Looking after our Parks and Open Spaces
Barnet has over 250 parks and open spaces, covering 1,200 hectares of land – around 20% of the borough. 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 60 member groups.
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 Friends groups of 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 three or four times a year. This provides a forum to discuss matters of common concern and work with Council officers and Councillors to get things done.
We act as an information exchange for good practice for local groups. We discuss and exchange practical ideas on all issues affecting parks and open 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!
Contact us: barnetgsnetwork@gmail.com