Spend summer on the bench in Park House Sensory Garden! The Park House Sensory Garden in Horsham Park has a new addition designed to make it an even more enjoyable space to enjoy the summer:  a curved bench, installed by the Friends of Horsham Park to commemorate the garden’s 30th anniversary. The curved bench was custom made, thanks to generous contributions from Sussex Community Foundation and Royal Sun Alliance. It is sited in a peaceful corner, mostly in shade, making it a perfect spot for groups or families to enjoy the garden. Click here for more details [Posted 29/07/2022]

Horsham Park nominated for Fields in Trust UK’s favourite Parks 2022! You can show your support by voting online before Thursday 18th August: https://www.fieldsintrust.org/favourite-parks/nominations/horsham-park Our local parks have acted as a sanctuary for so many of us over the past few years and the UK’s Favourite Parks award celebrates the contributions these spaces deliver for our neighbourhoods and communities. Yet not everyone has equal access. Research by Fields in Trust finds that around 2.8 million people across Great Britain live more than a ten-minute walk from their nearest park or green space. The situation could get worse with a risk that lack of legal protection could lead to more green spaces being sold-off or developed. Fields in Trust Chief Executive Helen Griffiths said: “Our nation’s parks have been so important during the pandemic, and it is vital that we celebrate them to help ensure they are protected for future generations. Without urgent action, Britain’s public green space is set to decrease, putting more pressure on fewer green spaces to support the health and wellbeing of communities, now and in the future. Our children and grandchildren deserve to have the same access to green space that we do, so we need to act before it’s too late. As well as voting for the local park you love today check to see if it is legally protected. It is within the powers of our local leaders to protect our green spaces and after the pandemic this is a significant moment to change the way we think about the contribution local green spaces make to our health, our wellbeing, our environment, and ultimately our futures.”  Nominations for UK’s Favourite Park 2022 represent the many different ways people enjoy green spaces, each valued by its local community.  Parks have been nominated by people who love to walk, run, cycle, relax, picnic, walk the dog and play with their children in the UK’s parks. Public voting will determine local favourites as well as the national favourite park in each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. These four will be shortlisted with the overall UK’s Favourite Park announced over the August Bank Holiday.  [Posted 11/07/2022]

Pond Project Update Some regular park visitors have asked what is the large mound of earth that appeared last year near to the pond. The answer is it’s silt that has been dredged from the pond, When the pond becomes clogged up with silt it adversely affects the pond life. It was last desilted in 2002. The mound is gradually drying out which causes it to reduce in size substantially. This activity is part of a series of planned improvements to the pond by HDC which include: selectively removing trees to create gaps in the fringe vegetation allowing more light in and opening up viewpoints; clearing a shrub area on the western side of the pond with a view to re-landscaping; removing the sediment in the bottom of the pond which in the long term will help to improve the quality of the water and the health of the pond for wildlife and biodiversity. reducing the number of fish, by re-homing the healthy native varieties, which will be beneficial in terms of water quality and biodiversity. aesthetic improvements to the duck feeding area, central path and new signage.  The extent of this work will be dependent on the cost of the sluice repair, and this part of the project would not be due for completion until March 2022. See more Pond Project details [Posted 11/07/2022]

Judging Horsham Park In June the Friends, together with HDC, hosted the judges at two events in the park – the 2022 Green Flag Award on the 14th and the In Bloom Competition on the 24th. We felt that both events went extremely well and believe that the judges were impressed with what they saw. We would like to thank all the HDC staff and Friends’ volunteers who worked hard in the run up to the events to get the Park in great shape and looking as good as it can be. We are now confidently waiting to see if we have been successful again. [Posted 11/07/2022]

