Many congratulations to the Friends of Roundhay Park (FoRP), who were recently presented with the Kings Award for Voluntary Service, the equivalent to an MBE.

A certificate and engraved piece of rock crystal were presented by the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson, at an event for the volunteers hosted by Dine at the Mansion. Both items will be on display in the Mansion’s café.

The picture shows the Lord Lieutenant flanked by FoRP’s Chair, Richard Critchley and Secretary, Carol Haughton with key Trustees, along with others who wrote letters of support with the application, including LP&GS Forum Chair, Lynda Kitching.

Dr Anna Barker (Uni of Leeds), presentation of research into Woman and Girls; Safety in Parks (as given at the LPGSF AGM yesterday). Some very interesting and useful findings on how to make parks be and feel safer for women and girls, and so improve access for people who may not feel able to enjoy parks at the moment.

Full report here:

https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/194214/1/Parks%20Report%20FINAL%207.12.2022.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3XTkGvgLUo9iKjt58H6v7dYVZBcXrcOi9MsSER7vxtxZkeBm-7IuhHZsQ

There is funding available for community parks (i.e. not Green Flag parks, woodlands or cemeteries) in Leeds, as well as help with crowdfunding and more. Remember to pitch to the We Love Leeds Parks fund by Friday 9th Februrary 2024 to apply for up to £1,500 in funding for your project. 

The slides from the launch workshop are here:

https://about.spacehive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Love-Leeds-Parks-30th-November-2023-Launch-Slides-.pdf

A recording of the presentation, which explains everything is here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/aDupuXP62vz27lsmKElWj60_y2haoeD61XvOLMtTzjpINOZT32Hw-y-qCyWNEn2ZyiypIX24yUUpK9M.Eu–CbNJn0db7P9y?canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus06web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2Fy-ciPTEM6e2vbtAu-lfeuwaSoNvzTcXYi4Dnavgd2_OH298_2f6c1XrE25qCrrut.2aCjbatk8NvVLw8L

To help get your project up and running, the following resources are available:
How do I create a project?
How do I cost up my project?
How do I pitch to a fund?

For help from SpaceHive – click here

LPGSF chair Lynda Kitching thanks everyone who contributed to this project by sharing their opinions, (Tom Bliss adds special thanks to her, the committee, and the many who helped to develop the survey and our on-going research).

We are sharing the results directly with key LCC officers, and will continue to work with the council to help them to respond positively to the data and comments.

We are also collaborating with academics at both UoL and Leeds Beckett re further analysis of this data and future research into all these topics and more.

Please CLICK HERE to fill in our survey – it will take about 4 minutes.

The survey is now closed. See above for the results.

New pesticide position statement

National Picnic Week is between 19^th and 27^th June – Here’s a chance to show off our green spaces!

As a national pastime every summer, National Picnic Week aims to provide picnic tips, picnic hotspots, and everything surrounding picnics to help the nation roll out their picnic rugs and embrace British summertime wherever you are.

If you are involved please send us your photos!

LPGSF supports Love Leeds Parks.

Love Leeds Parks is a charity which supports community-led enhancements to public green spaces in Leeds. The Forum is represented on the Board of Trustees by Forum Chair, Lynda Kitching. The charity has been set up to enable local people, visitors and businesses to support our green spaces so that they can be enjoyed by this and future generations. The ‘Give a Little Back’ fundraising campaign will provide grants for community groups and targeted projects across Leeds. www.loveleedsparks.org.uk