Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Parks Partnership (CP3)
Dear readers,
We are pleased to bring you a summer update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Parks Partnership (CP3) Programme, a collaborative effort between local authorities, park management teams, and other organisations working towards the common goal of improving the quality of parks and green spaces across the region for everyone.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Parks Partnership (CP3) Update
The CP3 team has continued to focus on developing the Health and Wellbeing strand of our work by sending out an ‘Expression of Interest’ form to see if a collaborative consortium bid to the Healthier Futures Fund might be supported. Fifty-five expressions of interest were received from organisations both large and small. The total amount of funding requested to deliver place-based preventative health projects that use nature to address health inequalities is more than £2.3m. This figure is far more than what might be available from the Integrated Care System. It demonstrates how much need and support there is for nature-based interventions that address preventative health and care for the environment. The team at CP3 are exploring what we can do to partner organisations to produce a coordinated bid to secure some of this investment so we can deliver on our mission of healthier parks, healthier planet, healthier people.
The team are also collaborating with Living Sport to market opportunities to get outdoors and enjoy our parks and open spaces over the summer holidays with the ‘#letsgetoutdoors’ campaign. This is a great opportunity to showcase our wonderful parks and get the whole family out to enjoy a variety of events and benefit from being together in the great outdoors. We will be promoting a park photo competition and winners will not only have their photos featured on the Cambsopenspace website but also they will receive a supermarket food voucher so that they can take their whole family to have a picnic party onus! (a flyer has been attached below)
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Open Space Forum recently hosted Prof. Jeff Ollerton -Ecological Scientist and Author, who spoke from Norway about Creating habitats for pollinators in parks: “it’s about more than just flowers!”
Pollinators are critically important to both wild nature and human society. During his career that spanned more than 30 years, Professor Jeff Ollerton established himself as one of the world’s leading experts on pollinators and pollination. He is the author of more than 150 articles and book chapters, is highly cited, and his ground-breaking research has been used by national and international agencies to support efforts to conserve pollinators and their pollination services. His key message was that a diverse landscape is the key to pollinator conservation. A bumble bee can fly 2.5km in 15 minutes and ecological features should aim to connect every km. In terms of what to plant, a deciduous native hedgerow is an excellent woody plant as its flowers are pollen rich and it is a stable a reliable feature of the landscape providing food, habitat and microclimate opportunities for many species. For more information, visit https://jeffollerton.co.uk/
Supporting the Evolution of Warm Hubs to Year-Round Community Hub
Winter may finally be over but volunteers are still stepping forward to run year-round community hubs, offering a safe space for their residents to get together to support each other. Cambridgeshire ACRE is supporting volunteers to transform their warm hubs into community hubs, with plans for the development of future community leadership, local fundraising and a varied activities programme suitable to local needs.
Over the coming months, each hub will be helped to shape its own future offer suitable for local community needs in terms of provision, attendee support and activities available to those attending. Read more about how Cambridgeshire ACRE will be supporting hubs to consider the best approaches for their own community.
To know more about the future of Community Hubs click here
The Seven British Bumblebees
The lovely bumblebee may look a little sozzled and slow compared to many species, yet one bumblebee is all it takes to make a prairie and its buzz is the soundtrack of a thriving world. Harry Pearson takes a look, and explains how to identify bumblebees you’ll spot in a British garden this spring and summer. Illustrations by Fiona Osbaldstone for Country Life.
In total there are 24 species of bumblebee in Britain — but seven of them are widespread.
To learn about them click here.
Cambridge Nature Network’s 2023
The Cambridge Nature Network’s festival invites you to explore and enjoy the nature on your doorstep. Cambridge has significant areas of downland, fens, meadows, waterways and woodlands around it. The Nature Network is a partnership organisation that supports nature recovery by balancing in and where nature can recover and thrive and where people can experience a wilder countryside and nature.
To find out more about events like Histon’s magical moths and beautiful birds, reedbed rambles, watching wildlife in Trumpington meadows or guided Sunday strolls at Wimpole Hall click here.
Overall, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Parks Partnership Programme is making significant strides towards improving the quality of parks and green spaces across the region. We look forward to seeing the positive impact that these initiatives will have on the health, wellbeing, and enjoyment of residents and visitors alike. An example of this is the Parks Partnership’s work with Fenland District Council, Blackfield Creative and Groundwork East to deliver a range of exciting activities in Wisbech town park over the summer holiday months. Further information about the activities will be advertised soon on www.cambsopenspace and in the locality.
General Interest
Green Jobs for Nature (GJfN) is the new campaign to make careers geared towards restoring and replenishing our natural environment more visible and achievable for all those thinking about their future work. To learn more, click here.
Fixing the Fens
Reconciling human activities with nature is never going to be easy, but a new group is using everything it’s got to try and protect a vital part of the UK. Click here for more information.
Warning following rise in Lyme disease cases in East Anglia
Forest and countryside users in East Anglia have been warned to be on their guard against a tiny mite that can transmit a debilitating disease.
Public health officials have issued a fresh warning ahead of the summer season about the dangers of tick bites. Click here for more information.
Can you use banana peels as fertilizer?
Using banana peels as fertilizer may seem unconventional, but this expert-approved garden idea will boost your plant’s health (and it’s sustainable too). To read the full article, click here.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a globally widespread and expanding form of anthropogenic change that impacts arthropod biodiversity. ALAN alters interspecific interactions between arthropods, including predation and parasitism. Click here for more information.
Human activities are accelerating biodiversity change and promoting a rapid turnover in species composition. A team of researchers has now shown that more widespread species tend to benefit from anthropogenic changes and increase the number of sites they occupy, whereas more narrowly distributed species decrease. To read the full article, click here.
How to grow a lawn that’s better for wildlife
A manicured lawn is something many people are very proud of but why not add value to your lawn by making parts of it more beneficial to pollinators and other wildlife. Click here for more information.
Upcoming Events
This 2 day course covers rigging, launching, and sailing in all directions as well as capsize recovery and essential safety knowledge. After the course, participants will be able to sail and make decisions in good conditions.
You will need to have completed level 1 before signing up for this course. For more details click here.
Cambridge Pride
Cambridge Pride is an event to celebrate being LGBTQ+ or being an ally. We aim to enjoy and enhance the experience of many thousands of people, we intend to do this by providing a range of activities to promote diversity and inclusivity. To find out more, visit here.
Great Fen Little Bugs
Welcome to the summer term of Little Bugs! Come and join us for a fun morning of exploration and discovery here on the wonderful nature reserve at the Wildlife Trust Countryside Centre, Ramsey Heights. This year we are running on alternating Wednesdays and Fridays so that more local families can come and visit! For more, click here.
An Introduction to Dragonflies with Henry Stanier
Dragonflies (including damselflies)are a fascinating group of insects and the Great Fen is a rewarding place to look for them. This is a beginner’s guide to learn more about their natural history and ecology, where and when to see them, and how to identify them (perched and in flight),covering all the species currently found in our area, plus others which may be on the way here! This workshop also includes 1-to-1guidance on identification. For more, click here.
To see more upcoming events, checkout cambsopenspace
Don’t forget to like and follow the new Facebook and Twitter pages of Cambs Open Space.
Our mailing address is:
Alconbury Weald
PE28 4YE
Cambridgeshire
United Kingdom