Kinder Living Show Thanks to all the Friends who dropped by our stand at the Kinder Living Show earlier this month.  We’ve been involved in this event for three years now and it’s always a great opportunity to talk to people about the Park, and to find out what other local and national organisations are doing to help us live in a more sustainable way. We focused on two talking points this time: Kinder Gardening and our target species. Our Kinder Gardening tips, produced by Friends director and horticulturalist David Hide, are available on our website: download and find out how you can become a kinder gardener.  Thanks also to our director Ben Brace who brought his bokashi bin, sparking a lot of interest in kinder composting: further details. On our target species, children of all ages loved our ‘Spin the Wheel’, winning a ‘Top Trump’ style card to match one of our target species: fieldfare, redwing, oak, redwood, hedgehog, butterfly, bumble bee and stag beetle. Thanks to our talented conservation director Stefen Hepburn for creating these beautiful illustrations, which also give useful information on these species. After two years of on-off lockdowns and virtual meetings, it was great to be back with a real event and talk face-to-face with local people. We look forward to Kinder Living 2023! [Posted 13/03/2022]

Volunteering opportunities Ribbon Border Volunteer group – every 2nd 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] 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] Spring Clean – 6 April This one off litter-picking bonanza will meet at 10.30 for one hour. Let’s get everyone involved! Full kit provided. Contact Steve for full details [email protected] [Posted 13/03/2022]

Skate Park We are delighted to see good progress is being made with the design for the refurbished skate park, and a contractor has been selected. Skate park users have been consulted so it’s no surprise that the design is being welcomed by the skate park community, as it caters for creative skaters, and there is a good section for BMX riders and another for those new to the sport.  We’ve even heard that news of the design has spread beyond the District and that Horsham Park will now be back on the list of skate parks that are cool to visit. Comments on the design are being accepted until Friday 18 March. See the designs at Horsham Park Skate Park | Horsham District Council [Posted 13/03/2022]

Tree planting Sally, our chair, was invited to a symbolic tree planting ceremony in Horsham Park for the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative; further trees are being offered to each Parish or Neighbourhood Council. This is part of the National Association of Civic Officers (NACO) co-ordinated national scheme to plant a commemorative tree for the Queen’s Green Canopy, and was led by Cllr. Skipp as Chairman along with Cllr Noel, portfolio holder for Leisure and Culture and Cllr. Mitchell, portfolio holder for the Town centre. [Posted 15/02/2022]

Love at First Seat To celebrate the work that we have been doing in the Park House Sensory Garden, including renovating our beloved Love Seat, you will have the opportunity to share your love in the garden and be in with a chance to win a beautiful pendant or gentleman’s leather and stainless steel cuff bracelet from TH Baker in Horsham. It’s a photo competition where we are asking entrants to take a photo with the Love Seat and engaging with our Instagram page, @horshampark. For more details click here. [Posted 15/02/2022]

  

Picnic area resurfaced The picnic area next to the Kaya café has been resurfaced with a hardwearing natural aggregate. The work was carried out week commencing 7 February. This is how it looked after two days work before the picnic tables were put back. It’s a great improvement, will stop the area getting muddy and make it a much more pleasant environment for visitors to enjoy a break.    [Posted 15/02/2022]

 

Boxing Club tree protected Some of you might have noticed some protective tree fencing going up next to the Boxing Club – firstly we’d like to say not to panic! No trees are going to be removed and this temporary fencing is scheduled to be ‘beefed’ up and brought up to standard. We were made aware of the Boxing Club’s ambition to extend out back in mid-2020, when we submitted comments on the planning application. We were supportive of this development, to expand the long-standing community facility, but were concerned about the potential impact on the health of the adjacent tree and sought reassurance this was being considered.  Thankfully the original application was amended, now including a thorough report by a well-known arboriculturist, which in turn proposes the use of, what are known as Screw Piles, within the root protection area of the tree. These will help to mitigate major impacts on the tree roots from the foundations and help to facilitate this development. We have been in regular contact with HDC’s tree officer and will remain vigilant to what has been approved.  For further detail on the proposals, do have a look at HDC’s planning pages and by searching with the word ‘Boxing’ or by clicking here to see the current consented application. (Report by Ben Brace MCIHort CMLI, Director of Trees.) [Posted 15/02/2022]

 

Families flock to Bird Event in Horsham Park

[Posted 12/02/2022]

The Friends of Horsham Park’s Bird Event, held to coincide with the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch at the end of January proved very popular with local families, with all bird-spotting walks selling out ahead of time and extra sessions scheduled to meet demand.

Parks and Countryside Wardens, Jake Everritt and Jo Glossop, guided families around the Park, showing great places to spot birds, including at the newly cleaned up pond.  Friends of Horsham Park committee member and keen bird spotter David Hide led the additional walks. Leaders on all the walks were impressed with the enthusiasm and the ability of the children to identify birds.

