Click here for our July Newsletter

In this issue:
South & Southeast in Bloom

Horsham Park Borders

New Arrivals & Targeted Species

Skate Jam!

Funday Sunday

And so much more!

Click here for our May Newsletter

In this issue:
The Midnight Walk is back! (8th June)

Helping Horsham Hospital

Green Flag visit

Litter Pick update

Bowls Club Open Day (25th May)

Funday Sunday (7th July)

Ribbon Borders Group

And so much more!

Click here for our April Newsletter

In this issue:
Shorts – What we’ve been up to and what is yet to come

Litter Pick Legends (14th April)

Wildlife Watch

Redwood Returns

Last chance to vote – The Shelley Memorial Project

Gardening Tips

Horsham Park Bowls Club

Click here for our February Newsletter

Happy New Year to all our Friends!

As we start 2024, we look forward, with anticipation, to another busy year, helping to protect and improve our wonderful park. It’s also a good time to reflect on the highlights of 2023… 

Skate Park Opened

The new skate park opened in December 2022, and had its official opening in June 2023. The sun was shining, extreme sports enthusiasts and families crowded round to watch and gasp at the Team Extreme professional riders showing off their amazing jumps, grabs and spins.  It was a very inclusive day with plenty of time for everyone who wanted to use the skate park and get coaching tips from the Team Extreme experts. The Friends were proud to support the event by being one of the sponsors for the prizes.

Team Extreme commented that it is one of the best, if not the best, skate parks in the UK. Well done to the HDC Parks and Countryside team for providing a fabulous facility for our community and a great opening event.

The Pond

Major works were carried out on the pond, starting early on in the year and completing in August. (There was some delay caused by technical problems with the banking).

The works included: removing a number of trees to give more prominence and open up the view to the pond; reformatting and changing the level of the internal pond path; replacing the steep slope to the pond with a gently graded accessible path to a level viewing area; new signage to identify the pond life; moving the western entrance to the pond; and planting new flower beds.

We think you’ll agree it’s been worth the wait and is a huge improvement to this focal point of the park.

Litter Picks

The Friends held two litter-picking events, in March and September. There was no shortage of volunteers from our Friends’ community and, as usual, there was lots of litter to be found, especially in the less accessible areas and commonly used areas of the park. We are grateful to our brilliant volunteers, and we’re now thinking about the next one in March.

(On 1^st February, HDC increased the fine for littering from £75 to £150 in an attempt to make people think twice about dropping their rubbish).

Shelley Memorial Project

The Shelley Memorial Project, a group of local Shelley enthusiasts supported by HDC, progressed with their plans to erect a memorial in the park to Horsham’s poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. From the many prospective artists, 4 contenders have been shortlisted by the SMP selection panel. The 4 artists are now preparing their presentation pieces and these will be on show for the public to state their preference. Watch out for further updates.

‘Bulbs for Lives’ and trees planted & new benches installed

In October 2022 the221 daffodils. This figure represents the number of people who very sadly took their own lives in 2021. Friends teamed up with the Samaritans, Park Management and an army of volunteers to plant 6221 crocuses and 6

Then in Spring 2023, as the newly planted bulbs were bursting into flower three silver birch trees were planted as the backdrop to two specially created ‘reflection’ benches. The benches  are set at the head of the new Bulbs for Lives field which now, every year, will present a carpet of colour – first the purple and white crocuses and then yellow daffodils.

New shepherd tends his flock in Horsham Park 

The damaged shepherd sculpture in the Human Nature Garden was replaced with a new shepherd carved by PIXIE Mushroom sussex chainsaw carvings and funded by grounds maintenance contractors idverde from their Community Investment Fund.

The shepherd is now watching over a flock of ‘cleaned up’ sheep thanks to the efforts of corporate volunteers who gave them a good scrub in the summer.

Protecting Horsham Park for future generations

Protecting our lovely park from the risk of future developments is so important, in order to retain this jewel in the centre of Horsham for all to enjoy.

We launched a campaign asking local candidates, in the May election, to pledge their support for our green spaces and to work with us to protect Horsham Park in perpetuity.

…and we were pleased to have full support for our pledge from Horsham Labour the Green and Liberal Democrat parties.

The candidates/parties have pledged to:

• Seek to protect Horsham Park in perpetuity
• Value Horsham’s parks and green spaces for their vital contribution to residents’ physical and mental wellbeing.
• Champion the important public service parks and green spaces provide locally
• Advocate for policies that safeguard parks and green spaces
• Encourage sufficient and equitable provision of parks and green spaces for all
• Support community volunteers in our Park and other green spaces

In addition to the individual candidate responses, Horsham Labour Party confirmed their support to protect the park and wrote this commitment into their manifesto; and the Green and Liberal Democrat parties issued written statements of support for protecting the park.

Our aim is to work together with the Liberal Democrat administration to protect the park for future generations.

Bowls Bash – great fun for all!

Horsham Park Bowls Club is a well-established, friendly club within the park and is keen to attract new members. During the summer months, the club held ‘Bowls Bash’ sessions, a short version of bowls, to enable people new to green bowling to try it out.

The Friends are pleased to support the bowls club, and we promoted ‘Bowls Bash’ in our spring and summer newsletters.

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers

In Volunteer Week we gave a BIG THANK YOU to the many volunteers who help to enhance, promote and protect Horsham Park throughout the year.

    Friends volunteers in new willow tunnel in children’s play area

There are now over 20 volunteers who participate in our Wednesday morning group – they cut back overgrowth to keep paths accessible, litter-pick, plant, weed, prune and sow seeds so that the park beds look lovely and to provide good habitat for pollinators and wildlife.  Last year they contributed 1628 hours of effort, skills and teamwork.  On top of this the monthly Sunday ‘Borders’, who care for the stunning ribbon border on North Street, contributed a further 150 hours.

Our Committee work is perhaps less visible than the gardening work, but just as important.  For example, they get involved in fundraising, hosting events, social media to promote the park, liaising with the Parks and Countryside team, participating in Horsham Green Spaces and the very necessary work of running our Community Interest Company. Last year they contributed over 1100 hours.

We also want to shout out the huge contribution by the Samaritans this year who created the stunning Bulbs for Lives display.  Their work is so important for the community and we loved working with them on this project.

Last but not least, we know there are lots of people and groups who support the park – whether through Corporate Social Responsibility volunteering with us, or litter-picking, such as the Rotary Club’s regular visits, and the Strawford Centre who have now embarked on cleaning the bricks in the Maze; or indeed the many individual Friends who volunteer with us.

We are lucky that so many people, give so willingly of their time and skills so that the park can be enjoyed by us all.

Thank you to everyone!   Take a well-deserved pat on the back.

Park People

In the summer the Friends extended a warm welcome to Neal Matheson, HDC’s new Parks & Leisure Tree Officer. We’re delighted to be working with him.

We said goodbye and thanks to committee members David Lee, our webmaster, and Asif Mahmood, our treasurer. We welcomed new committee members: Philippa Charman (treasurer), Alejandra Teodosio, Jodie Fitz-Hugh and Jennifer Ryan. We have two new committee members joining us at our first meeting in 2024 – so we will tell you more in the next newsletter.

