Our Projects and Campaigns
We are keen to engage the huge energy and enthusiasm of our park-using community to promote conservation and landscape projects which Lambeth Council might not be able to achieve on their own.
In addition to the established biodiversity planting programme, we are developing proposals for strategic woodland planting; wildlife surveys; a bluebell glade; structural repair of the walled garden; and more. If you have ideas for projects we could support with the energy and expertise of our volunteers, please let us know.
Sometimes we need to actively campaign to improve or protect the park.
Most recently, we have vigorously campaigned for a more sustainable approach to large commercial festivals.
Opposing the privatisation of public space
Many Friends are enthusiastic festival goers, but we know that a small historic urban park is not the right place for the country’s largest pop festival.
The park can clearly support large gatherings and has done so successfully in the past. But enclosing almost all of the amenity grassland for six weeks of the spring and summer, and then leaving it unusable until the autumn deprives local people of a precious and unique resource and the long term damage to trees and other natural capital is known to be catastrophic.
In the last few years, the previous Council administration has taken an idiosyncratic approach to planning to push through large and long festivals without taking the concerns of local people seriously.
We have worked alongside local groups, particularly the tireless Protect Brockwell Park to prevent the misuse of a planning loophole. This year, for the first time, the commercial event promoter had to apply for planning permission which led to noticeably better protection for the park.
We hope to collaborate with the new Green administration as they develop a new Events Strategy in line with their commitment to stop the privatisation of public space.
Woodland Project
Earlier this year, we worked with Lambeth in a bid to fund an oak woodland project. This would have paid for the strategic planting of trees to create new areas of woodland in the park.
The increase in canopy cover - the park has unusually small cover, even for London - and the new linked habitats would have dramatically improved the landscape of the park.
Although this bid was unsuccessful, we are exploring ways to get a similar project off the ground using our large network of volunteers and our ability to fundraise.
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden (aka The Secret Garden) benefits from regular donations from the FoBP for plants that contribute to the serene beauty of this oasis. The Garden has won gold on several occasions. Help us by making a donation for more planting in this lovely space.
Playground Steering Committee
FoBP have been working with local families and Lambeth Council to improve our much-loved playground. A survey of parents and children helped identify priorities as ageing wooden play equipment needs replacing.
Recent improvements include new zip wire and witches’ hat, with more to come.
Biodiversity Projects
We’ve helped build a beautiful ‘North Meadow’ providing mounds and hollows to slow the flow of water and prevent flooding. We’ve helped dig a new pond for amphibians, cleared a mass of invasive sedge and bramble roots around the small pond and built dead hedges for land animals to lie low in over winter and damp refuges for frogs, toads and other amphibians. We are very grateful to all our volunteers - more than a hundred of them! Why not join us on our next project…
Donate a Tree
The tree donation scheme gives people the opportunity to fund a new tree in Brockwell Park. You can dedicate a tree to someone special, mark an important occasion, remember a loved one, or simply give something lasting back to the park.
Each year, Friends of Brockwell Park works with Lambeth’s Tree Team to agree suitable species and locations. The trees are semi-mature trees, chosen to give them a good start in the park. They are planted as part of Lambeth’s seasonal planting programme and cared for by the Parks team. The scheme helps increase tree cover, support biodiversity and strengthen the park for the future.
Donors are also invited to our annual Tree Celebration. It is a chance to visit the newly planted trees, hear the stories behind them and celebrate what they mean to the people who donated them. The celebration has become a special part of the scheme, bringing donors and the wider FoBP community together around the new trees.
Past Campaigns
The restoration of the clocktower was a project from a few years ago
We campaigned to prevent the demolition of the Lido and ensure its reopening
Although not all of our campaigns have been successful, our proactive presence in the park ensures that the voice of our members and the wider community have been heard on issues such as these:
Stop the 1,000-seater athletic stadium
Ensure the Lido was not demolished
Limit vehicle access to the park
Support the introduction of the park ranger service
Defend the park against the intrusion of the Herne Hill junction
Offer constructive alternatives to the traffic issues at the junction
Resist the loss of permanent Lambeth personnel in the park
Oppose any intrusive planning applications
Set up Park Watch
Support music, theatre and dance events in the park with the BPCP, MADD and independent artists