A bird treasure hunt in the Human Nature Garden was another fun way to learn how to identify birds. Children also voted for their favourite bird, putting the Robin in top place again after it won in the last Bird Event in 2020. They also enjoyed spinning a wheel to find out about the target species the Friends and Horsham District Council’s Parks and Countryside team focus on supporting redwings and fieldfares, hedgehogs, bumblebees, stage beetles and butterflies.

Sally Sanderson, Chair of Friends of Horsham Park said: ‘It was great to see so many families enjoying the event. It’s a good reminder to us all to enjoy the wildlife.  Slowing down, looking and listening can add to the delight of a visit to the park.’

Although the park is busy and noisy, there is still plenty to see.  Birds spotted at the event were recorded: herring gull, wood pigeon, great tit, magpie, mallard, black headed gull, carrion crow, blue tit, tufted duck, moorhen, song thrush, blackbird, robin, starling, coal tit, goldcrest, nuthatch, redwing, stock dove, dunnock, wren, feral pigeon. 

The Friends are undertaking various projects to record the flora and fauna in the park, including encouraging visitors to submit sightings of wildlife on the free ‘iRecord’ app. This will help the Friends to build up a picture of how the Park supports nature and its connectivity with other green spaces in the town. 

The Friends of Horsham Park aims to protect, enhance and promote our 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. For more information, contact [email protected]

 

Whistlestop Arts – Virtual Tour of Horsham Park

[Posted 18/12/2021]

Anyone who came to our AGM will know that Whistelstop Arts worked with us on a project ‘a ‘Virtual Day Trip to Horsham Park’ for people unable to visit the park. We loved hearing about how the Virtual Day trip has been used with Age UK, Phoenix Stroke Club and in care homes.  Luna and Annalees host a day trip that combines short film clips of the park with activities and discussion – evoking memories for many. If you’d like to see the clips and other resources they use, they are now available on: Horsham Park | Whistlestoparts. For anyone wanting to learn more about the plants in Park House Sensory Garden – see what Mark has to say.  Ben takes you on a tree walk,  Debbie and Chris talk about the bee bed and hotel, David takes you through some Qi Gong exercises you can do at home and Simon reads his father’s winning poem at Poets’ Corner. We’ll be using some of the clips to promote the park too.  

We contributed £200 to this innovative and inclusive project – which was essential for them to be able to get grant funding – and we think it was money very well spent.  Thank you to everyone who has donated over the last year and made it possible for us to support this project and thank you to Luna and Annalees for creating such a wonderful Virtual Day Trip.

 

 

Litter picking heroes and other awards

[Posted 18/12/2021]

At our AGM we announced some of our own awards and since then have been busy presenting them. We wanted to give recognition to those people who strive to keep the park and other green space areas litter free so we can all enjoy them and so they are safe for wildlife. Litter pickers are often not seen – especially those who go out early in the morning.  Our awards went to Sarah Ciampa our youngest champion and it was delightful to present her award at Trafalgar Infant School as all the children were so enthusiastic about the park.  Awards also have gone to Vincent and his carer Ellesha who joined us at our litter pick event and Wednesday morning sessions, to the Strawford Centre who have litter-picked for years and to TSB who do weekly litter patrols in the town and park.

Indoor ice skating in the Park

[Posted 18/12/2021]

The REC have converted their bowling alleys into a temporary ice rink for the festive season. This is a great place for skating – right next to the town which encourages families to visit the shops and restaurants. It’s certainly looking snowy and festive in there and it’s a great way to burn off some energy in the Christmas holidays. We wish them all the best, especially as the rink won’t damage the park in the way the outdoor one did four years ago! Welcome To The Rec Rink – Horsham’s first Indoor Ice Skating Rink

We are yet to hear what the longer term plans are for this floor of the venue.  It could be a great place for an indoor skate park to complement the outdoor one which will be refurbished next year. The combination would put Horsham back on the map for skate park enthusiasts. Indoor facilities provide a fun and safe place for people to learn new and advanced skills before trying them out on harder surfaces. 

