Presentation at Green Space Conference

Presentation at Green Space Conference

Today I presented at the Green Space conference held in Bristol, Watershed.  Green Space is a registered charity working to improve parks and green spaces by raising awareness and involving communities http://www.green-space.org.uk.  They facilitate regional forums, which enable green space professionals to come together and share information, ideas and experiences.

They also orgainse the annual Love Parks Week, a national campaign that promotes the benefits of parks and green spaces to the general public and encourages people to get out and enjoy hundreds of events taking place in parks across the country during the third week of June each year. To find out more and check out what’s happening in your local area – http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/

I was invited to present to delegates about how to utilise online social software sites to engage young people and promote upcoming events.  Also how to creatively use online social software sites to encourage them to express their views and experiences about their local park or green space.  Included in the presentation was information about online safety considerations, risk assessment polices and online safety information websites to signpost young people and work colleagues.  I learnt a great deal from the other presentations and would like to thank Green Space for their invitation to present at the conference.

Below is information about each presentation and workshops:

David Hopkins, National Programme Manager, Catch22
http://www.communityspacechallenge.org
Community Space Challenge is youth charity Catch22’s £8.3m five-year programme, which is funding 70 projects supporting young people in taking a leading role in transforming their local environment. David Hopkins will share learning from the projects and will present case studies that highlight how young people are contributing to the creation of new community gardens, nature trails and allotment sites across England.

Nigel Richardson, Outdoor Education Manager, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
http://amp.uk.net/home
Getting the right mix of facilities for different groups of young people can be a complex challenge that cannot be resolved through short-term consultation alone. Nigel Richardson from Tower Hamlets Urban Adventure Base will discuss how to work in partnership with young people and youth services to provide a range of activities and facilities with wide appeal.

Katie Bacon, Director, Online Youth Outreach Training
http://www.katiebacon.co.uk
The ever-growing popularity of social networking provides new ways to communicate with young people and encourage greater engagement and participation, making it possible to promote events, organise activities, recruit members and gather feedback online. Katie Bacon will share her experience to help delegates begin to explore the possibilities when using social media as a tool, and consider how to effectively and safely put this into practice.

Dr Natalie Djohari, Researcher, Substance
http://substance.coop http://wwwplings.net
Research has identified angling as an activity that has the potential to engage hard to reach young people and provide them with a sense of purpose and belonging. Using case studies, Dr Natalie Djohari will discuss how angling or similar activities could be delivered in parks and green spaces, and how to draw on the expertise of local specialist groups to increase the success of projects.

Workshop 1: Giving young people a voice

Amy Harrison, Education Manager, Architecture Centre, Bristol
http://www.architecturecentre.co.uk
Many parks professionals face the challenge of how to provide young people with the opportunity to get involved with improvements in their area. Amy Harrison will demonstrate the new Spaceshaper 9-14 toolkit, which was developed by CABE Space, Beam and the Bristol and Kent Architecture Centres to give young people the opportunity to voice their opinions on a space.

Workshop 2: Using parks as an educational space

Beth Jones, Project Officer, Schools in the Parks, Field Studies Council
http://field-studies-council.org
Attracting secondary schools to make use of local parks and green spaces as an educational resource can often prove challenging. This workshop will provide the opportunity to discover how the Schools in the Parks project delivers training to parks staff, environmental educators and volunteers so that they can work effectively with secondary schools to provide activities that support the national curriculum.

Workshop 3: Improving access for disabled young people
Iris Barner, Young Peoples Campaign’s Officer and Sally Waters, Public Affairs Manager, Whizz-Kidz
http://ww.whizz-kidz.org.uk
Ensuring a site is accessible for all young people is important. Iris Barner will discuss how to engage with disabled young people through consultations and increase their involvement in developing green spaces.

Site Tour 1: St Agnes Parks and St Paul’s Adventure Playground
This site tour will offer the opportunity to explore a new project to extend St Agnes Park across a pedestrian street into nearby St Paul’s Adventure Playground. Delegates will visit the site and discover how the new improvements maximise play opportunities for children and young people, enhancing the shared public space for all.