Planting Places Awards

THE PLANTING PLACES AWARDS 2011 - ANNOUNCING OUR WINNERS!

The winners of Sustainability South West’s fourth annual Planting Places Awards have been announced. The awards celebrate top examples of greenspace from across the South West of England. They recognise the huge array of benefits that these spaces – and the hard-working people who look after them – have in supporting healthy, sustainable communities.

This year's ten winners are:

Ashton Gate Triangle (Bristol)
South Milton Sands (South Hams, Devon)
BTCV Tree Life Centre (Kingswood, S. Gloucestershire)
Guys & Hylton Allotments (Exeter)
Brunswick Cemetery Gardens (Bristol)
Yeo Valley Community Woodland (Barnstaple)
King George V Memorial Walk (Hayle, Cornwall)
Springfields Park (Cheltenham)
Greens Community Garden (Withywood, Bristol)
Forches Community Garden (Barnstaple, North Devon

The annual awards have once again highlighted the wealth of green (and blue!) spaces across the region – from gardens, allotments, woodlands and walkways to a coastal landscaping project. Whether led by communities themselves or managed by a local authority or charity, all the Planting Places Award winners show how much can be achieved when local people get involved in their green spaces. In addition to the ten winners above, three runner-up entries have also been specially commended: Bury Meadow Park (Exeter), City Jigsaw Garden (Plymouth) and Chegwyn Gardens (St. Agnes, Cornwall).

FOR MORE ABOUT THE 2011 WINNERS AND RUNNERS-UP (ALONG WITH WINNERS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS) SEE BELOW

Planting Places 2011:

Ashton Gate Triangle (Bristol)
The ‘Ashton Gate Triangle’ project consists of a number of tiny green spaces in the vicinity of five streets in South Bristol which form a triangular shape. The plots of green space are publicly accessible but uncared for by any formal partner. The residents of these streets got together to form a residents’ group and work together to improve these unloved, small public spaces. With the help of a number of small grants from the Greater Bedminster Community Partnership ‘wellbeing fund’ the group of up to 20 residents (and lots of small children!) maintain the four sites, whilst Bristol City Council has recently contributed two trees to the plots. The residents plan to cultivate a native hedgerow at the back of one of the plots. More generally they are hoping that by enhancing the green spaces they will be less likely to be developed on and can continue to support wildlife and provide benefits to local people – including providing a cooling effect on hot days (increasingly important in a built-up urban area).

South Milton Sands (South Hams, Devon)
As a result of climate change, South Milton Sands was identified as a high risk site to changes in sea levels and erosion within the next 20 years. The aim of this project was to find and implement a shared solution for the long term future of the area. The beach has such strong ties to the local community and the project hoped to capture the hearts and minds of the local people; from those who remembered the original sand dunes prior to the car park in the 1960s, to children who will see the new grasses grow as do they. The project enabled people to understand coastal change at a local level and how it could directly impact on them. The planting of marram grasses has helped to connect people to the landscape and was an opportunity for them to give something back to a beach from which they have taken so much satisfaction from.

The new beach landscape has made the site a more attractive place to visit and spend time. A new interpretation panel charts the project and the involvement of the local people, so visitors can see how all the hard work of the community has created a new lease of life for the beach. For more information, visit the National Trust website.

BTCV Tree Life Centre (Kingswood, S. Gloucestershire) BTCV
The Tree Life Centre is based on Grimsbury Farm, which is owned by South Gloucestershire Council and is set up as a community/city farm. BTCV have been allocated part of the site which has been developed as a community tree nursery. The Tree Life Centre is set up as an inclusive project and there is a full age range of volunteers, with people in their late teens through to people in their sixties. Many of the volunteers come from disadvantaged backgrounds, have learning difficulties or are referred from organisations working in mental health, and the Centre works with Ashfield Young Offender institute offering placement opportunities to inmates on day-release. Volunteers on the project also have the opportunity to undertake work-based qualifications in Horticulture. These qualifications are delivered through BTCV and learners are fully supported throughout. This is a really great opportunity for personal development and for people to achieve accredited recognition for their volunteering efforts. The volunteers have turned the site from a scrubby patch of land located close to a busy ring road into a green space of potted plants, raised beds, potting sheds, polytunnels, tool store and compost bays. For more information visit the BTCV website