Our Annual quiz

It was so lovely to hold our quiz in person rather than on zoom.  There’s nothing quite like the energy you get from a room full of brains whirring through their memory banks or having a guess at the size of a baby giraffe at birth (6ft).  The evening was a sell out and quizzers told us how much they enjoyed it.  One team romped to the win but highlights were the competitions for best mask made from a paper plate and insect made from modelling clay. 

1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes to insects on the left – but amazing what you can do with 5 small strips of modelling clay.
If you missed the quiz and would like to have a go at the photo round ‘Where are you in Horsham Park?’ 

Photo round 2021 website

Photo round 2021 answer sheet

Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we made a fabulous profit of £480.  This has really boosted our funds.  It will enable us to run inclusive events next year and give the Wednesday volunteers some money to continue enhancing the park. Thank you.

 

2021 AGM

Thanks to all those who attended our AGM this week. Was great to reflect and see what we had achieved this year and discuss plans for the future. Was also great to have @whistlestoparts attend and present on their virtual day trips.

 Park wins Green Flag Award for 2nd year running!

Rusty old seat no more!

Do you remember that rusty old love seat near the picnic benches which no one sat on? Rita does and she wanted it to be given some TLC. With that great idea we used @tnlcommunityfund to get it refurbished beautifully by local business Autoblast. They did a fab job and very kindly gave us a discount as it is a community project. Then Delwood installed it for us in Park House Sensory Garden and took these lovely photos. All that is missing is some newlyweds and we hope this will create some great photo opportunities for wedding photographers

To celebrate We’re going to be launching a photo competition soon ‘Love at First Seat’ ….and not just for newly weds – details will follow……

Check out the seat and let us know what you think. It is all part of our ‘Sense the Change’ project for the garden’s 30th Anniversary.

In Bloom Awards

Last year the Park was awarded a Green Flag.  Spurred on by this we thought we would enter the Park for the S&SE in Bloom competition.  We were thrilled to be awarded a Silver-Gilt in the Large Park category – just five marks off a gold so something to aim for next year and the report provides some useful pointers. 

The grants raised for Park House Sensory Garden and the cosmos planting by the volunteers helped us win ‘Thriving’ in the It’s Your Neighbourhood category.  This looks at community participation, environmental responsibility as well as gardening achievement.

These awards could not have been won without the hard work of the Friends and all the other volunteers such as the team who look after the Human Nature Garden and the litter pickers. And, it goes without saying, that they could not have been won without the hard work of Horsham District Council’s Parks and Countryside team along with Denne Neighbourhood Council.  They made sure that the park looked its best for judging day and were part of the team that joined us in escorting the judges. It shows great partnership in the town, where we work together to ensure that stretched budgets go as far as they can and that what the volunteers do provides the icing on an excellent cake. We’re hoping we can turn it golden next year.

 

The Great Big Green Week

[Posted 18/09/2021]

https://twitter.com/HorshamPark/status/1439225913971970048
 

Improvements to the pond

[Posted 21/08/2021]

We are really pleased that work on improving Horsham Park Pond has finally begun.  You may have noticed that some trees and shrubs have already been removed to open up views.  This will also allow more air to circulate across the water, improving its quality for wildlife. 

In October the silt will be dredged and the sluice gate repaired. The pond functions as an attenuation bowl, gathering excess surface water in the area and capturing pollutants that might otherwise enter the River Arun.  Therefore, it is important that it is dredged from time to time so it functions properly.  You may remember that two diesel spills found their way into the pond – this was devastating for the pond’s wildlife but could have been far worse if the diesel had got into the Arun.  

Many visitors are unaware of this attenuation role and are simply interested in seeing the ducks.  The good news is that next year there will be aesthetic improvements to the beach area which should revive the pond’s value as a visitor attraction in the Park.  

The timing of the work has been done to minimize the impact on birds and amphibians.  Some of the fish are also being re-homed to improve the biodiversity of the pond.

Meadow grass

[Posted 21/08/2021]

There has been a change in the mowing regime in the Park.  Most of the grass will continue to be mown fortnightly but an area between the wood copse and the skate park is being allowed to grow longer, forming a grass meadow.  Mown paths through it will encourage people not to trample the longer grass and ensure it is still easy to cross the park.

