 Birmingham Open Spaces Forum network organisation that aims to together all the people in Birmingham with an interest in open spaces.
BOSF is for any group in Birmingham working to promote and develop an open space. This includes: friend's groups community groups residents' associations neighbourhood forums environmental projects and groups professionals working in open spaces.
Case Study : Daisy Farm Park - Wildflower Meadow Success
Friends of Daisy Farm Park started, like many other groups, as a response to the poor state of the park. Maintenance seemed reduced to basic grass cutting and occasional litter picking. Vandalism had started to take a hold and worst of all joyriding and burnt-out cars were becoming an increasingly common sight.
After an article in the local neighbourhood forum newsletter a Friends group was formed and two years down the line we produce a newsletter hold regular meetings and hands on activities.
The key problems we’ve faced have been how to establish and gain recognition of a group and how to encourage local people to have a fresh look at a neglected facility and how they can play a part in reversing the decline. Progress has been frustratingly slow and to the casual observer the park may not seem wildly different to how it looked two years ago but good things have started to happen. We recently arranged a litter pick in which a group of around fifteen volunteers hauled out eight tons of rubbish from the park perimeter!! We’ve also managed to get a trip rail fitted around the car park reducing the possibility of joyriders.
In an effort to improve the wildlife value of the park we’ve planted an area of willow coppice and started a programme of tree and shrub planting. Perhaps our most successful project so far has been the creation of a wildflower meadow. The area has proved to be a massive hit with park users and if you’re looking to create an instant wow factor and get local people interested it’s a great idea. We’ve lost count of the number of compliments we’ve received and yet planting was cheap and simplicity itself - remove turf, scatter seed and wait a few weeks!
Adrian Holloway, Friends of Daisy Farm Park |
