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Nature Recovery project

We’re transforming 11 urban parks to enhance their potential for wildlife and inspire local residents into nature.

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Improving your local community park

Building on our work in three Pilot Parks as part of our Future Parks project, eight more parks have been selected for our Nature Recovery project with the aim to help to create a nature recovery network across our local area.

We’ll increase habitat for wildlife to give animals, insects, and birds more options for homes and food and make it easier for wildlife to find places they can thrive.

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.

Plans for the parks

Our survey on the park plans is now closed.

Thank you very much to everyone who completed the survey, we really appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us and we will take your feedback and suggestions on board.

Look out for changes being made in the parks, coming soon.

Click on the park names below to view the plans.

Help wildlife thrive

Wildflowers, bulbs, ponds and trees not only give our urban parks a pop of colour, they provide essential support systems for butterflies, bees and other wildlife. We’re on a mission to help wildlife recover. More than 70% of our butterflies have disappeared over the last ten years and some bee species are near extinction. In fact, the rate of extinction for insects is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles.

Please donate today and help us plant more wild and native flowers across our parks so our butterflies and bees can flourish.

Get involved – events in your local park

Our Parks Activators run events in each of the parks. 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.

Want to make a bird box or learn about moths? Plant vegetables in our community gardens or sow wildflower meadows?

We have activities for everyone, come and join in the fun.

Alexandra Park was selected as one of our Pilot Parks. We’ve been running activities and making improvements in the park during 2021 – one focus has been creating a community garden in front of the pavilion with the help of our GreenFingers volunteers. We’ll continue this work throughout 2022.

Park masterplan

Find out more about our work in the Pilot Parks as part of the Future Parks Project.

Branksome Recreation Ground has been selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project. One of our ideas is creating a new wetland garden in an area of the park which usually floods. The garden would be full of wetland planting including flowering perennials to encourage bees and butterflies. We’d also hope to introduce more meadow planting and more native hedgerow further along the park, creating more habitat for birds and other wildlife.

May activities programme

Park plan

Haskells Recreation Ground has been selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project. We’d love to improve the park for wildlife by planting bulbs, wildflowers, and hedgerow to provide more habitat and food for birds and other wildlife.

Park plan

Jumpers Common has been selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project. We have lots of ideas for improvements which could be made to help wildlife thrive in the park and encourage vital pollinators.

Park plan

Kinson Manor Playing Fields has been selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project. We would like to create a wildlife garden in one corner of the park to create homes and food for birds, insects and animals, and we would like to add bird boxes for swallows.

Park plan

Muscliff Park has been selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project. One vision we’d love to see in the park is to reintroduce and replant the old historic hedgeline which would create a wildlife corridor to the rest of the park, helping wildlife to move more freely.

Park plan

Pelhams Park has been selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project. We would like to focus on planting blossoming trees in the park which will have berries for birds and other wildlife to eat. We would also like to introduce more native hedgerow and understory planting which are the plants that grow underneath the trees.

May activities programme

Park plan

Slades Farm has been selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project. One of our ideas is to create foraging plots which would have fruit and nut trees for the community to access. We would also like to plant blossoming trees and create a storytelling area for visitors to enjoy.

May activities programme

Park plan

Strouden Park has been selected as one of the parks for our Nature Recovery project. We have lots of ideas for improvements which could be made to help create more homes and food for birds, insects and mammals.

Watermans Park was selected as one of our Pilot Parks. We’ve been running activities and making improvements in the park during 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 throughout 2022.

Park masterplan

Find out more about our work in the Pilot Parks as part of the Future Parks Project.

Winton Recreation Ground was selected as one of our Pilot Parks. We’ve been running activities and making improvements in the park during 2021 – we’ve planted wildflowers and trees, enhanced the sensory garden, created a community garden, made improvements to the Winton Park Café and much more. We’ll continue this work throughout 2022.

Park plan (updated for 2022)

Find out more about our work in the Pilot Parks as part of the Future Parks Project.

Nature Recovery Parks map

Get in touch

Visit our staff page to find out more about our experienced Parks Activators.

Thanks to our funders

Green Recovery Challenge Fund logo
Various partner logos

More projects

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Stay up to date

Join our email newsletters and be the first to know the latest about our charity’s projects and activities across Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole – straight to your inbox.

  • The Parks Foundation – our monthly newsletter, full of updates and information about our charity’s projects, events, cafés, fundraising, and opportunities to get involved.
  • Parks in Mind – our monthly programme listing our upcoming wellbeing activities for adults.
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