greenspace scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful came together on Thursday 18 July at the Park Managers Forum for a Green Flag Award celebration at the newly renovated Saughton Park in Edinburgh.

The event included a  a celebration of the 71 Green Flag awards for parks and greenspaces across Scotland.

A range of presentations were given highlighting how Green Flag Awards can be used for a wider range of greenspaces and to drive strategic improvements across parks and greenspaces, showcasing and examining examples of different approaches to managing and resourcing parks and greenspace. We also heard from Keep Britain Tidy highlighted the international context and global reach of the Green Flag awards. 

There was the opportunity to explore the newly restored Saughton Park in Edinburgh though a mock Green Flag judging led by City of Edinburgh Council and the Friends of Saughton Park. Following a major grant from the Heritage Fund Parks for People programme, the park has recently re-opened. Alongside the restoration of historic park features and creation of exciting new play areas, it is now also equipped for the 21st century with a ground source heat system and micro-hydro scheme.

In addition there was the opportunity to learn more about Community crowdfunding through a workshop with MyParkScotland, Scotlands only dedicated crowdfunding platform for parks and greenspaces. 

Presentations from the day are available to download below:

• Green Flag Award International Growth - Carl McClean, Keep Britain Tidy
  
  
• Saughton Park Restoration Project - Gary Law, City of Edinburgh Council
  
  
• Pioneering new approaches to managing and resourcing greenspace - Julie Procter, greenspace scotland
  
  
• Park Quality and Green Flag - Lindsey Grant, City of Edinburgh Council
  
  
• MyParkScotland Community Crowdfunding - Ian Goodman, MyParkScotland

Thanks to everyone who attended a great day!

The Parks Endowment Fund provides a way for all of us to show how much we love and treasure our parks. Thanks to the matching endowment grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which matches £ for £ donations to the Parks Endowment Fund, the value of your donation will be doubled.

You can make a donation easily and safely via the MyParkScotland website

Or to make a text donation to the park endowment simply text PARK to 70450 to donate £5. This costs £5 plus a standard message rate message. Alternatively you can opt to give any whole amount up to £20 by texting PARK followed by the amount you want to donate e.g. PARK20

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The Park Managers Forum is supported by idverde