Hedgehogs in the Park

Since last year’s Hedgehog Awareness Week, the park team has installed HedgehogHighways in Horsham Park Pond’s fencing to help make life a little easier for them. Have you spotted the doorways? Keep your eyes peeled next time you’re in the park

Horsham Wildways

As members of Horsham Green Spaces we are participating in a long term urban nature-recovery project linking the green spaces in the town via several ‘Horsham Wildways’ (initially we envisaged these as pollinator flyways, but the new name reflects that this project has become broader and is connecting with others across the District and Sussex such as the Weald to Weaves.

The vision in Horsham town is to include school fields, sports fields, allotments, cemeteries, railway lines, verges and, of course, gardens.  The first stage of the project was to map existing habitats and what is using them.  This helps us identify opportunities for extending the habitats appropriately to support pollinators, birds and wildlife across the Wildways.

At the end of 2023 we met with the Parks and Countryside team to agree the Wildways, which ones will be prioritised for 2024 and next steps.  We will provide updates on this exciting project during the year.

Parkrun

In May we welcomed back the parkrun to Horsham Park from its winter quarters at Southwater Country Park. It’s a free event every Saturday morning and open to all newcomers, whatever your ability. If you’d like to take part, or learn more about it, see here 

Celebrating 100 years of Horsham Park 1928 – 2028

To celebrate the park’s 100^th anniversary, the Friends of Horsham Park and Friends of Horsham Museum are working together on a joint project to research and write a book in time for the centenary. In 2028 we will be celebrating 100 years of public ownership of Horsham Park.

In 1928 the first section was purchased from the Hurst family “to keep and preserve the open space for the benefit, enjoyment and recreation of the Town and Parish of Horsham forever.”  We are all thankful for the Council’s foresight in purchasing the park – imagine getting through Covid without it or not having this wonderful greenspace at the heart of our town!

The park has a fascinating history, which provides glimpses into societal changes over the last 100 years.  However, this history is not fully documented, much is anecdotal, and most is tucked away in archives or in residents’ memories.

Following our appeal to get involved, we now have a team of 8 researchers and writers who met twice in 2023 to begin the research.  They are already making great progress and the shared dropbox is filling up with an historical timeline, maps, photos, interviews, shared memories, interesting items from Horsham Museum, the Horsham Society magazines, print media and information discovered in the Sussex archives.

If you would like to share your memories or get involved, please contact Sally Sanderson, Chair Friends of Horsham Park at [email protected] or Paul French, Chair Friends of Horsham Museum.

Funday Sunday

The Friends had a stall at the Funday Sunday event in the park on 9 July. We enjoyed meeting lots of people and had great fun with the bumble bee and butterfly activity where visitors voted for their favourite – the bumble bees won!

Children had fun with our spinning wheel, featuring the 6 protected species in the park, and getting an information card all about the creature or plant they landed on.

Awards

Green Flag 2023-24

We were delighted that Horsham Park won a Green Flag again for the fourth year in a row.  This is a prestigious award, which shows the park has great facilities, is welcoming, safe, and a lovely green space. Well done to the Parks and Countryside team Horsham District Council, and all the volunteers who make the park so lovely.  What a fantastic community asset for all to enjoy.

Holding the flag: Cllr. Jon Olson and FoHP Chair Sally Sanderson, together with HDC’s Parks Team, Friends’ ‘Wednesday Volunteers’ and Denne Neighbourhood Council’s Chair Trudie Mitchell.

South & South East in Bloom Award

We were delighted that the Park maintained the Silver Gilt Award in the Large Park category of the South & South East in Bloom competition for the second year running.

This is a great achievement and recognises the hard work of HDC’s Parks and Countryside Team, Denne Neighbourhood Council and the Friends of Horsham Park in ensuring the Park is a fantastic community asset, which we can all enjoy.

The Friends were hoping that the fabulous new skate park facility, the pond project and other horticultural improvements in the park would get us the gold but we were still 5 marks short.  We are determined that 2024 will be the year we get gold!

It’s Your Neighbourhood Category

We were thrilled to get Outstanding this year – Level 5 which is the top category.  This is the category, which focuses on community groups so specifically about the activities of the Friends.  For the past two years we were at ‘Thriving’ (Level 4) and in our first year of entry we were only at ‘Improving’ (Level 2) so we have come a long way since 2020.

Fun Quiz Night raised valuable funds

The Friends’ annual quiz, on 25 Nov, was once again a fun evening while also raising an impressive sum of nearly £500 to fund our work in the park. We will be spending some of it on spring planting, so watch out for colourful blooms popping up then!

This year, around 70 quizzers filled Trinity Church Hall to rack their brains on questions on topics such as women’s sport, music and nature, among others. Thanks to quizmaster David Sanderson and to Mike Harling for the live ‘name that artist’ round.

At the end of the evening, three teams shared the top spot, with scores too close to call! Spot prizes went to the winners of two separate challenges – composing a tongue-twister and modelling a new award for the park from plasticine.

Ros Shiel, one of the quizzers, said: “As always, the Quiz was a lot of fun. The questions were generally just the right level, though our team struggled on the environmentalist picture round! There was a nice relaxed atmosphere of friendly competition, and it was good to catch up with other Friends in a sociable setting.”

The Quiz will return in 2024, so if you like planning ahead, mark Saturday 23 November 2024 in your diaries!

Lots of planting went on!

The Wednesday volunteers were busy planting last year – many of the plants were financed by the Friends so a massive thank you to everyone who supports us through grants, the quiz or the lottery.

In the Park House sensory Garden

The badly damaged box hedge (by the caterpillar of the box hedge moth) was removed and we replaced it with 660 Lonicera plants (in torrential rain).

In the shady bed between Park House and the lawn: 2 x Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’, 6 x Aster frikartii ‘Monch’, 6 x Geranium clarkei ‘Kashmir White’ 12 x Iris ‘Caeser’s Brother’.  This will be lovely for people coming down the steps from the registry office.

In the Winter Interest bed: 10 X Carex oshimensis ‘Everest, 1 x Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’, 1 x Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’, 3 x Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis 7 x Helleborus ‘Pretty Ellen Pink’.  The following bulbs were added: 100 Crocus – large flowering mixed, 50 Narcissus ‘Pink Charm’ and 50 Narcissus ‘Replete’.

Carex oshimensis adding to the Winter Interest in the bed supported by the Sussex Gardens Trust grant.

Water-Wise, climate change bed
Here we added: 300 Crocus mixed and 100 Tulipa bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’.

The central beds
There wasn’t time to plant these this week, but the following tulips will be added next week: 50 x Tulipa ‘Ollioules’, 50 x Tulipa ‘Saigon’ and 50 x Tulipa ‘White Triumphator’.

We also planted elsewhere in the park at:

The bee bed
3 x Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and 3 x  Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ to extend the season for pollinators.

The Tennis Court bed
This was getting overrun by Japanese anemone so some of these have been removed making space for plants to supplement the current scheme:  3 x Peonia ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, 2 x Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’ and 2 x Stipa gigantea.  We have also added 50 of each of the following tulips for a spring display:

Tulipa ‘Honeymoon’, Tulipa ‘Mariette’, Tulipa ‘Ollioules’ and Tulipa ‘Saigon’.

Finally at North Street entrance we planted two Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna ‘Purple Stem’ which will grow quite dense to hide the electricity cabinet. We hope that people passing by in the winter will enjoy the sweet-smelling flowers.