Guys Guys & Hylton Allotments (Exeter)
Allotment holders work as volunteers to run the Guys & Hylton Trading Shed with seeds, compost, bean poles, and other gardening essentials - together with advice, tips and excellent coffee mornings. The trading aspect is effectively a co-operative venture and if there is a surplus in the trading year, this goes to help support public Open Days and hands-on workshops for families. Local people have the benefit of a very large productive open space in their neighbourhood, helping with air quality and making available good quality home-grown fruit and vegetables. For those who are actively involved on a weekly basis or at the many public open days, the physical work-out is unbeatable! Not to mention the excellent social contacts and friendships this helps to engender. The aim is to promote and encourage grow-your-own wherever this can happen, be it on a balcony, in a garden, on a shared allotment.

Brunswick Cemetery Gardens (Bristol)
Brunsick cemetery was established in 1768 as a Presbyterian burial ground and later became a Unitarian burial ground in the 1800s. By 2006 the site had a high incidence of anti-social behaviour and had developed a neglected and unsafe feel resulting in low levels of community use. Bristol City Council and the St Paul's Parks and Green Spaces Task Group, whose membership consists of community members and representatives of local charities and voluntary sector organisations, undertook full community consultation to ensure the Gardens reflected both the cemetery’s past and the community’s future. Overall the improvements have contributed to community well-being through working with the community to redesign a space that felt neglected and unsafe into cemetery gardens with attractive planting, carefully laid out paths and paved areas and entrances that improve circulation and visibility. The improvements to Brunswick Cemetery has enhanced the quality of green space in the area and the facilities available within the local community and will help to support the future economic well-being of the area. It has become a real neighbourhood green space, with an estimated 500 people using it daily either as part of a walking route, for dog walking, relaxation or exercise. It is also an urban wildlife haven, with planting designed to be attractive to insect life and to help create a variety of cover for birds and other wildlife. The landscaping of Brunswick Cemetery Gardens was made possible by a £388,000 Big Lottery Fund grant delivered in partnership between Bristol City Council and Places for People as part of their Green Spaces for People Programme. For more information, visit the Brunswick Cemetery website.

Yeo_valley Yeo Valley Community Woodland (Barnstaple)
The woodland has provided a focal point for this area of Barnstaple. It is used by local residents for walking, dog walking and quiet enjoyment. Children use it as an outdoor playground and kick-about area and the local school uses it for Forest School activities. This project has been community led from the start. Over the last three years some 13,000 trees and 3,000 hedge whips have been planted, many by the local community. Local primary schools with children from all walks of life have been visiting the woodland each year to plant trees, with 1,700 primary school children planting over 7,500 trees. The Friends group meet on the first Sunday of every month to carry out practical work around the woodland. They also raise funds for the woodland through grant applications and fund raising activities such as an annual Halloween event. Other groups who have worked on the site include scouts and community service teams. For more information, visit the Yeo Valley Woodland website.

King George V Memorial Walk (Hayle, Cornwall) King_George_walk
King George V Memorial Walk has been developed from a disused railway track which was originally the branch line from Hayle to Redruth. Local people – from the young to the old – are involved through the ‘adopt a plot’ scheme which has also proved to be the basis of new friendships. There is also a flower bed which is raised to make things easier for the less agile and the touch and scent garden was created for people who are visually impaired or who have lost their sight altogether. This green space links in with other recreational areas – it joins the town and beach and the large well appointed recreation ground is at the eastern end. The attractive green space gives people a chance to enjoy their natural environment and the numerous feathered wildlife adds to the overall enjoyment. The Memorial Walk has been adopted as part of the Disability Cornwall Project – which is a user-led organisation, home to the Disability Information and Advice Line (DIAL) in addition to a variety of other services. For more information, visit the King George V Memorial Walk website.

