Improving your local community park
Building on our work over the last three years, firstly in three Pilot Parks as part of our Future Parks project, and then in eight more parks during our Nature Recovery project, we are now working to transform 14 urban parks across Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole for people and for nature.
Our Green Heart Parks project is a collaborative two-year project beginning in spring 2023 which aims to improve biodiversity, engage and inspire residents with the nature on their doorstep, encourage community growing, and break down barriers for non-park users.
We’ll be making physical improvements in the parks, delivering inspiring activities for residents to connect with nature on their doorstep, and empowering communities with opportunities to get involved.
We’ve also opened two new community cafés, at Redhill Park and Boscombe Chine Gardens. Come and visit us for a cuppa!
Read the Green Heart Parks project announcement.
Nature activities in your local park
Want to make a bird box or learn about moths? Plant vegetables in our community gardens or sow wildflower meadows?
Check out our events page to see what’s on in your nearest park, or download the programme by clicking on the park names below.
Everyone is welcome, come and join in the fun!
GreenFingers volunteer groups
Our friendly and informal GreenFingers volunteer groups, run by our team of friendly Parks Activators, are a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, meet new people, and get involved in practical conservation in your local park.
As a GreenFingers volunteer, you’ll try a variety of tasks including planting trees and bulbs, sowing wildflower seeds, maintaining community gardens, harvesting fruit and veg, and caring for wildlife ponds.
Read more here.
About our Green Heart Parks
Click on the park names to find out:
- Parks Activator contact info
- What activities are coming up
- Accessibility information for the park
Alexandra Park was selected as one of our original three Pilot Parks and we continued working in the park throughout our Nature Recovery project. We’ve now been running activities and making improvements in the park since 2021. We’ll continue our work there as one of our Green Heart Parks. During the project, we aim to complete the community growing area.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
Plan for community growing area
The Parks Activator for Alexandra Park is Tanya.
You can contact Tanya on: tanya@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there’s street parking available around the park, but there are no disabled spaces. The Palmerston Road entrance to the park is accessible for wheelchair users.
Toilets: there are no toilets available in the park.
Boscombe Chine Gardens has been selected as one of our Green Heart Parks – the first thing we’ve done is to open a community café in the park, which we hope will become a hub for local residents and community groups to access and enjoy. At the beachfront end of the park, we hope to plant trees and flowering meadows. At the top end of the park, we aim to enhance the mini golf area with individual themed ‘nature stations’ to discover as you play.
March and April activities programme
Park plan
The Parks Activator for Boscombe Chine Gardens is Jess.
You can contact Jess on: jess@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: the closest parking is the Overstrand Car Park (BH5 1BT), which is a paid car park.
Toilets: there are toilets, including an accessible toilet, in the Boscombe Chine Gardens Café.
Branksome Recreation Ground was selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project, which was delivered in 2022 – 2023. During this project we made improvements in the park, including creating a new wetland garden in an area of the park which usually floods, which is now full of wetland planting including flowering perennials to encourage bees and butterflies. We’ll continue our work there as one of our Green Heart Parks.
New plans for this park are being developed, building on our previous work.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
The Parks Activator for Branksome Recreation Ground is Daniel.
You can contact Daniel on: daniel@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is free car park with one designated disabled parking space.
Toilets: there are toilets available in the community centre, including an accessible toilet.
Moore Avenue has been chosen as one of our Green Heart Parks. We will be working with the community to develop plans for this park, including the wildlife garden. Outside of the wildlife garden we would like to ensure the wildflower meadows are continued, as these are a much-loved asset.
April activities poster
The Parks Activator for Moore Avenue is Daniel.
You can contact Daniel on: daniel@parksfoundation.org.uk
Mudeford Woods has been selected as one of our Green Heart Parks. In this park, we would like to create a community growing space and an area where visitors can sit together and enjoy a view of the park surrounded by a circle of blossoming trees.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
Park Plan
The Parks Activator for Mudeford Woods is Will.
You can contact Will on: will@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is a free car park with one designated disabled parking space.
Toilets: there are toilets available in the community centre, including accessible toilets. The community centre is open Mon-Fri from 9am-5pm.
Muscliff Park was chosen as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project, delivered in 2022 – 2023, and we’ll continue our work there as a Green Heart Park. We have already planted trees and hedging in the park, and now we would like to turn our focus to improving the entrance and adding a small community growing space.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
Park plan
The Parks Activator for Muscliff Park is Will.
You can contact Wil on: will@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is a free car park with two designated disabled parking spaces.