At the Pond

In addition to all this, the Parks and Countryside team gave us over 100 plants for the pond inside the fence on the East side.   These continue the natural theme of the outside bed planted last winter – along the bank and in the corner by the gate. alongside the new turf.  As we didn’t pay for these, we don’t have the plant list yet.  Alejandra has created a short Instagram video of the pond planting here.

Help the Friends and you could win a prize

£25,000 Jackpot every week!

• Have a better chance of winning the lottery when you play the local Horsham District Community Lottery, and you will be supporting the Friends!
• By signing up to the local weekly draw, you can subscribe any amount from £1 upwards. Each £1 ticket has a chance to win £25, £250, £2500, or £25000. Just match from 2 to 6 numbers to win a prize.
• By selecting The Friends as your chosen good cause, 50p from each £1 ticket goes to support much-needed funds for the Friends of Horsham Park; and 10p goes to other local causes.
• Why not join today? It’s a win for the Friends and could be a bigger win for you!
•  

Volunteering Opportunities

• Ribbon Border Volunteer group – every 2^nd Sunday
  The RBV group meets every second Sunday in the month at 10am by the entrance to the North Street carpark, everyone welcome.
  For more information please contact David at [email protected]
• Gardening and Conservation group – every Wednesday
  The Wednesday Morning Group” meets at 9.30am at the Jubilee car park next to the entrance sign to the Human Nature Garden. Their main tasks are planting and pruning and generally making improvements to the park’s appearance for all to enjoy. All tools provided.
  Please contact“ Sally at [email protected]
• Helping at events – as required
  We need Friends to help out at events we hold in the Park. It may be just for a couple of hours occasionally, or as a one off. It can be great fun. Any help is much appreciated.
  Please contact Sally at [email protected]

Park News
December 2023

Enter the Friends’ Community Lottery – win a cash prize!

Christmas Bonus

As the festive season approaches, there’s an exciting opportunity to win a whopping £3,000 Christmas cash bonus in the draw on Saturday 23rd December!  ENTER HERE 

Chance to win £25,000 Jackpot every week!

Have a better chance of winning the lottery when you play the local Horsham District Community Lottery, and you will be supporting the Friends!

By selecting The Friends as your chosen ‘good cause’, 50p from each £1 ticket goes to support much-needed funds for the Friends of Horsham Park; and 10p goes to other local causes.

Why not enter today? It’s a win for the Friends and could be a bigger win for you!

Fun Quiz Night raises valuable funds

The Friends’ annual quiz, on 25 Nov, was once again a fun evening while also raising an impressive sum of nearly £500 to fund our work in the park. We will be spending some of it on spring planting, so watch out for colourful blooms popping up then!

This year, around 70 quizzers filled Trinity Church Hall to rack their brains on questions on topics such as women’s sport, music and nature, among others. Thanks to quizmaster David Sanderson and to Mike Harling for the live ‘name that artist’ round.

At the end of the evening, three teams shared the top spot, with scores too close to call! Spot prizes went to the winners of two separate challenges – composing a tongue-twister and modelling a new award for the park from plasticine.

Ros Shiel, one of the quizzers, said: “As always, the Quiz was a lot of fun. The questions were generally just the right level, though our team struggled on the environmentalist picture round! There was a nice relaxed atmosphere of friendly competition, and it was good to catch up with other Friends in a sociable setting.”

The Quiz will return in 2024, so if you like planning ahead, mark Saturday 23 November in your diaries!

Lots of planting going on!

The Wednesday morning volunteers had a challenging task this week – planting hundreds of plants and bulbs. At least the weather was better than for the hedge planting last month! The plants were sourced by Hannah Neale of HDC’s Parks and Countryside team, and we spent £528.31 on them.  Therefore, a massive thank you to everyone who supports us through grants, the quiz or the lottery – it has enabled us to enhance the following beds:

 In Park House Sensory Garden
In the shady bed between Park House and the lawn: 2 x Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’, 6 x Aster frikartii ‘Monch’, 6 x Geranium clarkei ‘Kashmir White’ 12 x Iris ‘Caeser’s Brother’.  This will be lovely for people coming down the steps from the registry office.

In the Winter Interest bed: 10 X Carex oshimensis ‘Everest, 1 x Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’, 1 x Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’, 3 x Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis 7 x Helleborus ‘Pretty Ellen Pink’.  The following bulbs were added: 100 Crocus – large flowering mixed, 50 Narcissus ‘Pink Charm’ and 50 Narcissus ‘Replete’.

Carex oshimensis adding to the Winter Interest in the bed supported by the Sussex Gardens Trust grant. 

In the Water-Wise, climate change bed
Here we added: 300 Crocus mixed and 100 Tulipa bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’. 

For the central beds
There wasn’t time to plant these this week, but the following tulips will be added next week: 50 x Tulipa ‘Ollioules’, 50 x Tulipa ‘Saigon’ and 50 x Tulipa ‘White Triumphator’. 

In the bee bed
3 x Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and 3 x  Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ to extend the season for pollinators.

For the Tennis Court bed
This was getting overrun by Japanese anemone so some of these have been removed making space for plants to supplement the current scheme:  3 x Peonia ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, 2 x Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’ and 2 x Stipa gigantea.  We have also added 50 of each of the following tulips for a spring display:

Tulipa ‘Honeymoon’, Tulipa ‘Mariette’, Tulipa ‘Ollioules’ and Tulipa ‘Saigon’.

At North Street entrance
we planted two Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna ‘Purple Stem’ which will grow quite dense to hide the electricity cabinet. We hope that people passing by in the winter will enjoy the sweet-smelling flowers.

At the Pond

In addition to all this, the Parks and Countryside team gave us over 100 plants for the pond inside the fence on the East side.   These continue the natural theme of the outside bed planted last winter – along the bank and in the corner by the gate. alongside the new turf.  As we didn’t pay for these, we don’t have the plant list yet.  Alejandra has created a short Instagram video of the pond planting here.

Volunteers’ social

After all the hard work, our volunteers celebrated by going out together for a Christmas social.  22 of us sat down for a pizza at Monte Forte and we had a lovely evening (even if the dividing the bill between us was a little complicated!).  It’s difficult capturing everyone in the photo now that the group has grown so large – and not everyone could make it!  With such a great team, we can achieve so much and have lots of fun at the same time.

A big round of applause for everything they have done this year to enhance the park and make it a more welcoming and enjoyable place to visit.  Thank you all.

National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces: Xmas/ New Year Appeal

Below is an appeal from this national group that supports Friends groups such as ours with advice and by working at a national level.   

Do you love your local parks and green spaces, and would like to see them better maintained and protected? 
You can help make a real difference today! https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/p/better-friends

There are 7,000 local greenspace Friends Groups and hundreds more being formed each year. We are passionate volunteers who organise events and activities, promote our sites on social media, and want to ensure our communities get the very best out of these vital local spaces.

The National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces is the unfunded and volunteer-run umbrella organisation of our inspiring grassroots movement.

OUR WORK IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL TO THE FUTURE OF THE UK’S GREEN SPACES:

– We support and link up the greenspace Friends Groups across the UK
– We promote and share success stories and good practice
– We ensure the voices of the grassroots are amplified and listened to at all levels, including by Government
– We call for proper funding and protection for all public greenspace

We are a registered charity with a great track record already over the last 10 years.  But we need your help to continue to do this, and to do it better!

