For many years Birmingham’s Park Rangers have led regular events and activities in parks across the city. These are a great opportunity to take an active role in caring for your local park or simply to learn more about Birmingham’s wildlife and green spaces. In recent years however things have become very different for all of us including the Ranger Service, who have needed to change their programme of work to focus much more on caring for our parks and green spaces day to day. They played a big role in keeping people safe through the Covid19 pandemic and are now generally managing safety and maintenance in parks. As the council have less staff but the use of green spaces continues to rise the way the Rangers stay connected to you will be changing through the actions in the City of Nature Plan.
Their seasonal programme of activities that has normally included outdoor fun events for adults, children and families, including craft activities, guided walks, practical conservation days and training courses has not been able to be delivered in full since 2020. However that doesn’t mean there are no longer opportunities for you to be involved and have fun.
The Rangers continue to hope they will be able to be out and about with you leading activities in green spaces next year. But for now we are bringing the Ranger Service to you with a series of short videos to help you enjoy parks and open spaces safely while they can’t be out there with you. We hope you have fun out there, stay safe and please stick to any current government guidelines.
We would love to see any of your adventures in parks and you can post pictures of them on social media: Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and tag us @naturallybimi1 or use the hashtag #RangersOutandAbout
Making Mud Animals
In our first video Ranger Holly who was based at the Lickey Hills shows you how to make mud animals.
Meeting An Oak Tree
In our second video Ranger Service Manager Steve who is based at the Lickey Hills shows you how to make the most of meeting a tree. We would love to see any trees you meet you can post pictures of them on social media: Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and tag us @naturallybimi1 or use the hashtag #RangersOutandAbout
Bug Hunting – Looking forward to Spring
In our third video which is from Ex-Ranger Debbie who works from home as Community Facilitator for the FPA project and loves her garden. She shows you how to make the most of a sunny spring day bug hunting in your garden or local park. We would love to see any bugs you do find. You can post pictures of them on social media: Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and tag us @naturallybimi1 or use the hashtag #RangersOutandAbout
Nest Box Making – National Nest Box week
In our fourth video which is from Ex-Ranger Simon who now works as an ecologist for Birmingham City Council. He shows you how to make a selection of nest boxes for your garden and think about what birds you may see or hear in your local park. For more information about making nest boxes and where to put them visit: https://www.nestboxweek.com/
We would love to see pictures if you make a nest box or you already have one in your garden. You can post pictures on social media: Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and tag us @naturallybimi1 or use the hashtag #RangersOutandAbout
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park
You can find out what happen at behind the scenes at Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park by following them on Facebook. Here you can see the Red Panda in the snow: https://fb.watch/3wSDGswlSe/
Out and About Bingo
We are very lucky to have other organizations that are also helping bring Birmingham’s parks to people in their homes so they can see more of the green spaces Birmingham has and get ideas of what to do when they can visit them. The Active Wellbeing Society has been live streaming walks around Birmingham’s Parks during lockdown, and while we can’t be Out and About with the Ranger Service at the moment this is a great way to see more of Birmingham and find out about some of the hidden gems around the city.
Check out Sally and Taz’s Out & About Bingo adventure which includes items to look out for: https://www.facebook.com/415201472277094/videos/159333265907654
Or you can visits one of our pilot sites Dawberry Fields Park: https://www.facebook.com/415201472277094/videos/296446511620446
Or another interesting park Manor Farm Park – thinking about how young children can enjoy parks: https://www.facebook.com/415201472277094/videos/871682543316531
Follow The Active Wellbeing Society or the Canal and River Trust on Facebook to see more walks led by Taz and his guests.
Coming Soon – Making and Racing Hobby Horses
We will be adding more videos as we get them, we’ll send out links to new videos via social media follow us @naturallybirmi1
If you would like to find out more about Birmingham Park Ranger Service please contact us using the form below.
Naturally Birmingham Future Parks Project 