Springfields Park (Cheltenham)
Previously known as Welch Road Playing Fields, Springfields Park is a 13 hectare area of green open space in an area of multiple deprivation in West Cheltenham. The major re-development of the park has seen major landscaping works, installation of high specification facilities and infrastructure for many different park user groups (including children, young people, teenagers and families) and creation of numerous new habitats for wildlife. Innovative use of natural materials has been employed to create natural play and landscape features and the whole project has been used as an opportunity to bring ecological and biodiversity issues into the heart of a built environment. The development of the park has been undertaken very much in partnership with the local community and there is now a strong sense of ownership and pride. Walking and cycling are promoted by the new circular path and through cycle route. The wind turbine provides a visual reminder of the need to become more energy aware and an education programme in local schools and the resource centre have promoted low carbon ways of living within the local community. By growing food within the park (apples, pears, raspberries, currants, nuts and more) there is provision for locally grown food and also demonstrating how local food can be grown within a community. Prior to the development, Springfields Park could have been described as a ‘green desert’which the local population found intimidating to enter and which was characterised by various forms of anti-social behaviour including graffiti, vandalism, drug dealing and joy riding. Since the re-development, it has been transformed both physically and in the minds of the local population to an attractive and welcoming place enjoyed by many in the community. There are many design features of Springfields Park that help to create a sense of place and help to put the park at the heart of the community.

Greens Community Garden (Withywood, Bristol) Greens
Hartcliffe Health & Environment Action Group, who manage the garden, was set up by local people in 1990 to reduce the high health inequalities and social disadvantage in the BS13 area of Bristol. It is still led by local residents and today focuses much of its work in the community on improving access to low-cost, healthy food. The GREENS Community Garden & Market Garden both offer opportunities for local people to learn how to grow fruit and vegetables, develop their own allotment or grow, as a group, with like-minded people. A real sense of community and co-operation has developed between the users of this site and their families. Today allotment holders, gardening group members, schools, work-experience placements, people in care and local volunteers all have a contribution to make in this oasis in the centre of a large housing estate. The garden also has a small communal orchard, soft fruit and vegetable growing areas. It also has joint facilities for composting and its own compost toilet. There are polytunnels for growing year-round and some equipment which can be shared by the gardeners. This allotment garden is a very special place which is managed to ensure that people from all sectors of the local community can become involved, gain skills, develop friendships, contribute to the local community and take home a regular supply of fruit and vegetables. For more information, visit the HHEAG website.

Forches Forches Community Garden (Barnstaple, North Devon)
The Forches Community Garden site is made up of gardens that were no longer wanted by previous tenants and were returned to the landlord. North Devon Homes, along with other organisations, funded the land to be cleared and raised beds were built for use by the local community. It is now run as a community garden, where local people are encouraged to take part in all aspects of vegetable planting/growing. The aim of the Garden is to grow enough produce to provide for the local housing estate and eventually to sell produce through a veggie box scheme. The Garden has an open gate policy and is supported by a range of volunteers, all of whom live on the housing estate. For more information click HERE.

The Runners-up

Bury Meadow Park (Exeter) Highly commended for: tackling safety and security issues
Bury Meadow Park is a Victorian park that was established in 1850 on land originally donated by the city in 1703, for the benefit of the poor. The park serves a diverse community of local families and students from neighbouring Exeter College and attracts an estimated 50,000 to 75,0000 visitors each year. It has a distinctive central avenue of trees, play areas and open green spaces. The park has suffered in the past from anti-social behaviour – specifically the dealing and using of drugs – leading to a decline in numbers using the space. In recent years however efforts to get the community to take back ‘ownership’ of the park have been successful including a Community Day in 2009 organised by Exeter Parks Watch and the Police Neighbourhood Beat Team. A joint ‘getting to know each other’ event for local residents and students is scheduled for Spring 2011. The park is an important venue for a range of small local organisations and the purchase of public liability insurance now means that community events can be held there.

