11 March 2008
Help at hand for Cumbria's rural greens
A new publication to help Cumbrian communities make the most of their green spaces was released this week as part of a series of booklets produced by the Rural Greens Project, funded by the Defra Rural Social and Communities Project and Friends of the Lake District. The publication, Open Green Spaces: A Management Guide, is the third and final part of a series including titles: 'Open Green Spaces - An introduction to managing for wildlife' and 'Open Green Spaces - An introduction to their legal status and protection.'
The Rural Greens project began in January 2007, following work under the banner of Open Spaces, Green Places, and has liased closely with the Cumbria Association of Local Councils (to develop good links with Parish Councils), with Cumbria County Council's Rural Matters department (with help and information from the Neighbourhood Development Officers) with Voluntary Action Cumbria and their Rural Development Officers, and with other staff at Friends of the Lake District. The project has worked directly with 17 rural communities to develop and improve their green spaces with measures ranging from installing seating for a community recreation area to re-developing habitats for wildlife on larger scale spaces.
The project aims were to build capacity within communities to protect, manage and enhance the green spaces in and around the places they live. Ruth Evans, the current project officer said: "This has been a rewarding project to be involved with and it has been exciting to see the way in which different communities have tackled the challenges they've had over their green spaces. We hope that the guides, and the lessons learned along the way, will help other communities to improve their green spaces."
The publication of this third and final booklet marks the formal end of the project. Rural Greens is drawing to a close at the end of March but the publications will in future be available for downloading from the Friends of the Lake District website or from the Cumbria County Council website.
Editors Notes:
1. For further information contact Ruth Evans or Andrew Forsyth on 01539 720788.
2. Friends of the Lake District is a registered charity committed to enhancing and protecting the landscape and natural beauty of Cumbria and cooperating with other bodies with similar objectives or interests. We are also regional representatives for the Campaign to Protect Rural England, a national charity that helps people keep their local countryside beautiful, productive and enjoyable for everyone. Friends of the Lake District theme for 2007 is 'Cumbria - It's Your Landscape'. Throughout the year we are focusing our work on the range of special qualities of Cumbria's landscape and encouraging local people to enjoy, celebrate and enhance this great resource on their doorstep.