Please donate today, and forward to all your contacts. For every £10 donated Aviva will give us an extra £20. Help us reach our initial £3,000 target by New Year’s Eve!

Events in the Park

• Every Weds & Fri.    Walk and Talk in Horsham Park. Meet at The Human Nature Garden Weds 10 -11am and Friday 12-12.40pm
• Every Sat       parkrun 9.00am

Volunteering Opportunities

• Ribbon Border Volunteer group – every 2^nd Sunday
  The RBV group meets every second Sunday in the month at 10am by the entrance to the North Street carpark, everyone welcome.
  For more information please contact David at [email protected]
• Gardening and Conservation group – every Wednesday
  The Wednesday Morning Group” meets at 9.30am at the Jubilee car park next to the entrance sign to the Human Nature Garden. Their main tasks are planting and pruning and generally making improvements to the park’s appearance for all to enjoy. All tools provided.
  Please contact“ Sally at [email protected]
• Helping at events – as required
  We need Friends to help out at events we hold in the Park. It may be just for a couple of hours occasionally, or as a one off. It can be great fun. Any help is much appreciated.
  Please contact Sally at [email protected]

Click here to join the Friends

Wishing all our Friends a very merry Christmas and a happy & healthy new year!

Park News
November 2023

 Book your tickets now for our Quiz Night
Saturday, 25 November, 7.30pm
Holy Trinity Church Hall, Rushams Road, RH12 2NT

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Who won the Sport’s Personality of the Year in 2019?
                     2. What is the smallest planet in our solar system?
                     3. What is the collective name for a group of crows?
                     4. What is rapper P Diddy’s real name?
                     5. From what grain is the Japanese spirit Sake made?

 Answers at the end of this newsletter

The Quiz Night is the most important fundraiser of the year for the Friends, and enables us to make more improvements in the Park.

Now you can book your tickets through Philippa, our Treasurer, at [email protected]. Tickets are £6.00 per person.  You can either pay for them on the door or Philippa will send you our bank details so you can pay in advance.

If you’d like to come along but have no one to join you or don’t have 6 people, don’t worry as we can put you together to make up tables of 6.

It’s always a great evening, very sociable and lots of fun. There will be wine, beer, soft drinks and snacks for sale, fabulous raffle prizes, and of course our amazing quiz.
Door and bar opens at 7.00pm and quiz starts at 7.30pm.

It’s at our usual venue – Holy Trinity Church Hall, 12 Rushams Road Horsham RH12 2NT.

A night not to be missed!

____________________________

 What the Friends did in 2023

At the Friends’ AGM in October, Chair Sally Sanderson gave a comprehensive review of what the Friends have done since our AGM last year. If you weren’t able to attend (or even if you did), here’s a summary. We achieved quite a lot actually!

Sally reported:

• It has been another great year for the park with the completed skatepark and the pond project showing ongoing investment and improvements.
• Horsham Park won another Green Flag and Silver Gilt for the second year running in the Large Park category of South & South East in Bloom. Winning ‘Outstanding’ – the top category in the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ competition is great recognition for the hard work and achievements of the Friends and so this meeting records a big thank you to all who have volunteered this year.

The Committee

• They have contributed over 1000 hours. They have run events such as the two successful litter picks and a stand at Funday in the Park with a focus on supporting bees and butterflies and our climate change bed.
• Some of their other work is less visible but just as critical in enhancing, promoting and protecting the park. They have liaised with other organisations:  HDC, Denne Neighbourhood Council, Horsham Green Spaces, Fields in Trust, Strawford Centre, Shelley Memorial Project and corporate sponsors.
• On promoting the park, David Lee has enhanced our website significantly and helped with our social media. He has had to step down recently and we will miss his valuable input.
• We have been joined by Alejandra Teodosia who has taken on responsibility for Instagram and is doing a great job, especially as she is part of the Wednesday gardening team and so can post what they do each week.
• Steve Sandham’s newsletter is now going to over 400 Friends and Stefen Hepburn’s posters continue to inform and delight. Sadly we have also had to say goodbye to Stefen who has started a career with Surrey Wildlife Trust.
• We have also been joined by Jodie Fitz-Hugh, Jennifer Ryan and Philippa Charman who is our new Treasurer, taking over from Barbara Hammond who did a great job setting up our CIC, accounting procedures and other policies.
• Therefore, although we are sad to say goodbye to friends who have contributed so much to our achievements, we are really pleased to welcome new talent to the team. 

Bulbs for Lives

• This was our biggest project of the year, working closely with the Horsham and Crawley Samaritans and with the Parks and Countryside team. It has created a wonderful legacy with the carpet of spring bulbs and the popular reflection benches.  In recognition of this, we have awarded the Samaritans with a Certificate of Excellence for their own outstanding contribution to winning our awards.

The Wednesday morning gardening group

• The group has continued to grow and each week there are between 15-20 volunteers. They have contributed over 2000 hours of weeding, pruning, clearing overgrowth, planting, growing seeds and making the park more attractive and providing good habitat for wildlife.
• The areas they look after continue to grow too – with the new pond bed and now the Human Nature Garden.
• They are a fantastic team and as well as achieving so much are friendly and welcoming, sharing their expertise and friendship to new comers and supporting those who join the team to improve their own wellbeing. We owe them many thanks for all they do.

Corporate volunteers

• This year has seen continued interest in volunteering in the park from the corporate sector. This includes individuals, such as Richard, who join to undertake their own CSR hours allocated by their organisation, and teams from Next Phase Recruitment, for a second year, and now Schroders.  It works particularly well when they join the Wednesday morning session, even if working as a separate group on a mini project such as cleaning up the sheep sculptures in the Human Nature Garden.
• Recently we learned from a potential CSR volunteer that she couldn’t join the Wednesday team as we are not a charity – for tax reasons. We are currently looking at the benefits of converting form a CIC to a charity so this is another thing for us to consider.

Our Finances

Treasurer Philippa Charman presented accounts for year ending 31 August 2023. Key points included:

• Income: total income was £1,812. The Quiz is the main revenue source, contributing c£1,206, with HDC Lottery ticket sales contributing £606.
• Outgoings: total expenditure was £963. Of this, £526 was spent on plants and other supplies for the gardening volunteers; other spend included a stall at Horsham Fun Day, print of posters promoting our protected species, insurance and the annual quiz.

A full copy of the accounts can be obtained on request from our Treasurer, Philippa Charman [email protected].

The Meeting also spent time on 3 Key Topics, and a good discussion developed amongst everyone present, with some useful suggestions put forward by members.