Chegwyn Gardens (St. Agnes, Cornwall) Highly commended for: individual effort and commitment
Now supported by two volunteers, George Mannell has been working on Chegwyn Gardens – part of the area of residential housing where he lives – for over ten years. Initially funded by cheques from Carrick Housing who own the site, since this time George has relied on donations to fund the running of the garden. As well as benches and hundreds of plants and flowers George has added the “Little Harbour” a miniature harbour play area (built by Pat Pickard who, sadly, has since passed away), to raise money for the local hospice of the same name. He also invites people to use the space as a memorial garden.

City Jigsaw Garden (Plymouth) Highly commended for: innovation and partnership
City Jigsaw Garden started life as a redundant piece of land at the end of the construction of Drake Circus shopping centre. A steering group of Groundwork, University of Plymouth, Kandahar (former sit owners), Marks and Spencer and Plymouth City Centre Company formed and Groundwork found a suitable funding stream to turn the land in to public open space. The site is in the city centre and is of high commercial value. The project has always been seen as a temporary garden as the site could be sold off and developed in the future. Students, volunteers and site passers-by all fed in to the design of the site and the project was built by volunteers and employees of the Future Jobs Fund Initiative. Materials for the site were carefully appraised to ensure minimal impact on the environment. The Plymouth City Centre Company is now using the site as an outdoor venue for art.

Planting Places 2010

The following ten greenspaces were named as the 2010 Planting Places awards winners. Congratulations to everyone involved, and many thanks to the judges (from Arup, Natural England and NHS South West).

Apex Leisure and Wildlife Park, Highbridge, Somerset
Apex Park was the only location within Somerset to be named as a winner. Apex Leisure and Wildlife Park is a 42 acre site which lies between the towns of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge located next to the Bridgwater Bay estuary, which is recognised as a site of international importance for nature conservation.

Apex Park was once used as a clay digging areas and this is how the lakes were formed. At the centre of the park the clay digging works have been conserved and extended to provide an attractive three and a half hectare lake with reed fringed banks providing a natural habitat for protected and notable birds. The park attracts thousands of visitors each year, catering for activities ranging from model boating to dog walking and angling to ornithology. Its many habitats attract a diverse range of wildlife. The park is a safe, healthy and secure place for all members of the community to use, with good pathways for viewing the lake and car parking facilities including wheel chair access picnic tables and secure bike points. If you would like to get in contact and find out more visit http://www.friendsofapexpark.co.uk/

The Chiswell Earthworks, Portland, Dorset
Chiswell Earthworks was the only location within Dorset to be named as a winner. The Chiswell Earthworks was completed in 1993. At that time it was seen as an important pioneering work, an engineering and sculptural solution to waste ground above the Sea Defenses. Renowned sculptor John Maine RA was commissioned to create the celebratory sculpture, which was designed as a series of 5 drystone walls, corresponding to the descending layers of stone found in a Portland quarry. When the work was finished, local people called it ‘the wave' because they identify it so strongly with the Chesil Beach and the sea.

In 2003, the local community got together with the sculptor and Common Ground to declare community ownership of the sculpture. The Chiswell Earthworks is a pleasant place to walk or sit, to picnic and to have cultural events in the summer. It provides a recreational space for Portland residents and at the same time enables visitors to Portland to appreciate stunning views over the Chesil Beach and Lyme Bay. As a work of art, it stimulates the imagination by interpreting Portland's industrial landscape (quarrying) and defining the island's relationship to the sea, the Chesil Beach and the mainland of Dorset.

Hayle Library Community and Wildlife Garden, Hayle, Cornwall
Hayle Library is reclaimed land situated at the rear of the library, where a garden and wildlife community space was developed to compliment the Copperhouse Pool RSPB site and to benefit the whole community.

Building the garden was truly a community effort, with people from across the community, including the Hayle Youth project and Probation service, volunteering their time. Schools, library customers, gardening groups and pensioners all take part in looking after the garden, which is a real testament of a community focus, as it is open and accessible to all and community consultations are undertaken to get feedback on the planting, upkeep and future of the garden. Locally sources materials and building techniques were used and taught to the volunteers. The garden flowers and plants were carefully chosen to be beneficial for wildlife as food and shelter.