We’re very supportive of this idea which will improve biodiversity.  Longer grass will bring more insects which in turn provide food for many bird species.  We should see more butterflies, blue tits, robins and swallows gracing the skies. Over a few years we expect to see the meadow become increasingly attractive too as native grasses and wild flowers start to take root.  Stefen, a keen conservationist on our Committee, has started to survey the flora so we can see how much it diversifies as the meadow becomes more established.

The amazing volunteer trend

[Posted 21/08/2021]

Park House Sensory Garden would not have looked so lovely this summer without the help of our volunteers who grew, planted, watered, staked and now dead-head the cosmos, zinnias and hollyhocks. This is a fraction of what they have done in the park this year because new people keep joining us 😊
and so we can achieve more and more and still have fun. 

Sadly, occasionally we have to say goodbye as people take on other commitments/jobs.  Thanks to recent leavers John and Kathy for all you did, and especially to Sue who has been a core member of the team since it started two years ago – we will miss you (and your fabulous lemon drizzle cake!).

We have noticed the volunteering trend extends to local businesses who want to support the Park. Hats off to the Corporate volunteers:

30th Anniversary event Park House Sensory Garden

[Posted 21/08/2021]

‘Calm’, ‘inspiring’ and ‘a peaceful sanctuary’ were some of the words used to describe the garden by visitors who dropped in at our 30th anniversary event.   The sun shone on the newly restored Sun God, the hollyhocks, cosmos and zinnia popped with colour, the central beds charmed.  We teased visitors with a flower identification challenge; asked them to tell us what they love about the garden and park; and talked about our Sense the Change project to mark its 30th anniversary.  We had a display thanking the sponsors for the £12000 raised and featuring Ian Nicol’s lovely photos recording the changes. Here are more of his photos of people enjoying the event.

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Shelleython

[Posted 21/08/2021]

Thanks to everyone who came along to Poets’ Corner for the Shelleython.  We enjoyed meeting you all and who knew we would have so much fun reading poems! The Shelleython achieved its aims: all Shelley’s poems were read, funds were raised and residents could have their say on if and where they want a memorial.  For a full account: WSCT Shelleython article

Love Parks week 23 July-1 August

Love Parks week is 23 July-1 August and with everything above going on, we will definitely be loving the park! This special week is a reminder that while we enjoy the park we also need to look after it too so that it is welcoming for other visitors. Love Parks week is a campaign <https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/news/new-campaign-launched-face-littering-epidemic-parks> by Keep Britain Tidy to address the increase in litter in parks since lockdown eased.
Keeping on top of the litter is a big job and we want to thank HDC and the many volunteer litter-pickers who make this happen.  We’ve recently been impressed by a dad who takes his young son litter-picking before they play football together. One of our litter heroes!  Below is a picture of Steve who does the early morning weekend stint of emptying bins and clearing the litter – he’s out there before most of us are up and about.  If you’re at an event this summer and the litter bins are full, please, please take your litter home with you!  Be a litter hero too.

Butterfly spotting

Take a look at the new butterfly posters around the park to help you identify the butterflies you see.  This is the last in our series of posters on the target species to support in the park – all created for us by our talented committee member, Stefen Hepburn.

 

 

 

 

Parkrun returns – Saturday 24 July

We want to welcome back Parkrun – it will be great to see the runners returning. We’re sure it will be popular as many of us seek ways to get rid of that extra lockdown weight! It is the national re-start date for the event and we expect that the park and paths will be busy between 8.45am–10.00am, as it was pre-covid.

 

 

Horsham Park under the judges’ eye

On Tuesday 22 June, Horsham Park was visited by South & South East in Bloom judges Ruth Growney and Marion Neden, who assessed the Park in the ‘Large Park’ category.

The Friends of Horsham Park (FOHP) entered the Park into the competition and our Chair, Sally Sanderson, led the judges on a tour of the Park, meeting volunteers and representatives from the Parks and Countryside team along the way.

The judges were informed of the many projects that the FoHP and the Council have worked on since the group’s inception in 2017, including the creation of Poetry Corner (shown above), the formation of the weekly working party and the latest work to enhance Park House Garden ahead of its 30^th Anniversary. Although the sun failed to appear, the rain at least held off for the duration of the visit! The result will be announced in September.  

