is now renamed G53 achievement and example of it was agreed that there will be together and has adapted its good practise. follow up workshops and purpose through the pandemic) discussions both online and and the 2019 NRS There has been various topics of depending on restrictions, well as sharing our learning (Neighbourhoods, Regeneration discussion in the ‘catch up drop outside in specific locations. with greenspace workers and & Sustainability) Connecting in’ meetings, one of which was students studying community Nature Team’s local stakeholder revisiting what the group think This community participatory democracy practises from analysis exercise. the top priorities for the local approach from our team has national and international community’s greenspace and been noticed within GCC and locations! The group was set up to create woodland development work we have been asked to speak at Click safe dedicated space and time should be. The full group and be representative of our for any Greater Pollok agreed that our team should Parks development team on the Here greenspace and woodlands lead workshops about the GCC Social Recovery Taskforce. community projects, volunteers themes once they are agreed We have represented GCC at an and residents to share thoughts, and the design of the content of international ‘Connecting resources, findings, support and the workshops should be in Nature’ conference as a key learn from each other, set alliance with anyone who was speaker and workshop host priority themes for development interested in contributing and about Green Health speaking To send an email if work, build relationships and relevant key organisations. about the Greater Pollok inspire more collaborative approach. Our talk had more you would like to approaches to local greenspace Accessibility was named as the than 60 delegates from multiple and woodlands development number one priority with countries along with Sandy be involved work. woodland care creation as a from our Food Growing team as 4 You Need Friends Trying to remember the classroom instructions for preparing the trench for planting Students at the Certificate of Practical Horticulture Course observing suitable Covid distancing. Our wonderful Friends of Horticulture course going. This Our next course is scheduled to Botanic Gardens have been is a 10-day course, over ten begin at the end of August, and trying to find ways to keep weeks, generally full day Covid permitting we shall be going during the past year. Here Saturdays which is 80% practical able to have a full turnout. is what they had to say; tuition and 20% classroom. On completion of the course there We are now beginning to put “As with most Friends activities is an examination with together our late summer/ during the Covid restrictions, successful students being winter programme of activities, the Friends of Glasgow Botanic awarded a certificate by the especially an event to show how Gardens have been in semi Royal Botanic Garden the Botanic Gardens everyday hibernation.