This page
provides information on how to join, set up, develop and operate a community or voluntary group to care for one or more green spaces in Leeds. Much of the information has been provided by Leeds City Council with reference to Parks and Countryside land. If the land your group works on is not owned by Leeds City Council, the information may still be useful but you will need to ensure you liaise with the landowner before doing anything with/for their land.————-
Join a group
Our membership is made up of lots of community, voluntary and charitable organisations that would appreciate some additional support. Check out our members page to find out more about them and how to get involved.—————
How to set up a group
If your local green space doesn’t already have a ‘Friends’ group or similar, you may wish to set up your own. Download a leaflet on how to do this here: How to set up a Community Group for Green Space
If you would like to set up an In Bloom group in Leeds contact parks@leeds.gov.uk for more information
If you are interested in setting up a community food growing organisation, Feed Leeds provide guidance on how to do this (and other relevant activities below) on the Advice pages at www.feedleeds.org – most of which also applies to other types of group working in parks and green spaces
For general guidance on setting up community or voluntary groups, Voluntary Action Leeds also provide a wealth of useful information and advice here.
Management Plans
Once you have a group in place you will need to make plans for how to care for and improve the green space. This will need to be done with the agreement of the landowner, of course. Guidance on how to write a management plan is provided in this link: parks and green space management plans.
How to recruit volunteers
If you need more people in your group, download a leaflet on how to recruit volunteers.
Health and Safety
Practical work: If you are in a group that does practical work on green spaces (such as planting, litter picking or pruning) you will find some useful health and safety information in Leeds City Council’s H&S handbook.
Safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults: If you are operating on Leeds City Council land, you will be required to adhere to their safeguarding minimum standards.
How to organise and run events
If your group plans to organise an event on a Leeds City Council owned site, please visit this web page for information on how to book, organise and run your event: http://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/Pages/Booking-parks.aspx.
How to fundraise for your group
If you require funds to achieve the aims of your group visit the following websites for information:
Advice from Leeds City Council here
Voluntary Action Leeds: http://doinggoodleeds.org.uk/current-funding-opportunities/
Fit for Funding Leeds http://www.fit4funding.org.uk/support-pages/in-your-area/west-yorkshire/leeds-funding/
Funding Central: http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/default.aspx
Feed Leeds: www.feedleeds.org.
You may find this useful: The Volunteer Fundraiser’s Handbook
Links
Leeds Parks and Countryside Service Contact parks@leeds.gov.uk
Love Parks (National support for Friends Of groups from Keep Britain Tidy)
LEEDS Parks and green spaces forum 