Bankside Open Spaces Trust

We love sharing our work - thank you The Athlete Media Group for visiting us and talking about our outdoor spaces, events and activities too!

Midway through #insectweek - we here to shout about inspiring the next generation of nature and bug enthusiasts! At our recent Bankside Open Spaces Festival, our wonderful Community Engagement Facilitator Mus took a gang of intrepid explorers out on a barefoot bug safari. What’s a barefoot safari? Well, its simply taking your shoes off for a nature walk (yes, we checked the area first…). A barefoot walk is a great way to experience nature with all your senses, plus there’s a wealth of evidence around the benefits for children: https://lnkd.in/eNhbt6sZ. The group met lots of insect buddies in Southwark's Little Dorrit Park, proving that even in the heart of the city - a wilderness safari is possible. This accessible activity was part of our festival Neurodiversity Zone - thank you to the The Neurodiversity Family Hub C.I.C. who helped us host the zone. #neurodiversity #everyonewelcome #lovenature #insectgram #NatureCharity #LondonGardens #Community [Image description: a cheerful carosel about how we love nature, plants and bugs and sharing that love with people, especially the next generation of nature lovers. We do this through craft (with an image of a girl at a free craft activity), nature trails (image of our nature trail in Waterloo Green) and a barefoot safari (images of our staff and children in among planting at Little Dorrit Park looking at bugs while barefoot).]

This is a timely article from The Guardian: https://lnkd.in/egPy2Kzh highlighting the need to protect our young people's green spaces with robust local and national policies. Recent biodiversity net gain changes are designed to protect our biodiversity in the longer term, but these changes need planning and reinforcing. They also need to have community needs at the heart of them. We’ve been managing open spaces with our volunteers in London, which we love to share with schools like Oasis Academy. Small charities championing community green spaces and local groups, like the local estate gardeners we support through our Green Hub project, need support and investment to project vital space for young people to play and nature to flourish. You can think about this issue when casting your vote in July, or when talking to your prospective candidates. 

Thank you to everyone who came to our Bankside Open Spaces Festival on Saturday. Thousands took to the streets to celebrate our area’s open spaces, and all the fantastic things that make Bankside the best side!   We wouldn’t be able to throw Bankside’s biggest party without a little help from our friends, so we want to say a huge thank you to our funders Southwark Council and United St Saviour's Charity, and our sponsors THE BERKELEY GROUP HOLDINGS PLC, Fabrix, Hines, Landsec and Snowsfield Quarter.   Thank you also to all those who supported us in kind too including, Joseph Rochford Gardens Ltd. for making our Big Plant Giveaway possible (a big shout out to Pizza Pilgrims Lower Marsh and the Community Payback team for donating and creating the tomato tin plant pots!) Travis Perkins plc on Redcross Way, who closed on a Saturday to let us take over their street, and The Erith Group for the loan of their bunting-tastic cherry picker.   Hundreds of individuals put a huge amount of time and effort into the festival from our incredible performers to those running free activities and all the bars, food and market stalls too – thank you to all of you. #teamwork #community #charity #festvial

We have such a good time putting on Bankside Open Spaces Festival - our free celebration of urban green spaces and the community who love them - and it really makes us smile to hear from festival goers. Thank you Sebastian Kalmar for sharing this and all who came and filled the streets and our parks with summertime vibes on Saturday - watch this space for more festival posts soon! #festival #Southwark #Community #teamwork

On Saturday, as well as hosting our huge Bankside Open Spaces Festival - we threw open the gates of Tate Modern Community Garden for London Open Gardens Weekend. Nearly 500 people explored this green oasis created especially for the community, and Parks Manager Joe featured on ITV News celebrating the work of volunteers!  😎 Tate Community Garden was created during the development of the gallery as a respite for local people from the area’s increasingly busy streets, and to give those without a garden somewhere to relax and connect with nature. 🌿 Alongside Tate Modern, we care for Tate Modern Community Garden and host free events – such as the family favourite Halloween Crafting! We also ensure the garden stays in award-winning condition by coordinating our wonderful volunteers from the community and businesses. Thank you to Bank of America for their regular volunteer group support! 💚 As a testament to our volunteers' incredible work - the garden holds a Green Flag, a LONDON IN BLOOM Award and is part of our collective Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom Award with Southwark Council and Better Bankside. 🤩     We’d like to thank London Parks and Gardens for celebrating secret green spaces, like Tate Modern Community Garden, through its London Open Gardens event and for championing spaces run by charities and volunteers – we look forward to next year!  🤗

🎉 Exciting addition to Bankside Open Spaces Festival alert! 🎉   FREE Neurodiversity-Friendly Nature and Green Craft Workshops in our Quiet Zone 🌿✨   These workshops are designed to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone to explore nature and express creativity through green crafts. Whether you're looking to connect with nature, learn new skills, or simply unwind in a supportive setting, these sessions are perfect for you.   📅 Date: 8 June 📍 Location: Redcross Way/Little Dorrit Court, SE1. Look out for the Quiet Zone gazebo. 🎟️ More info, and reserve your FREE spot: https://lnkd.in/gmYbqppd   Led by our very own Mus (Community Engagement Facilitator) who can't wait to help you embrace the beauty of nature and creativity at Bankside Open Spaces Festival! 🌱🖌️   The Quiet Zone is designed to give a little respite from the festival hubbub.   #Neurodiversity #Nature #Crafting #InclusiveEvents #BanksideOpenSpacesFestival

It's #VoluteersWeek - and we'd like to thank all our wonderful volunteers who help us maintain our parks and gardens all through the year. Thanks to their efforts our open spaces receive annual park excellence awards, like Green Flag Awards and London in Bloom. Thank you team! This week some of our dedicated community volunteers have been preparing Tate Modern Community Garden for London Open Gardens weekend (8/9 June). The garden will be open from 10am on Saturday 8th June, pop down and meet Parks Manager Joe, explore the garden and Joe's fantastic sculptures in the pond (Joe is also an artist and runner up on 2024's Landscape Artist of the Year!): https://lnkd.in/er8N6UfC LONDON HISTORIC PARKS AND GARDENS TRUST runs London Open Gardens in celebration of our city's amazing green spaces - visit: https://lnkd.in/eD3D_M4q to find out more. #Volunteers #ThankYou #ParkManagement #Timetosaythankyou #VolunteersWeek2024

The summer officially started in London Bridge last night with the launch of Summer by the River. Our CEO Charlotte Gilsenan and Head of Sports Jack Harrison celebrated at The Scoop with local people and Southwark's new Mayor Councillor Naima Ali. We’re feeling extra celebratory about Summer by the River this year because we've been chosen to be the event's charity partner and are benefiting from their Cocktails with a Cause! Every drink bought will contribute to our green spaces and free, accessible outdoor activities. Our outdoor activities are designed to help people connect with nature in the city and to combat rising levels of inactivity, especially among children and young people. With support like this from Summer By The River, we're able to offer more free places at our summer sports camps, vital when other summer activities are inaccessible or too costly for many local families. Find our more about this fantastic summer long feast of music, films and fun, and about their support of our work here: https://lnkd.in/evbPwJJF Thanks to London Bridge City for your support and to Team London Bridge for making connections and championing our work. Thank you also to Barserve Co Ltd! #SummerByTheRiver #LondonBridge #WhatsOnInLondon

Our Outreach Worker Mus has started facilitating a new Gardening Club with Waterloo Community Counselling. It's absolutely fantastic to see how much they achieved, despite this unpredictable Spring weather! We're looking forward to seeing and sharing more updates throughout the summer.