The skate park is almost complete and the workmen are adding the finishing touches, ready for its opening this month. Here is a photo taken on 1^stDecember.

 It stills feels unseasonably warm for this time of year so it might seem strange that we are busy planning a ‘Welcome Winter’ wellbeing campaign for the colder months of December and January. 

 The idea is to share how we stave off the winter blues that can affect us during the shorter days of winter. Making the most of our green spaces is a great way to lift mood and feel energized, particularly if you can get some early morning sun.  I always feel better for a quick Nordic walk around the park before sitting at my computer. 

 So, if you have any tips you’d like to share with our Friends about how you embrace winter, the local green spaces you like to visit at this time of year, or your favourite comfort foods, please send them to Chair@FriendsofHorshamPark and we’ll feature them in our campaign. 

In the meantime, check out these energy boosting tips from HDC’s Wellbeing team 5 energy boosting tips

Click here to view our November newsletter: 202211

We’ve now got some great photos from the Bulbs for Lives event in Horsham Park with the Samaritans and Horsham District Council. Here are just a few which show what a great community event it was. Thank you again to everyone who got involved. The recent rain will have been a great kick start for the bulbs …. all we need to do now is wait!

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Our aspirations for the next year are in line with our aims of protecting, enhancing, promoting the park.  We want so much from our park at a time when there is a funding crisis in parks across the country.  We are luckier than some where broken swings aren’t replaced yet we have investment in a new skate park and improvements at the pond.
 
Protecting: Our aspiration is to have the park protected in perpetuity by the Fields in Trust scheme. The park’s role as a community asset is even more vital when we consider climate change; it is a carbon sink, provides urban cooling, is a vital green space in town for wildlife and people. We need to protect it so we can take a long term view for maximizing its value for all and climate change. 
 
Enhancing

• We are aiming for a gold award in the Large Parks’ category of the In Bloom competition next year.
• We’d like to focus on making the park entrances more welcoming. 
  • The planned planting at North Street – we’ve proposed that this be named the Queen Elizabeth bed
  • The Ribbon border along North Street is in need of investment and this forms an important entrance to the park as to the town  from the station
  • The REC/jubilee car park entrance from the town is in need of some TLC
  • We’d like the Park noticeboards to be more inspiring and focused on promoting the park and what we do – also ensuring a display without notices that fall down inside the cabinet
• Now that we are looking after so many of the beds in the park, we’d like to increase the compositing on site so that we have easier access to mulch
• We’d like to assess whether recycling of rubbish can be reinstated
• We’re supporting the siting of the Shelley Memorial in the Park
• We’d like to see progress on the Access for All path – a wider path for pushchairs, wheelchairs, cycles and that would also facilitate parkrun to take place during the winter.

Keep promoting

• We continue to promote the park as an inclusive green space – highlighting in our social media the range of things available to enjoy in the park.
• We also want to continue to grow the network of organisations using the volunteering opportunities in the park for wellbeing for their clients
• Overall we are promoting the value of the park to residents and visitors all year round – our Welcome Winter campaign starting in November will encourage people to use the park in winter for physical health and wellbeing.

Love a good quiz? Come and join us for our annual fundraiser quiz at Holy Trinity Church hall on 26th November 2022.

• Max. 6 people in a team or join a team on the night.
• Doors open at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start.
• Cash/card bar (no Bring Your Own please). Wine, beer, soft drinks. We will provide glasses.
• Raffle

You can purchase tickets via Eventbrite by following this link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/friends-of-horsham-park-annual-quiz-2022-tickets-452734048727 but note we do get charged a fee which we would prefer to use to help us support and improve Horsham Park. Therefore, if you would like to purchase tickets and transfer funds directly to our account, please email [email protected] letting us know:

• Your name
• Number of tickets you require

and we will provide you with the bank details.

But if you want to purchase via EventBrite that is still ok!

Click here to view our October newsletter: 202210 October News

The Friends committee is looking for a new secretary. We meet once a month on a Weds evening. The role involves:

1. To take and circulate minutes of meetings
2. Circulate meeting agendas and papers seven days ahead of meetings
3. Arrange venue and refreshments for the AGM (this year already organised)
4. Provide support for wider communication / promotional activities such as newsletter, website and social media
5. Liaise with the Chair / Treasurer to ensure good coordination

If you have a passion for the park and would like to know more, please contact Sally Sanderson at [email protected]

Felicity and Hilary, two of our regulars at the Wednesday morning gardening group, representing the Friends at the Awards.
We’re delighted that the Park and everyone who helps to make it such a special place has been recognised with two more awards. The trophy cabinet is bulging! Hats off to all the volunteers and HDC Parks and Countryside Team.
After a gap of many years, this was our second year entering the Large Park award. We won Silver Gilt again but this time we were only one mark off Gold! How frustrating but that makes us all the more determined to get there next year. It’s always useful to get the insights of an expert outsider and the judge’s comments give us, HDC and others involved, some helpful things to work towards to make the park even lovelier and a fantastic asset for the community.
In the It’s Your Neighbourhood category – we won ‘Thriving’ again (Level 4/5) but we’ve come a long way since our first entry 3 years ago when we were at Level 2 ‘Improving’. This award relates directly to the work of the Friends and we were recognised as ‘a very well structured and active group… with a strong record of engagement with schools and other charities’. Our focus on pollinator-friendly planting, sustainable gardening and our informative website were also listed as achievements. Development tips include being more ambitious on our composting given the number of beds we look after and addressing the recent vandalism at Poets’ Corner.