London parks - other than car parks - have always been green, in the sense that the colour of grass and trees has predominated. But the days when parks meant manicured lawns, neat flower beds and deck chairs are long gone, and not just because councils can no longer afford to employ as many gardeners as they once did. Parks throughout the capital have increasingly been turning "green" in the modern sense of helping society transition towards environmental sustainability. There can't be many parks left in the capital that don't have at least one area where the grass is allowed to grow long, with wild flowers mixed in, to attract butterflies and other insects and promote biodiversity. And over the past five or six years buried streams have been "daylighted" and wetlands created to not only help increase the variety of flora and fauna, but also improve the quality of water in our rivers and reduce flooding of houses.
Broomfield Park is no exception, and to a great extent this is thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Broomfield Park (FoBP), working in close collaboration with Enfield Council. The Friends have been in existence for around ten years, and right from the outset were involved in the environmentally friendly projects - for instance, the Community Orchard, which is helping retain many varieties of apples, pears and other fruit that have been sadly neglected by commercial growers and the supermarket chains that dictate what they produce. An example of biodiversity, something which is vital if the planet is to remain inhabitable.
As well as its fruit trees and biodiversity, the clue to another important thing about the orchard project is in the name - Community Orchard. FoBP has been involving the community in the park not just as passive consumers, but in active roles, and has been educating young people about the importance of environmental issues and encouraging them to take hands-on action.
Over the decade we've seen many other FoBP projects with an environmental aspect: Broomfield Conservatory, beehives, the wildlife pond, wildflower gardens, community growing space and, most recently, the Broomfield Wetlands.
It comes as no surprise that Friends of Broomfield Park are among the civil society groups that last year came together to form the Enfield Climate Action Forum (EnCAF), set up to encourage and help the council along the path to a zero-carbon future.
Last week the Friends published a document outlining their environmental achievements to date and what they have mind for future years. They will be talking to Enfield Council with the aim of incorporating these actions into a wider Action Plan for Broomfield Park.
You can download the document as a pdf file or browse it in sections on the FoBP website. Click on the pictures below to read about the impressive list of projects designed to contribute towards each of the objectives.