Meanwhile in other judging news, we await the outcome of this year’s Green Flag Award‘Mystery Shop’. Following on from last year’s successful award, the judges will be independently visiting Horsham Park to make their assessments. It could be anytime but the results for this one will be known in October 2021.

Fingers crossed for success all round!

Further grants for Sensory Garden

We are delighted that we have been awarded two more grants for the two beds where we have planted hollyhocks, cosmos and zinnia for a summer display.  The original planting had outgrown the space, there were gaps where shrubs had died and there were lots of brambles and weeds that had taken over. In the Autumn:

 *   The raised bed will show case drought resistant planting and is funded by a Climate Change grant from Horsham District Council.
 *   The fountain bed will be planted up for year-round interest with a grant from the Sussex Gardens Trust.
In both cases the planting will still focus on the sensory theme for the garden and be pollinator friendly.

Thank you to our latest sponsors,

Horsham District Council and Sussex Gardens Trust

What to look for in Park House Sensory Garden in July 

July 2021 edition

Committee get to meet in person!

Managed out last committee meeting in person at Poets Corner @HorshamPark and just finished as rain started. What a treat after after all those zooms! pic.twitter.com/KprypCdjXc

— Friends Of Horsham Park (@HorshamPark) June 21, 2021

  

Volunteers clean up in Horsham Park – Litter pickers make a difference!

Volunteers from the Friends of Horsham Park collected 20 bags of rubbish from the Park on Saturday 5 June, as part of the national Great British Spring Clean.

The team of 18 volunteers covered an estimated 25 miles round the park, equipped with gloves and litter pickers to retrieve both visible rubbish on paths and grass, and hidden litter in copses and hedgerows.

Chair of the Friends, Sally Sanderson, said: “This was our second annual litter pick and we enjoyed taking the time on this vital task which makes such a difference to our beautiful Park.  As well as the support of the volunteers who collected the rubbish, we had a lot of positive support from other park users, who told us about litter ‘hot spots’ they’d noticed.

“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 our birds and other wildlife. We’ve seen over the last year of lockdowns that the Park has been a lifeline for many people and we hope that as more visit over the summer, they show their love for the Park by dealing with their litter responsibly, so that we can all enjoy our time in this beautiful space.” 

The Friends of Horsham Park aims to protect, enhance and promote our 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. For more information, contact [email protected]

          

What to look for in Park House Sensory Garden

We thought one way of celebrating the 30th anniversary of Park House Sensory Garden is to tell you what to look out for in the garden each month.

Download the:

June 2021 edition

April-May 2021 edition

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Previous news articles

Short films for children

 

Missed our webinar for  children at the virtual KinderSpring event on Sunday 7 March? We have posted 3 short films on our facebook page: Bumblebees, hedgehogs and birds films about how to support some of our target species in Horsham Park.

Redwings and Fieldfare poster

The latest in our gallery of posters about the target species for support in the Park.  Hope you have a chance to spot our winter visitors before they return to more northern climes. 

We’ve got a new tree trail

If you want something new to do with the children during lockdown, or if you just want to find out more about trees – try out our new winter walk focusing on different tree barks on display in the park: download it here Tree bark discovery trail

We’ve just won a Green Flag 2020 Award for Horsham Park

We are delighted that Horsham Park has just been awarded a Green Flag.  If you scroll down you will see that at our AGM last year we were inspired by our guest speaker, an International Green Flag award judge, of the merits of the process.   The Parks and Countryside team were persuaded too.  They along with the volunteers have been working towards it this year – not straightforward when COVID has brought additional challenges.  We are all proud of the park and what a haven it has been to local residents this summer. The Green Flag is great recognition that this is indeed a wonderful space and of our strong community involvement.  Thank you to the Parks and Countryside team, Denne Neighbourhood Council, all our Friends, the Committee who do so much to protect and promote the park, to our Wednesday volunteers who each week help with the maintenance, to the Strawford Centre and other litter-picking volunteers and to Horsham in Bloom who look after the Human Nature Garden and the Ribbon Border.  Without this type of engagement we would not be waving a Green Flag!

Have you noticed the trees?

