27 November 2020
Keep Britain Tidy have officially announced the launch of a new International Parks and Green Spaces Resources Hub as part of their ongoing management and development of the Green Flag Award program.
The launch was made at the recent Virtual World Parks Congress - hosted by World Urban Parks, and on the opening day of the conference attendees took part in a virtual presentation that demonstrated the accessibility and content of the Hub whilst also seeking feedback and recommendations for further resources.
The project was developed in line with the Green Flag Award ethos, which is to recognise and support parks and green space professionals around the world.
By providing a free, online library of case studies, guidance documents and management plans it is hoped the sector will be able to share information more freely and learn from other managers and organisations in a range of countries.
The announcement is especially timely considering the huge role parks and green spaces have played in 2020 throughout the coronavirus pandemic - as an important place for excercise, relaxation and respite for communities.
Partnership working
The Hub mainly draws on existing resources from parks organisations around the world such as City Parks Alliance (USA), Park People (Canada) and The Royals Parks (UK). Resources are arrange in two filters: First under the Green Flag Award criteria headings, and second by resource type for easy searching and filtering across the platform.
Carl McClean - International Development Manager for the Green Flag Award program said:
"The new Resources Hub was only made possible thanks to a huge number of supporting parks organisations who given us permission to host their documents on our platform. My thanks goes out to all of them for their collaboration, openness and alignment with the Green Flag Award ethos - to share best practice within the sector for the improvement of parks, which in turn benefits the wider community."
With more than 50 resources already featured, ranging from example park Management Plans, to Case Studies and National Studies; the Hub is set to grow regularly as new resources become available within the sector. Keep Britain Tidy are also encouraging users to make recommendations for future resources which will help Green Flag Award determine any specific knowledge gaps that they can help fill.
To explore the International parks and Green Spaces Resources Hub visit www.greenflagaward/resources
About Green Flag Award
The Green Flag award now operates in 15 countries around the world including: Australia, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Mexico and the USA - celebrating over 2,000 Award winning parks and green spaces annually.
To find out more, or apply for an Award, whichever country you are based in; please feel free to explore our website and get in touch.
If you know of a park or a country not yet involved in the Green Flag Award that might be interested, please Contact Us