Bankside Open Spaces Trust

We’re excited to announce our partnership programme with The Psychosynthesis Trust - Exploring Anxiety Through Nature. The programme aims to engage participants who are experiencing anxiety in the SE1 postcode., and has been developed following our successful pilot programme last year. Participants will join a small group of people to connect with nature, share experiences and learn techniques, so they can live more freely from anxiety. Sessions will be delivered at Crossbones Graveyard on Tuesday for 10 weeks, 2pm to 4pm commencing 20th August. You can learn more about the Exploring Anxiety Programme here: https://bit.ly/46fvMjj To register your interest please complete an application form by Friday 26th July - using the form via the link above. For any further queries please contact Kelly Tyler at The Psychosynthesis Trust via email: [email protected] #anxiety #naturetherapy #partnership #LondoSE1 #Southwark #Bankside

Alongside our volunteering, we encourage active participation in urban green spaces through activities like park steering groups and community consultations. Today we're running a consultation at Guy Street Park, where it is hoped a neighbouring development will fund improvements to the space. We are so please to have been asked to host meetings to gather input and ideas from local people to shape any changes. The consultation takes place in the park until 7pm today, 18 July. Tomorrow (19 July) our Mint Street Park Steering Group takes place at Red Cross Garden from 4pm. We'll be discussing our management of the planting in the part, people's thoughts and ideas about this well used public space, and enjoying a spot of cake too. All welcome. We all know how vital urban green spaces are for people's health and wellbeing, we're delighted to support any improvements of them. #Parks #SteeringGroup #CommunityEngagement #UrbanGreenSpaces

All the hard work and dedication of our incredible volunteers has once again paid off! We are thrilled to announce that Tate Modern Community Garden, Red Cross Garden and Waterloo Millennium Green are once again proud owners of a Green Flag Award Community Award. The award recognises how well community volunteers manage these green spaces. The judges looking at all three of our spaces noted that they were well-managed and maintained. This is a testament to our hard working Parks Team and their volunteers - thank you all. We were pleased to see the judges taking note of our commitment to sustainability and biodiversity - all these sites are peat free for the planet and all feature pollinator friendly planting, green waste reuse and lots of habitats for wildlife too. Have you visited Red cross Garden, Tate Modern Community Garden or Waterloo Green recently - let us know what you think of our AWARD WINNING spaces? #GFA2024, #GFAWinners, #LoveParks

Tis the season - for parks and garden judging! Over the past few weeks we've welcomed expert judges from LONDON IN BLOOM and Green Flag Award to our open spaces in London's Southwark and Lambeth. And it's perfect timing because the summer is our busiest time for park visitors, so it means these community open spaces are in perfect condition, not just for the judges - but for everyone. Supporting our fantastic regular community volunteers, are lively teams from companies of all sizes who escape the office for a day of gardening. These Green Team Corporate Workdays make such a difference to all our spaces, featured here are the lovely groups from Menzies LLP and Bank of America but we'd like to thank all who have volunteered with us this year! We can't wait to reveal the outcome of the judging VERY SOON! Until then - keep enjoying your urban open spaces 😎 #communitygarden #Southwark #LondoninBloom #parks #EnjoyLondon #BritaininBloom #GreenFlagAward #ParkManangement

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!  🤗