The gardens are maintained and are constantly evolving to take into account the needs of open space and current educational purposes as well as a place for social meetings. Email hayle.library@cornwall.gov.uk for further information.

Kemble Community Gardens, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Kemble Community Gardens (KCG) was the only location within Gloucestershire to be named as a winner. KCG is a not-for profit organisation that provides a hub for local community projects whilst making a difference to the natural environment. As a group of volunteers they have turned a large area of derelict, overgrown land into orchards, 32 allotments and public gardens for community use. They aim to be "green" and work with the existing natural environment. This includes promoting the "no-dig" method (with no chemicals), rainwater harvesting (saving unnecessary mains water usage), creation of an area to attract bees (aiding the declining UK bee population) and ponds to encourage wildlife.

They encourage the local community to actively enjoy the area, and run a number of events, particularly for young people, including shelter building, mosaic making to create small paved stones for the site and vegetable carving. They also further involves local young people by having specific areas for teenagers and some vegetable beds for the local primary school. As well as an area of gardening and food growing, the gardens have become a community focal point and a place where people can get together and have a chat or BBQ with their neighbours. The Gardens have had such a positive impact that other nearby communities have visited to see how they can recreate one in their area.

Morrab Garden, Penzance, Cornwall
Originally created in 1841 this public garden is looked after by Cornwall County Council with help from the Friends of Morrab Garden. The garden is situated on the doorstep of Penzance's town centre, between the high street and the seafront promenade. The garden is free and accessible to all, from local office workers who use the garden at lunchtime, to local schools and community groups to tourist visitors who enjoy this great example of Cornish subtropical gardens. The garden is a wonderful local resource and contains everything from sweeping formal lawns with secret winding paths and woodland areas to a Victorian bandstand and wildlife ponds. Since its inception the gardeners at Morrab have been preoccupied with collecting and displaying rarities from all over the world, for example the Palm collection mostly comes from Australia, Africa, India and America.

A huge range of free events, workshops and celebrations take place in the garden throughout the year, including concerts, summer fairs and Cornish festivals, gardening advice days and even daily Falun Gong (Chinese spiritual art). The gardens uses resources carefully with the emphasis on ‘reduce, reuse and recycle' and visitors to the garden via schools, horticultural societies and clubs are encouraged to ‘green up' their current ways of gardening and living. Email Jackie.mace@cornwall.gov.uk for more information.

Oakfrith Wood, nr Devizes, Wiltshire
Oakfrith Wood provides a much valued amenity rich in wildlife where local people and the many visitors to the area can relax in a peaceful setting. It is one of the largest remaining areas of ancient semi-woodland in the Pewsey Vale and well known throughout Wiltshire for the woods bluebells. The recently established project for the essential thinning of the Wood has enabled firewood to be supplied for the local community for wood burning stoves/fires, thus lessening the use of non-renewable fossil fuels.

The Wood is open and accessible to all, with a team of volunteers who regularly maintain the site. The Woodland also offers fantastic educational benefits to local schools and other groups, including use by the local Wildlife Trust, funded by NHS Wiltshire, to involve people with mental health difficulties in woodland skills and crafts projects. There has been a small car park built to enable disabled users to get closer to the woodlands. The Woodland is a designated Local Nature Reserve and is used by the entire community for events and activities, including Scouts groups, fund raining events and the popular Scarecrow Festival.

Pentylands Country Park, Highworth, Wiltshire
Originally purchased as development land by the local authority in 1960 it was never developed and fell into disuse. In 2006 The Friends of Pentylands Country Park were formed, and since then the friends have cleared the Park of hundreds of tons of rubbish, installed welcome signs, constructed bridges over watercourses, embarked on a program of tree maintenance which has vastly improved the trees and initiated a rolling program of recording the fauna and flora in the Park and promoted the park in the local community. The group has a membership of 110 and the support of large numbers of the community who turn out on conservation days. By liaising with the local youth worker the park has been promoted and in the milder weather used regularly by the youth group for games, barbeques and activities including activities for the Duke of Edinborough award scheme.