The 3 Key Topics:

1. Mental wellbeing,

2. Horsham Town’s pollinator flyways

3. Future plans for the Human Nature Garden.

Mental Wellbeing discussion (Conversation Starter Project)

• Dr Quinn-Cirillo spoke about the Conversation Starter Project, which she started in lockdown, as a way of combating social isolation and loneliness. She explained that walking in green spaces offers unique benefits, as the brain processes information and emotions in a different way outdoors.
• There is now a Walk & Talk in Horsham Park every Wednesday morning, and a walk has started in Southwater recently. Walks are free to join and led by walk co-ordinators and guides, with a flexible format to encourage people to join in.
• The walks have been a success with growing numbers of participants and friendships forming between them.
• More information at: https://drtara.co.uk/conversation-starter-project/

i-Rock

• This is a new service offering support for young people living in West Sussex. Friends of Horsham Park have contacted i-Rock and offered volunteering opportunities for 18-25 year olds as we know that for some people, taking part in volunteer gardening can be helpful
• More information at: https://www.sussexcamhs.nhs.uk/our-services/service-finder/i-rock-horsham-district

Get Horsham Buzzing discussion

Sally Sanderson reported on this project, which is run by Horsham Green Spaces Forum – representatives from groups managing/supporting communal green spaces in the town including the Friends of Horsham Park, Warnham Nature Reserve, Chesworth Farm, allotments, a school representative and neighborhood councils. Its aim is to Enhance, Connect and Protect our Green Spaces

• Over the last 2 years some projects have included: Ancient and veteran tree mapping and a SWOT analysis of each green space.
• The new project is Pollinator flyways – see this article in AAH – which links into the Sussex Wildlife Trust ‘Weald to Waves’ project trying to create a nature corridor which cuts across Horsham town.
• The following routes in Horsham Town have been habitat mapped this summer and are proposed as pollinator flyways with the aim of connecting the town’s green spaces for insects, birds and bats – for a copy of the corridor maps please email [email protected]
  • A1 Warnham Nature Reserve- Hills Farm – along the Arun
  • B1 Bens Acres (St Leonards Forest) to Hills Farm – includes ‘Wild Denne’ initiatives
  • C1 – tricky route but critical as connects to the Weald to Waves core corridor
  • D1 & 2 Railway
  • E1 Bens Acres to Hop Oast/Denne Hill

Routes including the Park

• F1 Leechpool and Owlbeech wood to Hills Farm
• G1 From Beech Road allotments in Roffey to Park
• Some of the routes are easier to connect than others and HGS has put forward a proposal for how to do this to Horsham District Council.

To link with the Weald to waves project, Sally suggested the Friends could make two pledges.  Pledges are shown on the Weald to Waves pledge map to show support:

• The Friends as an organisation can pledge that they will work towards the 30% target for space in the Park to be devoted to wildlife by 2030 – the majority of attendees supported this and it was agreed the committee would take this forwards.
• Individuals can pledge to devote 30% of their garden or balcony to being wild-life friendly. Simple things like leaving the lawn uncut for the summer, having a small log or leaf pile, having a small pond, planting some wildflowers or choosing pollinator-friendly plants can make a huge difference even in a small town garden. Ben Brace reported on a successful initiative in London to lift one paving slab in your garden and replace with wild-life friendly planting.

Human Nature Garden: discussion of future plans

The HNG opened in 2011, with an aspiration to grow plants that could be used in medicine, food, building, clothing. The garden is now looking tired, the signage is outdated and doesn’t link to what happens in the garden.  HDC’s Management Plan for the Park will be renewed in 2024 and so this discussion can contribute to the consultation on how to develop/manage the HNG.

Discussion included the following suggestions:

• Growing vegetables: the volunteers have experimented with some vegetables to fill gaps – but this showed what a lot of work it would be, with people needed every day of the week for watering.
• Community allotments for groups eg Little Monkeys, care homes
• Could the overarching theme for the HNG become a garden for wellbeing?
  • Planting for good physical health – edible flowers etc – and mental health – eg lavender and valerian to help sleep
  • Colourful flowers to lift mood
  • Gardening as an activity for well being
  • Hosting small-scale wellbeing events on the stage
• In the meantime, the Wednesday volunteers suggested that a plan is needed for managing the existing beds as there are too many plants that have self-seeded so it looks crowded and nothing is thriving – these need to be removed.

South & South East in Bloom Awards

The Friends volunteers and directors celebrated with HDC Councillors and officers with a group photo in the Sensory Garden. There was a write up in the County Times on 26 October.

Friends Chair Sally Sanderson said: “We are thrilled to have won this award. Our Wednesday Gardening Team is very strong contributing over 2,000 volunteer hours this year…” She went on to thank all the other many volunteers and partners who gave their time and have contributed to the park’s success.

Council Cabinet Member for Leisure Jon Olson said: “…These awards celebrate the massive amount of hard work that goes into planning, developing and maintaining Horsham Park. I am particularly pleased we have also been recognised for creating such a vital community hub…My thanks go out to our officers, Friends of Horsham Park, Denne Neighbourhood Council and the many volunteers and partners who have contributed so much to have achieved these awards.”

Park House Sensory Garden

If you visited Park House Sensory Garden in the late summer, you will have noticed that the box hedge surrounding the central beds had been badly damaged by the caterpillar of the box hedge moth.  What was once a smart, green border, had almost overnight become a hedge of brown lace and twigs.

Last week this was removed and will be replaced with 660 Lonicera plants; the resulting hedge will look much the same.  These will be planted up soon by the Wednesday morning volunteers.

It is likely that the cherry tree, which is much loved for its cheerful spring blossom, will also be removed before the hedge replanting.  This is sad but the tree is now old, the crown is in serious decline and decay is extensive.   It will be replaced with a tree that will provide shade for our curved bench and one that, of course, has sensory appeal.

Children’s Play Area improvements

The surface under the popular zip wire play equipment in the children’s play area has been improved. The existing grass matting surface had become very tired and unsafe.   A retaining wall has been built to create an enclosure where tonnes of bark nuggets have been used to create a better surface.  We’re sure the children will love the improvements.

Help the Friends and you could win a prize

£25,000 Jackpot every week!

Have a better chance of winning the lottery when you play the local Horsham District Community Lottery, and you will be supporting the Friends!

By signing up to the local weekly draw, you can subscribe any amount from £1 upwards. Each £1 ticket has a chance to win £25, £250, £2500, or £25000. Just match from 2 to 6 numbers to win a prize.

By selecting The Friends as your chosen good cause, 50p from each £1 ticket goes to support much-needed funds for the Friends of Horsham Park; and 10p goes to other local causes.

Why not sign up today? It’s a win for the Friends and could be a bigger win for you!

Events in the Park

• Every Weds & Fri.    Walk and Talk in Horsham Park. Meet at The Human Nature Garden Weds 10 -11am and Fri 12-12.40pm
• Every Sat                     parkrun 9.00am
• 25 Nov                          Friends’ Annual Quiz!

Volunteering Opportunities

• Ribbon Border Volunteer group – every 2^nd Sunday
  The RBV group meets every second Sunday in the month at 10am by the entrance to the North Street carpark, everyone welcome.
  For more information please contact David at [email protected]
• Gardening and Conservation group – every Wednesday
  The Wednesday Morning Group” meets at 9.30am at the Jubilee car park next to the entrance sign to the Human Nature Garden. Their main tasks are planting and pruning and generally making improvements to the park’s appearance for all to enjoy. All tools provided.
  Please contact“ Sally at [email protected]
• Helping at events – as required
  We need Friends to help out at events we hold in the Park. It may be just for a couple of hours occasionally, or as a one off. It can be great fun. Any help is much appreciated.
  Please contact Sally at [email protected]

Quiz Answers: 1. Ben Stokes; 2. Mercury; 3. Murder; 4. Sean Combs; 5. Rice.

South & South East in Bloom Awards 2023

Alejandra Teodosio and Felicity Owen collecting at the awards,
photo by Daniel Cool 

We are delighted that the Park has maintained the Silver Gilt Award in the Large Park category of the South & South East in Bloom competition for the second year running. 

This is a great achievement and recognises the hard work of HDC’s Parks and Countryside Team, Denne Neighbourhood Council and the Friends of Horsham Park in ensuring the Park is a fantastic community asset which we can all enjoy.

The standards are high and comprehensive covering: 

• Making Way for People (access and signage)
• Design (appearance and layout of the park)
• Welfare of Park Users (staff/voluntary presence and control of dog fouling)
• Facilities (appropriate provision, accessibility, appearance and maintenance)
• Maintenance of hard landscape features (benches, bins, play areas, artificial surfaces, control of litter, graffiti and vandalism)
• Environmental sustainability (planting schemes that reduce uses of scarce resources such as water and peat)
• Conservation (management of natural features, wildlife and flora)
• Community involvement (volunteering & promotion of the park as a community resource)

The Friends were hoping that the fabulous new skate park facility, the pond project and other horticultural improvements in the park would get us the gold but we were still 5 marks short!

The judge’s comments were complimentary with just three suggestions:

• improvements to the maze,
• removal of a couple of dead/unhealthy trees with explanatory signage,
• the conservation opportunity of wildflower meadows near the skate park.

We were pleased that he commented ‘the herbaceous borders were well tended’ as we know that our Wednesday volunteers contribute greatly to this and that ‘The Park has an excellent Friends Group who do a lot of gardening on a regular basis and also get involved with events’.

The new bed by the pond

It’s Your Neighbourhood Category

We were absolutely thrilled to get Outstanding this year – Level 5 which is the top category.  This is the category which focuses on community groups so specifically about the activities of the Friends.  For the past two years we were at ‘Thriving’ (Level 4) and in our first year of entry we were only at ‘Improving’ (Level 2) so we have come a long way since 2020.

The award focuses on:

• Community Participation (eg being inclusive; making a difference to local people; getting support eg from local council, grant-aid, sponsorship; planning for the future; working in partnership with other organisations)
• Environmental Responsibility (conservation, composting, recycling, sharing knowledge and skills, addressing issues such as litter, graffiti, dog fouling)
• Gardening Achievement (good plant choice, good maintenance, creativity, innovation, enhancing the area)

Many volunteers, too many to name, have contributed to the achievements listed in the judge’s feedback below.  You know who you are – so a massive thank you and congratulations for your outstanding input and effort. 

The judge’s feedback

‘Areas of Achievement

1. The Friends of Horsham Park is a very active group and carry out a variety of activities within the Park. The regular Wednesday volunteer working group works with a variety of other Groups including Strawford Centre, Samaritans and others.
2. The Group consulted with a number of Groups regarding the restoration of the Sensory Garden which resulted in the curved bench being installed.
3. At events held in the Park there is strong engagement with schools, scout groups and other local charities and this is also achieving getting bulbs planted and litter picking. A good working relationship remains between the Friends Group and Horsham District Council.
4. The group are very active when events are held within the Park. A monthly newsletter is published once a month and distributed to the 350 members of the Group.
5. The Strawford Centre come along every Wednesday and do litter picking and have started cleaning bricks in the maze area and are making a real difference.
6. Herbaceous plants are split and reused around the site with the addition of seeds grown in peat free compost. There are three different tree trails available and an award winning bee friendly flower bed including a bug hotel is great for pollinators. Other beds are planted to encourage pollinators. The gardening hours from the volunteers amounted to 1775 over the past year.
7. Another successful project was Bulbs for Lives field created with the local Samaritans and was very impressive planting 12500 bulbs.A few of the volunteers who helped to plant the Samaritans’ Bulbs for Lives field.

8. The Friends have a very good and informative website and information about the Friends was on noticeboards.
9. A regular Park Run takes place.
10. Obelisks made from willow from the Park have been made by the Friends and used within the planted borders.
11. Around the Park the Friends group have put up some posters to inspire and educate about various issues including Water and Climate change within Horsham Park and how to save Bumble bees amongst others.

Willow play tunnel created by some of the Wednesday volunteers
with guidance from HDC Parks Operations Manager, Sorin Caraiman,  

Areas for Development

• The compost area is small for the amount of compostable waste the gardening activity produces. Perhaps it could be increased or taken away by the District Council and brought back as recycled compost to be used on the beds.
• The Human Nature Garden needs to be one thing or the other as vegetables were being grown amongst shrubs.
• It would be useful to Park users if a record of birds seen in the Park, because no doubt migrant birds visit the park, also bat species.’

Join us at the AGM on Tues 10 October

7.30 – 9.30 pm
at Horsham Park Barn

It’s been a busy year in Horsham Park and we’d love to share our news with our Friends, and hear your views on what we’ve done and what we could do next year and beyond.  We know that the more of our Friends who get involved, the more we can achieve for our beautiful Park.
So please do join us at our AGM on 10 October.  This year we are discussing some important themes so this is your chance to have your say :

1. Wellbeing – how can we make the most of the park to support residents’ wellbeing?.  Our guest speaker will be Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo who will talk about Wellness Walks and we will consider what else we can do eg to support the new i-Rock mental wellness service for 14-25 year olds.
2. The future of the Human Nature Garden – next year the Management Plan for the Park will be renewed so the aim of the discussion is to come up with ideas to be considered as part of the Management Plan consultation.
3. Horsham Green Spaces’ pollinator flyways – if you saw the article ‘Grass Routes’ in the September edition of AAH you’ll know about this project.  We’ll discuss the latest developments and the role the Park and all our gardens have in creating these pollinator corridors across the town.

It would be lovely to see Friends old and new, so we hope you can join us. We’ll be serving wine, beer and soft drinks and if you’d like to bring a family member or friend who’s interested in our work, they’d be most welcome.

We look forward to seeing you!

Sally Sanderson
RSVP: chair@friendsofhorshampark.co.uk

Promote Horsham Park

The Countryside Charity is running a national programme to promote local green spaces. So now’s your chance to step up and say how much you enjoy Horsham Park. Send a short video (less than 1 minute) of you in Horsham Park, and you could be in with a chance to win a £50 Patagonia voucher!

How to take part :

• Head to Horsham Park.
• Film a short video (under one minute) of you saying why the Park is special to you.
• Send your video to Countryside Charity via WhatsApp – just attach it as a file and send it to 07718 494 647. You can also use this direct-to-Whatsapp link. Include your name and “Horsham Park.”
• Submissions close on Wednesday 11 October at 5pm. 

If you want some prompts to help your video: think about why you love the park. How did you discover it and how has it become part of your life? What’s your favourite thing about it? Do you enjoy it alone or with friends and family? Where is it and what’s nearby? Who uses it?

Volunteers clean up in the Park

A group of 25 enthusiastic volunteers took part in the Friends of Horsham Park’s litter pick on 24 September.

The team collected 30 bags-worth of rubbish, some visible on grass and pathways, most of it hidden in the undergrowth.  Bottles, cans, fast food wrappings and cigarette stubs were among the debris removed and bagged.

