Natural England

Sustainability South West, the region's sustainability champion, together with Natural England, today announced the winners of the South West's first Planting Places urban greenspace awards.

The Planting Places awards celebrate 10 brilliant examples of urban greenspaces in the region. They showcase greenspaces that are making a host of contributions to the sustainability of our expanding cities and towns, from supporting biodiversity and local food and energy production to improving community well-being and inclusion.

Nominations were received from a large number of amazing greenspaces from across the region, and judges from Arup, Play England, Natural England and the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens named the following projects as winners (in no particular order):

• Urban Heaths Project, Bournemouth & Poole
• Bristol and Bath Railway Path
• St. Werburghs City Farm (Boiling Wells), Bristol
• Wild Roots, Bradley Stoke, S Glos/Bristol
• Belmont Sensory Garden restoration, Exeter
• Tuckingmill Valley Park, Camborne, Cornwall
• Weston Woods, Weston-super-Mare
• Victoria Park Action Group, Bristol
• Diggin' It Organic, Plymouth

Winners will be presented with a specially commissioned piece of artwork, made from Cornish pewter and Forest of Avon oak, for their greenspace at Sustainability South West's annual Local to Regional Sustainability Forum in Weston-super-Mare on the 6th March.

Planting Places is an initiative of Sustainability South West, the region’s independent sustainable development Champion Body and has been funded by Defra, Natural England and English Heritage. It is a partnership project to promote and explore the essential role and the potential that urban greenspace networks have in the development of truly sustainable communities - particularly given the anticipated population and housing increase across the South West’s towns and cities.

Natural England's Senior Specialist, Naomi Wright said: "The awards will be given to groups or communities that have established truly inspirational projects throughout the south west. By involving friends, neighbours and whole communities, these initiatives have shown ingenuity and commitment to improve local green spaces. They have made areas throughout the region better for people, the natural environment and the long term future. This award day is part of Sustainability South West's 'Planting Places' campaign, supported by Natural England and we are pleased to be part of it."

Ends

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Planting Places awards ceremony
2:45pm Thursday 6th March 2008
The Winter Gardens, Royal Parade, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 1AQ

Planting Places urban greenspace award winners will be receiving their specially commissioned awards during Sustainability South West’s Local to Regional Sustainability Forum: Achieving Genuinely Sustainable, Resilient Communities, on Thursday 6th March at 2:45pm. You are invited to the celebrations where winners will be available for photographs and interviews.

Email freiny.miles@sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk or phone 0117 900 1751 to confirm your place.

Please get in touch if you would like any further information.

Contact Details:
For more information on this press release and for more photographs please contact Freiny Miles, Public Relations Officer, Sustainability South West, 2 Rivergate, Temple Quay, BRISTOL BS1 6EH tel: 0117 900 1751, mob: 07515726304 e-mail: freiny.miles@sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk. Interviews may be granted on request.

Editor's Notes:
Planting Places is an initiative of Sustainability South West and is funded in 2007/2008 by Natural England, Defra and English Heritage. It is guided by an advisory panel of representatives from a range of businesses, organisations and regional bodies including: Arup, Natural England, Play England, Creating Excellence, GreenSpace SW, Bristol City Council, Soil Association, Sustrans, Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, University of Bristol, CABE, Culture South West and the Woodland Trust.

The vision of Planting Places is for South West towns and cities that integrate networks of urban greenspace (green infrastructure) which support communities to be healthy, productive, socially-just and to live within environmental limits. Sustainable urban areas require greenspaces that promote community well-being, inclusion, cohesion and self-sufficiency (eg in food, energy and skills) and support resilience to climate change impacts. Greenspaces can bring benefits to local authorities and other agencies in urban areas by supporting attractive and vibrant towns and cities and offering a cost effective alternative to managing and maintaining built environments.

Local to Regional Sustainability Forum is an annual conference, ran by Sustainability South West in association with the Local Sustainability Group South West, for local leaders, planners, officers and regeneration agencies seeking to deliver genuinely sustainable communities. This year’s conference is themed ‘Achieving Genuinely Sustainable, Resilient Communities,’ with a particular focus on the role of greenspace. The conference is taking place on Thursday 6th March 2008 at The Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare. For more information visit www.sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk/projects/local_to_regional

Sustainability South West (SSW) is the independent Champion Body of sustainable development in the South West of England. Its mission is to champion action now to achieve a South West that is genuinely sustainable: healthy, productive, socially-just and living within environmental limits. It is a completely independent charity with a wide range of members from many sectors. Its president is Jonathon Porritt. Visit SSW’s website www.sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk for more details.

Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. To find out more visit www.naturalengland.org.uk.