This Love Parks Week – 28 July to 6 August – we celebrate all there is to love in parks and green spaces across the borough.
The annual campaign celebrates the parks and green spaces that bring communities together and enable us to connect with nature. It also recognises the contribution of the dedicated volunteers and workers who look after them all year round.
Cllr Shelley Powell, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods said: “Love Parks Week provides a timely reminder of the importance of parks in our lives, as well as an opportunity to celebrate the spaces we love, and ensure they remain cherished, accessible places for all to enjoy.
“Our latest investment in parks’ play areas is breathing new life into these facilities and ensuring they continue to be much-loved places enjoyed by families and children all year round.”
Welcoming the arrival of new play areas
Knowsley Council’s play area improvement programme is well underway with work recently completed on the transformation of the children’s play area at The Pasture in Cronton.
The improvement works at play areas in Huyton, Kirkby, Halewood and Cronton are seeing the replacement of damaged and old play structures with a range of new, state-of-the-art equipment.
The programme is funded by a £350,000 investment from the council, as well as funding from developer contributions on some sites. Works are expected to be completed by winter 2023.
Flying the flag at our award-winning parks
Knowsley’s parks and green spaces which have successfully retained their prestigious Green Flag awards.
An impressive 19 Knowsley parks have received Green Flag status – the international quality mark for parks and green spaces. Knowsley’s Green Flag parks are:
- Acornfield Plantation, Kirkby
- Court Farm Woods, Halewood
- Court Hey Park, Huyton
- Eaton Street Recreation Ground, Prescot
- Halewood Park
- Henley Park, Whiston
- Jubilee Park, Huyton
- King George V Playing Fields in Huyton,
- King George V Playing Fields in Prescot
- Little Wood, Stockbridge
- McGoldrick Park, Huyton
- Millbrook Park Millennium Green, Kirkby
- Prescot / St. Mary’s Cemetery
- Sawpit Park, Huyton
- St Chad’s Gardens, Kirkby
- Ten Acre Pits, Huyton
- The Pasture, Cronton
- Webster Park, Kirkby, and
- Fox’s Bank Lane Cemetery and Memorial Gardens
Green Space Ranger events and activities
The council’s Green Space Ranger team offers a wide range of nature-based learning, wellbeing and health sessions from parks across the borough.
In addition to regular walking and cycling activities, the team also support volunteers, friends, community groups and schools to deliver seasonal fun and educational activities such as bat walks and star gazing.
Find out more about our summer programme of events. See our website for more information about Green Space Range activities.
Keeping our parks looking their best
Knowsley has a dedicated team who maintain our parks, woodlands and green spaces, as well as a number of sports pitches.
They look after 55 natural sport pitches and seven all-weather pitches, empty approximately 360 litter bins in parks, and inspect, repair, and maintain 72 play areas across Knowsley.
In addition, they plant thousands of bulbs, maintain 16 flower beds and mow 300 hectares of public park and green spaces.
Volunteers make a difference
This Love Parks Week we celebrate the achievements of Knowsley’s army of green space volunteers.
The borough boasts 52 ‘friends’, community and volunteer groups who work tirelessly to enhance our parks and green spaces. During 2022/23 these dedicated volunteers donated over 30,000 hours to support our parks.
Their activities include litter picking and conservation schemes, as well fundraising to help pay for community events, improving green space facilities and supporting large-scale infrastructure projects.
Conservation Groups work hard to conserve, enhance and promote their local green space as a valuable resource for the benefit of both people and wildlife. They are based at:
- Halewood Park: Halewood Conservation Volunteers meet every Wednesday morning at Halewood Park Environment Centre.
- Stadt Moers Park: Stadt Moers Conservation Volunteers meet every Wednesday morning at the Stadt Moers Park Environment Centre.
- Court Hey Park: Court Hey Conservation Volunteers meet every Wednesday morning at the Friends of Court Hey Park meeting room.
Friends and Community Groups play a valuable role in helping improve parks and surrounding areas and there is a strong network of local ‘friends’ groups across the borough.
Here’s more information on volunteering in parks. If you’re interested in getting involved, please download a copy of our Green Space Volunteer Expression of Interest form, fill it in and email it to greenspacevolunteers@knowsley.gov.uk.
And here’s more information about Love Parks Week.