Month: April 2015

Recycling in Parks

In Bristol’s year as European Green Capital, Bristol Parks Forum are pleased to be working with Bristol Parks to install recycling bins in ten of Bristol’s parks.

If this pilot project is successful then we hope to roll it out to more parks in the future.

Bristol Parks Forum originally applied for a Green Capital Strategic Grant for this project; our application was turned down but Bristol City Council have now found alternative funding to allow the project to go ahead.

TripleBinThe project will involve replacing 42 existing bins with recycling bins similar to the one shown here, with sections for metal cans, plastic bottles and general waste (including dog waste). In addition 4 other existing bins will be coverted. The actual bins will have additional signage to make it clear what can be put in each section.

We have a provisional list of parks and will be contacting the relevant park groups to ensure they are happy with the proposed locations before going ahead. We will not be replacing all the bins in the selected parks, it will be those that are most used. Bins that are removed and are still in a servicable condition will be used to replace damaged bins or add additional bins in other parks.

Cans and plastic bottles have been targeted because they form a high percentage of the waste collected from parks. The success of the project will be based the volume of recycled material collected that is sufficiently free from contamination to be sent to recycling plants.

RHS Pride in Parks Awards

BiBSWlogoBristol Parks Forum are encouraging all our members to enter the RHS Britain in Bloom South West ‘Pride in Parks Awards’.

These awards are specifically aimed at showcasing community involvement as well as considering the standard of the park or green space itself. The entry process is very simple and the assessment process will provide valuable feedback to your group.

This is the second year of this award scheme, last year Troopers Hill Local Nature Reserve was the only site in Bristol to enter and it won a Gold Award.

This year there have been some changes to the scheme; there will now be only one class and entries will be awarded one to five stars with the five star rating equating to last year’s gold award. Each park will receive a plaque, with the star rating, that will be suitable for displaying in the park. There is no need to submit any supporting information with your application, but if you wish you can prepare a pack of information to hand to the assessor when he visits the site with evidence of how you meet the criteria. As an example the information prepared last year by Friends of Troopers Hill can be seen here.

The closing date for entries is 1st June 2015 and the presentation of the Plaques will take place at the Britain in Bloom South West Spring seminar in Exeter in February 2016. There are links below to the entry form and the criteria. These awards have a nominal entry fee of £15, but to launch this new award entry will be FREE for this year.

It is important that the entry is community led and there will need to be a representative of the park group at the assessment (judging). The time needed for the assessment will depend on the size of the park or green space and can be up to 2 hours. Assessments can take place any time from June until the end of the year and you can indicate on the form which month you would prefer, this is to take account of the fact that different parks are at their best at different times. There is a space on the form for special requests so that you could ask for an assessment on a particular day – eg when you are holding an event, or to avoid a particular day.

Pride in Parks Awards – Criteria
Pride in Parks Awards – Entry Form

There is an address on the form to post your entry, or you can scan and email it to southwestinbloom@aol.com or simply send an email setting out the information requested in the form.

Details about the award will also be published in the Britain in Bloom South West website soon – www.southwestinbloom.org.uk