Toilets: toilets are available when a Parks Foundation activity is running, but there is no accessible toilet.
Pelhams Park was selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project, delivered in 2022 – 2023, and we’ll continue our work there as a Green Heart Park. So far, we’ve planted trees and established meadows. We hope to enhance one of the entrances to the park and also make it more accessible, and create a community growing space and orchard.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
Park plan
The Parks Activator for Pelhams Park is Daniel.
You can contact Daniel on: daniel@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is a free car park with 14 designated disabled parking spaces.
Toilets: there are toilets available in the community centre, including accessible toilets. The community centre is open Mon-Fri from 9am-9pm, and 9am-3pm on weekends.
Redhill Park has been chosen as one of our Green Heart Parks – the first thing we’ve done there is to open a community café, which we hope will become a hub for local residents and community groups to utilise and enjoy. We hope to create a community growing space, enhance the large meadow area, and plant some more trees.
March and April activities programme
Park plan
The Parks Activator for Redhill Park is Jess.
You can contact Jess on: jess@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is a free car park, but there are no designated disabled parking spaces.
Toilets: there are toilets available in the Redhill Park Café.
Seafield Gardens has been chosen as one of our Green Heart Parks. We hope to create a small community growing space in the park, plant a carpet of spring flowers, and plant some fruit trees to enable foraging.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
Park Plan
The Parks Activator for Seafield Gardens is Will.
You can contact Will on: will@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is street parking available around the park, including non-loading double-yellow line street parking for disabled badge-holders.
Toilets: there are no toilets available in the park.
There is a large dog-free area, and a quiet sensory fairy garden.
Sherborn Crescent Open Space has been selected as one of our Green Heart Parks. Our plans for the park aim to greatly increase the variety of species in the park, including a mini wetland, grassy meadows, a house martin tower, and stepping stones to step into nature.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
Park plan
The Parks Activator for Sherborn Crescent Open Space is Tanya.
You can contact Tanya on: tanya@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is a free car park, but there are no designated disabled parking spaces.
Toilets: there are no toilets available in the park.
Slades Farm was selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project, delivered in 2022 – 2023, and we’ll continue to work there as one of our Green Heart Parks. So far, we’ve created an orchard and foraging plots in the park. As part of our Green Heart Parks project, we would like to further enhance the old community growing area.
March and April activities programme
Growing patch plan
The Parks Activator for Slades Farm is Daniel.
You can contact Daniel on: daniel@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is a paid car park with 10 designated disabled parking spaces.
Toilets: there are toilets available in the café, including an accessible toilet. The café is open Mon-Fri from 10am-4pm, and 9am-4pm on weekends.
Turlin Moor Recreation Ground has been selected as one of our Green Heart Parks. We would like to develop the viewing area for visitors to enjoy views of the water and for bird watching – maybe you could spot an osprey or a white-tailed eagle.
We look forward to sharing plans for the viewing area with you soon.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
The Parks Activator for Turlin Moor Recreation Ground is Tanya.
You can contact Tanya on: tanya@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is a car park, accessed from Blandford Road. There is also limited parking on nearby roads.
Toilets: there are no toilets available in the park.
Watermans Park was originally selected as one of our Pilot Parks and we continued our work there during our Nature Recovery project. We’ve been running activities and making improvements in the park since 2021 – we’ve held Nature Tots groups, planted wildflowers, and created a more visible entrance to the park to welcome visitors. We’ll continue this work there as one of our Green Heart Parks.
For April activities, please visit our Events page.
Park plan (updated 2023)
The Parks Activator for Watermans Park is Will.
You can contact Will on: will@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there is street parking available, including three designated disabled parking spaces.
Toilets: toilets are available during Parks Foundation activities, but there is not an accessible toilet.
Winton Recreation Ground was originally selected as one of our Pilot Parks, and we continued our work there through our Nature Recovery project. We’ve been running activities and making improvements in the park since 2021 – we’ve planted wildflowers and trees, created a community garden, made improvements to the Winton Park Café and much more. We’ll continue this work there as one of our Green Heart Parks.
March and April activities programme
Park plan (updated for 2022)
The Parks Activator for Winton Recreation Ground is Jess.
You can contact Jess on: jess@parksfoundation.org.uk
Accessibility Information
Parking: there are two free car parks, but there are no designated disabled parking spaces.
Toilets: there are toilets available in the Winton Park Café, including an accessible toilet.
There is a dog-free area in the park, and a quiet sensory garden.
Visit our staff page to find out more about our experienced Parks Activators.
