Case Studies
Information on the 2008 Award Winners:
Bournemouth and Poole’s Urban Heaths Partnership are responsible for providing green lungs and opportunities for informal recreation right on people's doorsteps. The Bournemouth/Poole area is the second largest urban area in the SW, and surrounds and abuts a number of heaths internationally designated for the wildlife that they support.
In 2000 the wildlife value of the urban heaths had been declining for many years, partly because of fragmentation and lack of management but mostly because of use and abuse by visitors and local residents. Since 2001 the Urban Heaths Partnership has worked collaboratively with land owners and managers, visitors and local communities to raise awareness of the importance of the heaths and to encourage people to enjoy them in a responsible way. This work has halted, and in some cases reversed the decline in wildlife value on most of the heaths and encouraged local people to get involved in looking after them.
Victoria Park is a large urban park in Bristol, surrounded by high-density terraced housing. It is over 100 years old, but was in decline due to reduced council funding. Victoria Park Action Group (VPAG) was formed in 2002, to bring together those who wished to restore the park and its facilities for the benefit of the local community.
Since its formation, the group has, in association with Bristol City Council, worked to make the park a better place for the local community and wildlife. They have improved facilities for young people (including a new playground for under-5s, skateboard park, five-a-side pitch, cricket wicket and goalposts for existing football pitch) and restored old park benches and purchased of new ones. They also organise annual community events in the park, including dog show, fun day and bonfire night. To encourage wildlife, the group has planted of 50 oak and tulip trees, to form two new avenues, created a butterfly garden and a better management plan for the wetland area, and has thinned shrubbery areas. See: www.vpag.org.uk
The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a 13 mile off road route that carries over 2.4 million walking and cycling trips a year, and sees continued year on year increases in its usage. The section of the Path in Bristol provides a green lung in the city and 55% of users in this section use it because of the 'pleasant surroundings' it provides. The route passes through the Dings which are one of the 10% most deprived wards in the UK and provides this and other communities to walk, cycle and play in the space. Sustrans surveys have shown that three quarters of respondents using the Path said its presence has increased the amount of physical activity they take. It provides a space to play, travel and enjoy being in which clearly benefits a huge numbers of the local community. See: www.bristolbathrailwaypath.org.uk
The Community Garden at Hayden Road allotments, Cheltenham provides a community greenspace offering individuals referred from local community mental health teams the opportunity to work as volunteers to build productive plots together with composting, conservation and ornamental areas and develop skills for cultivation of a vast array of plants and produce. Volunteers taste and learn about preparing and cooking freshly grown produce and some groups have also had opportunities to experience and develop skills in landscaping and garden construction projects such as pond building, shed, greenhouse and polytunnel erection, slab making and path-laying. Working on the garden provides disadvantaged individuals with physical, meaningful and purposeful occupation. It helps increase their confidence, self esteem and independence and provides opportunities for social inclusion and community participation.
The Three Brooks Reserve lies in the heart of Bradley Stoke. Its 45 hectares of woodlands, grasslands and wetlands designated a local nature reserve in 2004 serves a community of 20,000 residents who previously didn't have access to managed open space. The space provides a wide range of outdoor activities and opportunities for all members of the community. Volunteer work days, green gyms, health walks, corporate days and contractors have helped to conserve habitats, improve access and increase awareness of the reserve and its wildlife. Schools use the site for many activities including wood school, nature trails and orienteering, helping to foster a sense of ownership in future generations. See: www.three-brooks.info 
St Werburghs City Farm and community gardens are open all year round. It is an independent charity committed to working with the community to provide recreational and educational services and resources to improve the lives of local people, including training for college students, adults with special needs, job seekers, volunteers and work experience pupils and horticultural training for adults with learning difficulties. The Boiling Wells site was an abandoned hillside and the focus of antisocial behaviour. St Werburghs City Farm has transformed this smallholding into a beautiful green oasis with an active youth and community engagement project. Young people have been actively engaged in all aspects of planning and have built many of the features on site. There are plenty of opportunities to explore seasonality, low-impact living, develop new skills and build confidence. See: www.stwerburghs.org
Tuckingmill Valley Park is a flagship regeneration project at the head of Camborne, Pool and Redruth in Cornwall. The site’s industrial past left a legacy of contamination and dereliction which included landfill tipping, mine shafts and arsenic waste. A Park Regeneration Group was set up and is a partnership of local authorities, youth groups and sports representatives and environmental groups. As well as transforming the site into a community asset, the group engaged young people in the future of the park and ensured their wishes were converted into reality. Today the land has been transformed into a true community space and a real source of local pride. The Park perhaps paradoxically brings together a skate park in the head of a conservation site, community graffiti adjacent to cultural Cornish artwork, young offenders working with skilled conservationists and of course a proud community on a site which until four years ago was the most visible derelict land site in west Cornwall. For more information, please visit: www.kerrier.gov.uk
The restoration of the Belmont Sensory Garden has paid tribute to the first garden in England specifically intended for the blind, which opened on the same site in 1939. Inclusion of locally inspired, hand-painted seating reflects the contemporary community In 2006, consultation with park users revealed that use of Belmont Park had been deterred by anti-social behaviour and a lack of seating. In 2007, Exeter City Council responded by restoring Belmont Park’s Sensory Garden to a space that encouraged more positive park use and incorporated a family seating area. First the garden was better integrated into the park by clearing away obscuring shrubbery. Then ferns, herbs, and flowers, were planted to provide year round sights, smells and textures. Finally local residents designed and painted the garden’s four new picnic benches in colours of the seasons. In May 2007, the Belmont Sensory Garden opened to the public. For more information visit www.exeter.gov.uk
Plymouth’s Diggin’ It Organic has transformed 2.5 acres of land into an environment to benefit vulnerable or socially disadvantaged people, helping them to become better integrated within the community and bringing communities together.
Diggin It Organic is a gardening project managed by the Routeways Centre Ltd, a registered charity in Plymouth and currently funded by the Big Lottery Reaching Communities programme, which has transformed 2.5 acres of land supplied by Plymouth City Council. Those involved with Diggin’ It gain skills and confidence, self-esteem and self-sufficiency; some become ready for training or work, enabling them to participate more fully in society. The project is run on organic principles all organic waste is recycled or composted and we have a composting toilet on site. The use of renewable resources will be relied upon wherever it is practically possible, including rainwater harvesting and using green power sources. Please visit www.digginit.org.uk
Weston-super-Mare’s Weston Woods provides the town with an important visual connection to the natural environment and informal recreation area. Key activities such as the Green Gym and Forest School also take place in the Woods and involve all members of the community, regardless of age or background. North Somerset Council has been working to reverse the decline of the tree stock, and their woodland management has encouraged the growth of the next generation of trees - ensuring that the woodland can continue to provide benefits to the local population. Improvements to access have also been undertaken with the construction of an 'access for all' path which runs through the centre of the woodland and allows visitors with all capabilities the opportunity to enjoy this environment. The woodland has also been awarded the Forestry Stewardship Council certificate confirming the commitment to sustainable woodland management. Visit: www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/
Visit the Sustainability South West Web site.
© 2007 Sustainability South West - UK registered charity, no. 1106125 - info@sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk.