It’s volunteer week 1-7 June so we want to shout out a BIG THANK YOU to the many volunteers who help to enhance, promote and protect Horsham Park.

There are now 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 Clubs regular visits and the Strawford Centre who have now embarked on cleaning the bricks in the Maze. 

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.

We’d like to thank West Sussex County Times for publishing our ‘Campaign to protect the park’. If you didn’t get to see it, here’s what we said:

“The Friends of Horsham Park would like to congratulate the Liberal Democrats on their election victory. As the new administration with a good majority, they now have decision-making power and can take action to protect Horsham Park in perpetuity. We look forward to working with them on this.

 Our campaign to protect the park and support our greenspaces was enthusiastically greeted by local candidates from the Green Party and the Labour Party, as well as the Liberal Democrats who pledged that ‘The Local Liberal Democrat Party is fully behind protecting Horsham Park in perpetuity as the heart of life in Horsham’. It is good news for Horsham that there is such widespread recognition of the importance of our greenspaces.

 We’ve already been in touch with the new administration and are looking forward to making progress on this.

We would like to thank everyone who supported our campaign. See full details of the pledges we received.

 Sally Sanderson, Chair of Friends of Horsham Park”

Everyone, everywhere, should be able to grow up, and grow old, with nature. It’s been very clear over recent years how important it is for us all to spend time in nature – not least for our mental and physical health and wellbeing. But the covid pandemic highlighted the inequalities there are around how much we can all access thriving natural spaces.

To support the campaign, click on this link Nature for Everyone 

The opening of the new skate park proved to be a highly successful day.  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. 

They then ran some mini competitions for skateboarding, scooters and BMX where riders showed off their skills, persistence and resilience. One of the loudest cheers was for one of the youngest BMX competitors who had a nasty fall on his first run but after medical attention, came back to do his second run.   The Friends were proud to support the event by being one of the sponsors for the prizes.

The day showed the strength of the skate park’s design since it can be enjoyed equally by all the disciplines: BMX, scooters, skateboards and in-line skates.  Probably the best proof is that 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.

Since last year’s Hedgehog Awareness Week, the park team has installed Hedgehog Highways 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

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 ‘pollinator flyways’.  The vision is to include school fields, sports fields, allotments, cemeteries, railway lines, verges and, of course, gardens.  The first stage of the project is to map existing habitats and what is using them.  This will help us identify opportunities for extending the habitats appropriately to support pollinators and birds across the flyways.

A small group will be mapping Horsham Park one afternoon in June or July.  The date has not been set yet, but if you fancy helping us to map it and identify the habitat and species of flora and fauna, then please contact us at [email protected].

If you’ve never tried bowls, here’s your chance. Horsham Park Bowls Club has a new game called Bowls Bash that all can play, even if you’ve never played bowls before. 

It’s a dynamic game with a fixed number of ‘ends’, which makes it very competitive and fun.  Each game can have either 2 or 4 players, but if you don’t have a partner to play with, the club will find you one. Free help/instruction is on hand. Pay & Play (per person ) 1hr £3 or 2hrs £5. Bowls Hire £1

Bowls Bash is every Friday & Saturday 11.00am – 1.00pm throughout the season.

OR

If you’re thinking of taking up bowls regularly, you can have 3 FREE taster sessions, with tuition, to help you decide.

Taster sessions are every Tuesday 10-12.

It’s a friendly club and you’re sure of a warm welcome!