About Us
Looking after our Parks and Open Spaces
Barnet has over 200 green spaces covering more than 800 hectares. Just as our neighbourhoods need residents’ groups and associations, so our parks need ‘Friends’! It’s all about taking collective responsibility for our local facilities and our areas and working together to improve where we live. Together we are stronger.
Barnet Green Spaces Network was set-up in July 2019 by a group of parks and green spaces in Barnet. It is set-up and run by volunteers and is independent of Barnet Council. We now have over 45 members.
If your group would like to join, email barnetgsnetwork@gmail.com and you will be added to the Mailchimp list. We can also help you set-up a group.
The Network’s objective is to support the leaders of groups that volunteer on publicly owned parks and green spaces in the borough. It is affiliated to the London Friends of Green Spaces Network, which is turn is affiliated to the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces. Across London there are some 700 groups and nationally over 5,000 groups.
Meetings are held four times a year. This provides a forum to discuss matters of common concern and to work with Council officers and Councillors to get things done. We also have speakers on issues of interest to the group.
We act as an information exchange for good practice for local groups. We discuss and exchange practical ideas on all issues affecting publicly owned parks and green spaces from the provision of pitches and sports to playgrounds, biodiversity, food growing and wildlife.
We think about flooding and climate change and the ways that our parks can be adapted to help tackle these issues.
We look at funding possibilities and, support anything connected with parks and other public open spaces. The Network will try to find solutions with the Council to any problems and propose improvements.
Do you value your local park or green space? Do you want to see improvements there, and more people using it? Do you think it should be looked after properly? If so, why not get together with other users to form a local Friends group!
Roger Chapman, Chair of the Network said, “Our meetings have included discussions with international play experts, the role that clean rivers and streams need to play in our open spaces, the need for more trees, increased biodiversity, funding and protection and expansion of green spaces.”
Contact us: barnetgsnetwork@gmail.com