Love Parks Week – Carlisle events

(Date of issue: Monday, 13 July 2009)

An exciting programme of free events to celebrate Carlisle’s parks and green spaces will be held later this month (Saturday, 25 July - Sunday, 2 August).

Carlisle City Council has drawn together a series of activities to coincide with national Love Parks Week.

Open to all local residents and visitors to the city, some events are specifically aimed at children and their families and form part of the BBC’s CBeebies Green Balloon Club Week (25 July – 2 August), that encourages youngsters to get outside and ‘do one thing for nature’.

The week-long programme starts on Saturday, 25 July at 11am with the official grand re-opening of Eden Bridge Gardens by the Mayor of Carlisle, Cllr William Graham. An opportunity to hear about the history and recent restoration work, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Marks & Spencer and Carlisle City Council, will be on offer, as well as the chance to listen to some summer music.

Cllr Ray Bloxham, Portfolio holder for Environment and Infrastructure, said:

“Our parks and green spaces are important parts of our city’s heritage and environment. Love Parks Week provides a focus to what is on offer on our residents’ doorsteps. The packed programme includes activities to suit all ages and is a chance to get healthy, find out the history of local parks or take part in open-air sports and nature trails.”

Love Parks Week is organised by parks charity GreenSpace to raise awareness of the importance of parks, and this year the focus will be on encouraging people to get into parks to join the campaign for continued investment and support for these valuable community assets.

Last year, around 300 park events took place across the country to celebrate Love Parks Week, attracting over 200,000 people. This year looks set to be even bigger, with even more fun and exciting events taking place nationally. Carlisle is joining the campaign for the first time and hopes to be able to develop the programme further in future years.

Paul Bramhill, Chief Executive of GreenSpace, said:

“Love Parks Week is a great opportunity to celebrate what parks and green space mean to communities. In the current financial climate parks are more important than ever – they are free to visit and provide opportunities to improve health, relax and unwind, enjoy nature, play and have fun.

“This year we want as many people as possible to show support for the campaign by attending an event and taking advantage of what these fantastic places have to offer.”