Delivering activities, raising funds or taking on practical activities in your greenspace is only possible if there are enough people who want to get involved or help your project to succeed. | |
If you’re not already an established group, think about who you could bring together as a group of people who are interested in the green space or the project you are hoping to deliver.
Friends and family: If you have 1-2 friends or family members who want to help you, even if only for the first 6 months, that will make things much easier. If you already have 3-6 friends who you think will be reliably active, then you’re almost done. |
Engaging more people:
Organising an event to bring people together is a good first step to reach interested local people. You can gain support to do this and find people through your local CVS (your Programme Co-ordinator can help to put you in touch).
An event is also a good point to carry out formal or informal consultation to find out more about how the local community use their park and what they would like to see happen… And ask them to come on board to help make it happen.
The types of questions that you will need to ask at this stage are:
- Do you currently use the park?
- What changes would you like to see in the park and how would this change your use of the park?
- What are your main concerns about the park?
- Would you be willing to join a group to work out a plan for the park?
- Are you willing to carry out any practical tasks in the park?
- Would you like to run events to bring more people into the park or fundraise for improvements your group would like to see?
You may also want to write a letter to the local paper, or put a poster in local newsagents’ windows, making residents aware that there are hopes to develop a Friends of Park group, and how they can get involved and make their views known.
(More advice on consultation from Groundwork)
Next> Becoming a Formal Group…
We will be happy to support you on your journey to becoming a formal group, joining you at your current point in order to formulate your plan alongside you.