Friends of the Lake District's project to protect and celebrate open green spaces in Cumbria has been awarded an extra year of Heritage Lottery funding.
The ‘Our Green Space' project's aims are to celebrate and enhance the heritage, cultural, environmental and community value of open green spaces in Cumbria for everyone to enjoy.

The project is supporting and enabling five communities to restore, protect, better manage and celebrate the green spaces where they live.

The diverse range of community managed projects includes the restoration of two historic wells in Newbiggin near Penrith, the development of a beautiful nature and wetland meadow area on a piece of community owned land which has significant heritage value in Burgh by Sands on the Solway, a historical research project in Great Asby including an annual community well dressing festival and felt making, the restoration of a listed maypole to a village green in Wasdale and the inspirational development of a former industrial railway site into an accessible community garden and play area in Barrow.

All five communities are working with their local schools on educational elements to the project and there are strong elements of creative art work, the relearning of heritage crafts and community activities which have been lost over time such as maypole dancing and weaving and an innovative use of technology in recording oral history and archiving to make the projects as accessible and enduring as possible.

The project has been extended to allow each community to participate in a programme of Heritage Festivals and celebrations across the county, and to pass on and share learning and skills established in the first three years.

The project has also developed a Green Space Education Pack primarily for use in schools and a comprehensive website with accessible resources and downloads on all aspects of open green space. A county wide training programme on the legal aspects of open space protection and open space management issues is also being delivered and is available free to all parish councils and community groups.

Project officer Roe Baker said: ‘I'm thrilled that the Our Green Space project has had its funding extended to 2011. This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of all the members of each of the Our Green Space communities, who are all volunteers who give their time because they value their village or urban green areas, and want to see them protected, accessed, improved and celebrated by the community.'

The extension year will also allow the project team to lobby for the prioritisation of green space in planning policy at a regional and national level and highlight the role of communities as being best placed to protect, develop and manage their own open green spaces.

Our Green Space is a Cumbria-wide project managed by Friends of the Lake District in partnership with Action with Communities in Cumbria (ACT). The project began in January 2008, now extended until December 2011, and is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund's ‘Your Heritage' grant scheme.

To find out more about the Our Green Space Project visit www.ourgreenspace.org.uk or contact project officer Roe Baker This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it