Brighton & Hove Green Spaces Forum (BHGSF) is a volunteer organisation set up to provide an independent voice and communication hub for community groups working in Brighton & Hove’s parks and open spaces.

Membership is open to all community/volunteer groups with an interest in any type of green space within the City and is free to join.

Email here to register your interest and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Benefits of joining the Brighton & Hove Green Spaces Forum

Coming together as one community helps improve communication between those involved in caring for our parks and open spaces. Specifically the BHGSF aims to facilitate:

• Communication between green spaces voluntary groups and other agencies.
• A mechanism to help green spaces volunteer groups mutually support one another.
• Visibility and access to different funding opportunities that are available.
• Easy access to available volunteer training opportunities.
• One voice for green space community groups whether large or small.

Mission Statement

“We seek to bring together volunteer groups concerned with the management of Brighton & Hove green spaces to exchange information, advice and knowledge; communicating and working in partnership with similar groups and organisations to maximise environmental improvement and conservation.”

Background:

We set up in the summer of 2017, from a partnership project funded by the Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP), involving B&H City in Bloom, Trust for Developing Communities, Community Works, Brighton & Lewes Downs Biosphere (aka The Living Coast), the University of Brighton and B&H City Council.

The BHGSF replaces the Volunteer Alliance for Community Open Spaces (VACOS).

Green Spaces refers to all publicly accessible green space including outdoor recreational areas for people and wildlife, such as urban greenways, woodlands, nature reserves, large estates, cemeteries, allotments, recreation grounds and playing fields as well as traditional parks and play areas.

The majority of these are owned and managed by Brighton & Hove City Council.

Any community group with an interest in any type of green space in Brighton & Hove is welcome to join BHGSF.

Greenhavens Network was created to support local community groups volunteering in our green spaces. Greenhavens Network represents over 100 community groups and organisations working in and around green spaces in Peacehaven, Newhaven and Seaford in East Sussex.

Greenhavens Network member groups are passionate and enthusiastic about their green spaces and want to share that passion with their local communities. They are made up of hundreds of volunteers who provide thousands of hours of their free time because they care and want to make friends, keep healthy and learn new skills in the great outdoors.

If you want to be involved, Greenhavens Network community groups are waiting to hear from you. Contact them today to see the difference they can make to you and your local green spaces. There are many ways to become involved in the Greenhavens Network area. Local groups focus on a wide range of activities, including gardening, walking, cycling and conservation.

The Friends of West Worthing Station are a small and friendly group, who are always happy to welcome new volunteers to the gardening project.

They have installed a water butt and created a wildflower meadow patch, which now features in our Wildflower Trail project.

If you’d like to help, either on a casual or regular basis, contact the Line Officer, Rowena Tyler at Southeast Communities Rail Partnership for a chat, or drop into the station and leave your contact details with the staff.

The group was founded in September 2016, to raise funding for and to lobby for improved play equipment in the park.

Their vision is for an exciting community space with multiple activities that is usable all year and to promote health and wellbeing.

The Friends of Lancing Ring group was formed in 1989 with the objectives of preserving the area by helping Adur District Council with more sympathetic management and increasing people’s awareness of the Ring as an asset.

Amongst the Friends first tasks were replanting the Ring with 1,000 trees to replace, in time the beautiful old Beech trees blown down in the Great Storm of 1987.

The Friends also restored the Dewpond with the help of other local organizations and companies.

The area is now protected by being within a Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and also being designated as a Local Nature Reserve but – first and foremost – it is used daily by local people as an amenity area of open countryside on Lancing’s back doorstep

The reserve is also included within the designated South Downs National Park which became fully functional in 2011.

The Friends of Lancing Manor Park are committed to retaining the open spaces within the park, improving the appearance of areas that have fallen into decline and ensuring that it remains accessible to all and is a valued asset for the community.

Their aims include ensuring that trees, flora and fauna are appropriately cared for and that the park, wherever possible, will actively support wildlife.

Long-lived, local allotment association

The Worthing Allotments and Gardens Association (WAGA) was founded in 1948 as a voluntary association. It has members from all 8 local allotment sites. WAGA also has regular gardener members who do not rent an allotment.

WAGA runs events such as the annual show, Plotholder Newsletter, Coach Trips, BBQs and other social events and the 3 site shops at Chesswood Farm, Humber Avenue and West Tarring. Please note you HAVE to be a paid up member to make purchases from these stores, but membership is open to everyone. Membership can be done in store.

The friendly local birdwatching group for everyone interested in birds in and around Shoreham-By-Sea, West Sussex.

SDOS provides a social focus for birding and related natural history interests in the Shoreham area. We organise monthly winter talks and field trips throughout the year. We engage in local habitat conservation and work with the community. We have a members’ email user group and a developing social media presence. Our mission is to maintain and enhance our members’ interest in birds and natural habitats, whatever their initial level of expertise.

Apron have created a Community Garden in Buckingham Park, Shoreham by Sea.

Throughout the spring of 2020 and during lockdown our idea of a Community Garden grew into a more definite aim. We wanted to create a safe and accessible space for the community to grow, share and learn together.

After a successful crowdfunder, and generous donation from the legacy of a community orchard founder (and a lot of hard work) were thrilled to open the garden on Saturday 24th April 2021!

We used recycled and sustainable materials and building methods to create the garden, following the principles of organic gardening and permaculture and working to improve biodiversity.

Our key goals for the garden are to:

• Create accessible volunteering and learning opportunities for the community, work with local organisations to address the growing issue of food poverty in our area, deliver seasonal events and workshops throughout the year for the local community.
• facilitate skills sharing sessions on food production, preparation and waste limitation, provide educational sessions on sustainability, environment, and biodiversity.
• Create a safe and accessible outdoor space for community led wellbeing activities.

Preserving Ferring’s Environment

We are one of Ferring’s largest organisations with well over 900 members. Membership costs just £1 per year per person. Our main aim is to conserve the unique Ferring environment.

The Group started in 1988 – campaigning against a proposal to build an indoor sports facility on the Little Twitten recreation ground. That proposal was thankfully abandoned, but there have been many campaigns since that time – some we have won but sadly some we have lost. We are possibly again going to have to fight plans by housebuilders Persimmon Homes to build up to 1100 homes in both sections of the Goring Gap between Ferring and Goring, although at this time, no planning application has been submitted.

We CAMPAIGN against over development and the destruction of open spaces, trees, wildlife and the character of Ferring. We STUDY the local wildlife. We carry out PRACTICAL WORK in the Ferring Rife area, the beach and other open spaces. We hold MONTHLY MEETINGS where we have speakers on national and regional conservation issues, and discuss what is going on locally. We organise TRIPS and GUIDED WALKS with a conservation theme.

Please contact us through the website form.