Toolkit: Setting up a Friends Group

Plymouth City Council provide support for an increasing number of Friends Groups across the city in recognition of the value the community brings with their involvement.

To assist with this - they developed an easy to follow step by step guide top establishing a Friends Group - click Access resource to view.

What is a Friends Group?

A Friends of Parks Group is a constituted group made up of a group of people or ‘Friends’ passionate about looking after their local park or green space. Friends groups work in partnership with Plymouth City Council to enhance the green space, to meet the needs of their local community.

What do they do?

Friends groups get involved in a huge range of things including running community events, conservation activities and practical activities like gardening, litter picking as well as linking in to the variety of campaigns surrounding parks and greenspace. Activities can include; 

• Promoting your local space and providing feedback to the local Council
• Helping with anything from planting bulbs and conservation tasks to litter picking and tidy up days
• Putting on local community events such as family fun days, arts events, music in the park and more
• Fundraising, accessing grants and lottery monies for the benefit of the park
• Carrying out user surveys and collecting local views about the park
• Designing information and educational leaflets about the park (such as a guide to trees/plants in the park or a local history of the park) in partnership with the Council
• Producing and updating your groups website and/or social media platforms 
• Contributing to the production of parks management plans and helping shape the future improvements to the green space or park