Thank you to everyone who has got in touch to say how much they are enjoying our Tree of the Week newsletter (which if you’re not a Friend you can find on facebook). It’s great to know when an initiative is hitting the mark. We started this for lockdown and over the weeks we have learned about different trees – where to find them in the park, how to identify them, what makes them special, the wildlife they support and cultural associations. It really helps you notice what’s around you!  How many of us really look up and appreciate the huge variety of tree flowers on display during spring and summer?

Here are some other resources to help you enjoy the park:

A-Z Wildlife Search

Redwood Tree Trail

Horsham Park Tree Trail

To get our Tree of the Week newsletter become a friend.  It’s free – just email: [email protected]

Horsham Green Spaces Forum 

We’re part of a new forum. Twenty organisations with an interest and involvement in the town’s green spaces are participating in the Horsham Green Spaces Forum: Friends groups – from large sites such as Warnham Nature Reserve,to pocket parks like New Street Gardens-, the Horsham Society, Transition Horsham, Horsham Green Gym and Horsham in Bloom. 

The Forum aims to

• Create a network between similar minded groups looking after green spaces
• Encourage connectivity of wildlife and green and blue (river) corridors
• Protect green spaces
• Promote the benefits of green spaces
• Protect the quality and maintenance of the natural environment in our area.

Our green spaces are enhanced by the connectivity between them, and so are our groups.  By sharing tips, resources and supporting each other we can ensure that the many benefits of the green spaces in Horsham Town are maximised.  It is our generation’s challenge to protect green spaces in towns – just like the Victorians did in the cities.  Together we are stronger! 

Bring the outside in – download a Park background for zoom

Stuck working from home or using zoom for some social chat.  We’ve put some of our aerial shots of Horsham Park into a gallery so you can download them.  Use your favourite as a stunning backdrop to your zoom meeting. 

Past Events

7-8 March  2020 –  Kinder Living Home Show

It was great to meet so many existing Friends at the Kinder Living Home Show and welcome to our 55 new Friends.  Thank you to everyone who supported our bug hotel raffle – we raised £103 for the Bumblebee conservation trust.  Dr Nikki Gammans from the Trust was thrilled.  Her two talks on the bumblebee were excellent, well attended and well received.

The Kinder Living Home Show was a great success and we are always delighted to be there to meet people and talk about the Park and Kinder Gardening.  Download 10 tips on how to do Kinder gardening for wildlife: Gardening for wildlife

26 January 2020 Bird event

We were delighted with the success of our second Bird Event to mark the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch.  We had more than 100 visitors and so many said how much they had enjoyed the bird-related activities we organised.  Some came last year, some were already Friends of the Park and for others this was their first FoHP event.  We were delighted to welcome 15 new Friends.

The activities in Park Barn, designed primarily for children, included bird quizzes and colouring, making bird feeders and boxes – with the help of expert carpenters from Men’s Sheds – and bird walks round the park, guided by Wardens Jake and Jo from the Horsham Parks and Countryside team.  A great community effort.

Visitors counted 18 bird species in the park and the robin won the popular vote for ‘Favourite Garden Bird’.  The bird feeder stall was especially popular with children, probably because it involved making a lot of mess with lard and seeds!  They also loved making the bird boxes – just look at the happy faces in our Gallery. We were impressed with the interest the children showed in the birds and how knowledgeable some were about the birds who visit the park.

Ruth Crocker, who visited the event with her young family, said: “This was a brilliant, inspiring event, really interesting and with a great sense of community.  My children loved making a bird feeder and are looking forward to seeing birds enjoy it back in our garden.  And we all loved the bird walk down to the pond.  Thanks to the Friends of Horsham Park for putting on such a lovely event for us.”

Horsham Park is now an Asset of Community Value

In September we heard that our application to register the park as an Asset of Community Value has been successful.  This will give the park some degree of protection for the next five years.  For the application we gathered loads of evidence of how much we all love and use the park!

We’ve become a Community Interest Company

We have grown considerably since our launch 2 years ago.  We needed this structure to make it easier to apply for grants, for longevity and to protect the Committee if anyone tried to sue! Our Articles of Association include more comprehensive aims which you can download: Aims of FoHP 2019