My third Friendship Bench Chat was with Sam a good friend and ex colleague. We met up at Woodgate Valley Country Park on a Thursday lunchtime. It was so good to see Sam as I pulled into the car park, and we were both already smiling as we hugged. It was another overcast and breezyContinue reading “Woodgate Valley Friendship Bench Chat”
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Swanshurst Park Friendship Bench Chat
My second Friendship Bench Chat was with Humera sitting on a bench on a breezy day in Swanshurst Park (note to self remember to take the furry microphone next time.) Humera is a Public Health Consultant and lead the Future Parks Accelerator project in Birmingham – The Naturally Birmingham Project and a Friend of SwanshurstContinue reading “Swanshurst Park Friendship Bench Chat”
Perry Park Bench Chat
My first Friendship Bench Chat was with the Friends of Perry Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon. One member of the Friends Group is Val and she has been a City of Nature Green Champion from the start of the programme in 2022. You can find out more about the Perry Park Friends Group here:Continue reading “Perry Park Bench Chat”
Friendship Bench Chat
Sometimes the simple ideas are the best. The Friendship Bench Chat started out as a conversation about benches and ended up being about talking to friends, sitting on a bench, outside of course. Having encountered a problem getting a bench installed in a Birmingham park the City of Nature Green Champions discussed the importance ofContinue reading “Friendship Bench Chat”
Birmingham’s A to Bee Roads
You can find out more about Birmingham’s Nature Recovery Network, the development of A to Bee Roads, and why we need to start changing the management of amenity mown areas to support nature recovery in urban areas by watching the recording of the presentation given to the Green Champions who joined us for an onlineContinue reading “Birmingham’s A to Bee Roads”
A bolt from the blue?
Dr Sanaa Sheikh General Practice Registrar – Public Health shares her story about discovering her local park It is said that interacting with nature can do wonders for our mental and physical health – something that I didn’t quite appreciate until recently. Sitting one afternoon in my GP office, with the rain and sound ofContinue reading “A bolt from the blue?”
Our City of Nature
The people who are making spaces for nature in Birmingham I am the Community Facilitator for the Future Parks Accelerator Project and I set out last Saturday morning with my bag packed full of the weighty plans, policies and processes that Birmingham City Council and its partners are working on now and for the nextContinue reading “Our City of Nature”
Reflecting on Spring
A Springtime Bike Ride It’s a sunny April spring morning, with a bit of a chill wind gently blowing, I set out on my bike to ride through my local park/nature reserve buy a newspaper. The yellow of the Tete-a-Tete daffodils planted by the pathway is fading as they battle with the growing grass that’sContinue reading “Reflecting on Spring”
A walk to wonderland: Kinder in Colour
A walk to wonderland: Kinder in Colour 24 April 2022: Toqueer, my journey Hi, I’m Toqueer Ahmed Quyyam, a Birmingham Friends of the Earth campaigner. There was a dream I had as a child of beautiful hill tops, the wind blowing in my hair, the serenity of the countryside. It felt like heaven. Believe me whenContinue reading “A walk to wonderland: Kinder in Colour”
Nature’s Cradle
A poem from: Dr Ana-Maria Mircea who is working with our team In this space, this quiet place, I can hear my inner peace Every step I take into her embrace I can feel the dirt and rocks, shuffle and crack beneath my feet as the breeze caresses my cheek This green panorama now envelopsContinue reading “Nature’s Cradle”
Naturally Birmingham Future Parks Project 