Steve Sandham, Friends of Horsham Park director who organised the litter pick, said: “We were delighted that so many volunteers took the time to help us in this vital task, which really makes a difference.

“There’s clearly a desire to keep Horsham Park free of the rubbish that spoils users’ enjoyment, and can be harmful or even fatal to the birds and other wildlife who share this beautiful space with us. Our litter picks take place every six months or so, as a ‘booster’ to the ongoing great work from the Horsham District Council parks team, and everyone who takes part enjoys it – it’s really rewarding to fill up a bag with rubbish and know you’ve helped to improve the park.”

The Friends of Horsham Park aims to protect, enhance and promote Horsham Park as a place of recreation and enjoyment for the long-term benefit of everyone. Anyone with an interest in the Park is welcome to join the Friends and get involved in their activities, which include a weekly gardening session on Wednesday mornings. For more information, contact [email protected]

Sycamore Gap

We are sure many of our Friends will be dismayed at the brutal cutting of this iconic tree which we featured in our ‘Tree of the Week’ series during lockdown. If you missed it, you can see it here:  

Although the Wednesday morning volunteers have a constant battle with sycamore seedlings, this destruction of a mature and beautiful tree reminds us all of need to celebrate, protect and care for the wonderful trees we have in Horsham Park.  They are part of our landscape, they contribute to our sense of wellbeing and are a haven for wildlife.

Quiz Night 25 November

Save 25 November in your diary for our annual quiz. It’s always a great evening, very sociable and lots of fun. There will be drinks and snacks for sale, fabulous raffle prizes, and of course our amazing quiz. Start getting your team together!

It will be in our usual venue – Holy Trinity Church hall, 12 Rushams Road Horsham RH12 2NT

A night not to be missed!

Help the Friends and you could win a prize

£25,000 Jackpot every week!

Have a better chance of winning the lottery when you play the local Horsham District Community Lottery, and you will be supporting the Friends!

By signing up to the local weekly draw, you can subscribe any amount from £1 upwards. Each £1 ticket has a chance to win £25, £250, £2500, or £25000. Just match from 2 to 6 numbers to win a prize.

By selecting The Friends as your chosen good cause, 50p from each £1 ticket goes to support much-needed funds for the Friends of Horsham Park; and 10p goes to other local causes.

Why not sign up today? It’s a win for the Friends and could be a bigger win for you!

Events in the Park

• Every Weds & Fri.    Walk and Talk in Horsham Park. Meet at The Human Nature Garden Weds 10 -11am and Friday 12-12.40pm
• Every Sat       parkrun 9.00am
• 10 Oct            Friends AGM at the Park Barn 7.30pm.
• 25 Nov           Our Annual Quiz

Volunteering Opportunities

• Ribbon Border Volunteer group – every 2^nd Sunday
  The RBV group meets every second Sunday in the month at 10am by the entrance to the North Street carpark, everyone welcome.
  For more information please contact David at [email protected]
• Gardening and Conservation group – every Wednesday
  The Wednesday Morning Group” meets at 9.30am at the Jubilee car park next to the entrance sign to the Human Nature Garden. Their main tasks are planting and pruning and generally making improvements to the park’s appearance for all to enjoy. All tools provided.
  Please contact“ Sally at [email protected]
• Helping at events – as required
  We need Friends to help out at events we hold in the Park. It may be just for a couple of hours occasionally, or as a one off. It can be great fun. Any help is much appreciated.
  Please contact Sally at [email protected]

Park News
September 2023

a previous litter pick

Autumn Clear up! – 24 September

Join us for our ‘Autumn Clear Up’ litter pick on Sunday 24 September at 10.30am. We’ll spend one hour clearing litter from around the park’s paths and hedgerows before it becomes hidden by Autumn leaves. We have a clear up every Spring and Autumn and it provides a boost to the good work of the park contracting team, helping to keep our lovely ‘Green Flag’ park looking pristine and a space to be enjoyed.

We provide litter pick sticks, hi-viz jackets and rubbish bags. We just ask you to bring your own gloves. Meet us by the North Parade car park in time for a 10.30am start.

If you want to spend just one hour of your time and make a big difference to the park, please come along on the 24^th.

It will help us if you can let us know you’re coming. Please email Steve:  [email protected]

Friends of Horsham Park AGM

Tuesday 10 October, 7.30 – 9.30 pm
at Horsham Park Barn

It’s been a busy year in Horsham Park and we’d love to share our news with our Friends, and hear your views on what we’ve done and what we could do next year and beyond.  We know that the more of our Friends who get involved, the more we can achieve for our beautiful Park.

So please do join us at our AGM on 10 October.  We are finalising our guest speakers but are planning to cover conservation of the Park and its wildlife, and hold an open floor discussion on the future of the Human Nature Garden. Now is your chance to have your say!

It would be lovely to see Friends old and new, so we hope you can join us. We’ll be serving wine, beer and soft drinks and if you’d like to bring a family member or friend who’s interested in our work, they’d be most welcome.

Please save the date and we’ll confirm speakers shortly.

Sally Sanderson
RSVP: [email protected]

Park People

Neal Matheson – The Friends would like to extend a warm welcome to Neal, HDC’s new Parks & Leisure Tree Officer. We understand that he has some exciting plans for improvements in selected areas of the park and remedies for damaged and failing trees. We’re looking forward to working with him. Watch this space!

Asif Mahmood – Asif has been a volunteer on the Friends’ Committee up until the middle of August, and we would like to thank him for his helpful contribution. Unfortunately, after a short time with us, he can no longer continue as he has moved to Essex. Asif and his wife are refugees and are currently in the processing queue. We wish them both all the best for the future.

Alejandra Teodosio – We welcome Alejandra who has joined the Friends’ committee and will help with our social media. She is also a member of the Wednesday morning gardening volunteers. Alejandra has already posted on Instagram, and will be helping us reach a wider audience. See our Instagram here.  Look out for her in a future Committee Spotlight.

Committee Spotlight – Jennifer Ryan

Jennifer has recently joined the Friends’ Committee and we are delighted to have her on-board.

How long have you lived in Horsham, why you moved here, what your job is?
I find it hard to believe that I have been living in Horsham for nearly six years; it only feels like yesterday when I was circling potential ‘locations’ on the map to relocate to, due to embarking on a new job post as a Town Planner at a coastal local authority.

It was quite a risk given that I didn’t know West Sussex but Horsham had a good feel to it and I liked the fact that it offered good logistics so I went with my gut-feeling and decided to give Horsham a try! I haven’t looked back and I feel like I have landed on my feet! I am very settled here, importantly I feel very safe and I have the best of both worlds – easy access to London and to the coast and countryside. What more could I ask for?!

How often are you in Horsham Park?
During lockdown, Horsham Park became my saving grace and I visited the park everyday. At the time, I was living in a small flat that directly fronts Horsham park. The park was effectively my adopted garden where I could do my daily exercise of trying to hit 10,000 steps a day (no, I didn’t always hit it!) and it offered me a temporary respite from the pandemic world we were living in.

The park made me appreciate the importance of nature and access to outdoor space for health and wellbeing purposes. This prompted me to move to my new home with balconies and I am now able to fulfil my joy of growing plants, listening to the birds singing and undertaking al-fresco dining. Whenever I have family / friends visiting me, I always take them to the park; for picnics, for coffee and a stroll or for a scenic walk into the town centre. The park really is the pinnacle of Horsham!