Until the creation of the Park all the informal green spaces were some distance from Highworth and being on the northern edge of the borough of Swindon residents felt isolated from these amenities. Since its creation a sense of community pride and a willingness to be involved exists, and residents are proud that friends and family come to the town to visit the park.

St. Gurons Way, Bodmin, Cornwall
St Guron's Way was developed as part of the Walk to Work project, and is a multi use trail which links east and west Bodmin utilising the natural contour of the railway corridor. Just over a mile in length the ‘greenway' passes through field, railway embankment and housing, linking residential areas with the Community College, Industrial Estates and the Dragon Leisure Centre with a connection to the National Cycle Network Route 3. The route also enables access to the Beacon Local Nature Reserve. The route has clear economic benefits for the town but the emphasis of the project has been to support disadvantaged residents facing barriers to employment, assist residents and young people on benefits to sustainably accesses employment areas, promote health and well being through active lifestyles meeting the Governments 5 x 30 agenda and improve access to the Community College, Hospital and national cycle network

Bodmin St Mary's and Bodmin St Petroc Wards form the Parish of Bodmin and both are ranked highly amongst county, regional and national indices of deprivation. Prior to the development of this project those living in St Marys Ward were geographically isolated from work locations and facilities on the east side of Bodmin. Although it is a relatively short route (just over 1 mile) in length the impact it has had on the local community has been exceptional. Its presence has increased the amount of physical activity residents take. It provides a space to travel and enjoy which clearly benefits a huge numbers of the local community. Approximately 100 school children are now twice daily users along with a growing number of commuters, residents and recreational walkers and cyclists. For more information about St Gurons Way contact Emma Rijano at Cornwall County Council on emma.rijano@cornwall.gov.uk

Steeple Woodland, St Ives, Cornwall
Steeple Woodland, a 40 acre public space above St Ives, has been transformed by the efforts of dedicated volunteers with the backing of the local district council. Much of the rampant and invasive Rhododendron has been ripped out, returning the land to its natural state. Hundreds of new trees have been planted reduction the carbon footprint and this ecological project continues to grow from strength to strength. A pleasant afternoon can be spent on the woodland, pausing to take in the breathtaking panoramic views beyond to the sea.

Now designated a Local Nature Reserve, the woodland is a popular destination for school visits, as well as locals and visitors who enjoy walking, exercising their dogs or just taking in the fresh air. There is also a green gym founded in 2002 with BTCV and local GPs, to help people take part in fun outdoor exercise. The areas is well looked after by the local community, with very strong support from volunteers and children of all ages. Local schools having specific areas of the hillside designated to them and the Secondary School has its own tree nursery where saplings are grown to replant on the woodland. And a range of community events and activities that take place throughout the year engages the entire community and helps to build even more pride in this wonderful local place. Email Jackie.mace@cornwall.gov.uk for more information.

Young's Park Conservation Area, Paignton, Devon
Young's Park was the only location within Devon to be named as a winner. This is a neighbourhood plot popular with both local visitors, many of whom visit the park daily and tourists and visitors who come to enjoy the park in the summer months. There are a number of Nursery and Primary schools within walking distance who have enjoyed visiting the conservation area and using it as an outdoor classroom. Many elderly people in Torbay live in flats, without gardens. They now have some where close by where they can feel close to nature; no need to drive or get on public transport. People really enjoy being able to sit watching the dragonflies and damselflies darting over the water as well as the many butterflies and birds found in the area. Various styles of bird & bat boxes have been provided to encourage different species to nest in this area.

The Park Conservation area is looked after by Young's Park People, a democratic, voluntary group, dedicated to caring for, and cherishing Young's Park. The group was formed in May 2007, by park users, both local and holiday visitors and traders, who decided it was time to bring the beauty back to this historic, unique park. The group now boast over 170 members, who not only look after the park but run a series of events including coffee mornings and raffles to raise funds for plants and more interpretation boards. They also hold ‘Band in the Park' evenings during the summer months, which are free of charge and open to everyone. For more information and news and events visit http://www.ypp.me.uk/.

The Planting Places awards are now in their fourth year. Have a look on our Case Studies page for more information about past winners.

Visit the Sustainability South West Web site.