What’s your favourite spot in the park?
This is quite a difficult question as I feel we are very spoilt for choice for things to see and do in the park! However, my top pick would be the sensory garden. It’s a very tranquil place and from time to time, when the sun is shining, I enjoy sitting on a bench and getting absorbed into a good book!

What’s your best memory of the park?
Hosting a Platinum Jubilee themed picnic in the park with my family to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee in 2022!

What do you enjoy about being involved in Friends? What do you think our biggest achievements have been?
I have been volunteering with the Ribbon Borders (the group meets once a month on the second Sunday) for just over a year now. It has given me a lot of confidence and it has enabled me to develop my gardening skills whilst meeting fellow Friends to socialise with. I found it particularly touching that the Friends, in partnership with the Samaritans charity, undertook ‘Bulbs for Lives’ planting exercise last autumn. This was a very poignant tribute with the installed bench providing a space for reflection.

If you could change or add one thing in the park, what would it be?
It would be great if some of the footpaths especially those located to the north (near the skate-park) and north-east of the park could be made to be a bit wider to allow ease of access for people to pass each other. Another suggestion is to have a segregated cycle and footpath.

What would you like the park to look like in 10 years’ time? And what needs to happen for that to be a reality?
Climate Change and biodiversity loss are the biggest challenges affecting the long term sustainability of the Park. I hope that in ten years’ time that the Park will be resilient to the increasing effects of climate change through the planting of new trees for carbon capture. By increasing awareness through campaign and conservation efforts, I hope everyone can play their part to protect the Park.

What would you say to other Friends thinking about getting more involved?
If you are looking to make new connections and to become part of the local community then please do get involved!

Walk & Talk

Feeling low? Walk and Talk sessions in Horsham Park where people connect, talk and enjoy the fresh air could be just what you’re looking for. Walking and connecting can enhance your mood and overall wellbeing.
Every Wednesday at 10.00am-11.00am and Every Friday at 12 noon – 12.40pm

Meet at the Human Nature Garden, Horsham Park.  No need to book.

Our Quiz is back!

Save 25 November in your diary for our annual quiz. It’s always a great evening, very sociable and lots of fun. There will be drinks and snacks for sale, fabulous raffle prizes, and of course our amazing quiz. Start getting your team together!

It will be in our usual venue – Holy Trinity Church hall
12 Rushams Road Horsham RH12 2NT

A night not to be missed!

Sussex Green Living column, West Sussex County Times

If you missed our article in the WSCT about the climate change bed in Park House Sensory Garden, here it is:

Sally shows Carrie Cort, Sussex Green Living CEO, the climate change bed.

Planting for Climate Change

As water is scarce in our District, the Friends of Horsham Park wondered ‘How well can a garden do without being watered, especially in a raised bed where conditions are really tough?’

We wanted to create an experimental bed and happily were awarded a climate change grant from Horsham District Council in 2021 to plant one in the very popular Park House Sensory Garden.

The multiple challenge was: Can we plant drought resistant species that are also good for wildlife and still have a sensory appeal: sight, smell, taste, touch?

Hannah Neale, Landscape and Horticultural Officer at HDC, kindly designed the planting scheme, knowing that plants survive by adaptation, developing particular characteristics in their natural habitats.  In Autumn 2021 the south facing raised bed was planted with a range of carefully chosen bulbs, herbaceous perennials and shrubs, selected for their ability to survive long periods without rainfall.

Summer 2022’s heatwave was a big test!  We watered sparingly, only twice, and the summer was followed by a long, cold, wet winter meaning that the plants were tested at both extremes. In Spring 2023 we were concerned that there would be some big gaps in the border, but the bed overall has done well and even during our very hot and dry June, we did no watering at all.

The main plants are: Agapanthus ‘Bressingham Blue’ , Anthemis ‘Sauce Hollandaise’ , Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ , Choisya ‘White Dazzler’, Cistus x purpureus ‘Alan Fradd’ , Geranium ‘Orion’, Hylotelephium (Sedum) ‘Matrona’ , Lavendula x intermedia ‘Grosso’ , Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’, Salvia officinalis ‘Icterina’, Verbena bonariensis and Yucca filamentosa.

Some plants have thrived so far – the Alliums, the Anthemis, Stachys, Eryngium, Yuccas, Geraniums, Rosemary, Verbena and Lavender.

How do some plants tolerate hot dry conditions while others require deep nutritious moisture retentive soils?

Narrow and small leafed plants reduce water loss from their leaves (transpiration) because their leaf surface area is minimal. Perovskia, Anthemis, Verbena and Lavender all have small leaves.

And in the same way that wearing a white T-shirt on a hot day reflects the light  away, plants with white or pale foliage, such as Brunnera and Salvia Icterina reflect more light, which helps to reduce transpiration. Sedum, being a succulent, is able to store moisture within its leaves and stems so it withstands long periods of drought.  Other plants (such as Stachys) have waxy or hairy foliage, which helps them to retain water.

All these plants provide a colourful display appealing to our eyes, ears, noses that helps us become calmer.  They also provide great habitat for the all-important bees and insects – adding yet more dimensions to our enjoyment in the garden.

Sally Sanderson and David Hide

Help the Friends and you could win a prize

£25,000 Jackpot every week!

Have a better chance of winning the lottery when you play the local Horsham District Community Lottery, and you will be supporting the Friends!

By signing up to the local weekly draw, you can subscribe any amount from £1 upwards. Each £1 ticket has a chance to win £25, £250, £2500, or £25000. Just match from 2 to 6 numbers to win a prize.

By selecting The Friends as your chosen good cause, 50p from each £1 ticket goes to support much-needed funds for the Friends of Horsham Park; and 10p goes to other local causes.

Why not sign up today? It’s a win for the Friends and could be a bigger win for you!

SIGN UP HERE

Events in the Park

• Every Weds & Fri.    Walk and Talk in Horsham Park. Meet at The Human Nature Garden Weds 10 -11am and Friday 12-12.40pm
• Every Sat       parkrun 9.00am
• 24 Sept          Autumn Clear Up litter pick (North Parade Car Park) 10.30 till 11.30am.
• 10 Oct            Friends AGM at the Park Barn 7.30pm.
• 25 Nov           Our Annual Quiz

Volunteering Opportunities

• Autumn Clear UP! Litter Pick 24 Sept at 10.30 -11.30. Contact Steve [email protected]
• Ribbon Border Volunteer group – every 2^nd Sunday
  The RBV group meets every second Sunday in the month at 10am by the entrance to the North Street carpark, everyone welcome.
  For more information please contact David at [email protected]
• Gardening and Conservation group – every Wednesday
  “The Wednesday Morning Group” meets at 9.30am at the Jubilee car park next to the entrance sign to the Human Nature Garden. Their main tasks are planting and pruning and generally making improvements to the park’s appearance for all to enjoy. All tools provided.
  Please contact Sally at [email protected]
• Helping at events – as required
  We need Friends to help out at events we hold in the Park. It may be just for a couple of hours occasionally, or as a one off. It can be great fun. Any help is much appreciated.
  Please contact Sally at [email protected]