BOSF member’s volunteer hours: April 2025 – March 2026
120,094 hours of community dedication – and counting! Between April 2025 and March 2026, the volunteers behind Birmingham’s Friends Groups gave an extraordinary 120,094 hours to their local parks and open spaces. Based on the Real Living Wage of £13.45/hr, that’s worth £1,615,264 – but no figure can fully capture what this means to the […]
Blackbird Detectives – Citizen Science in Birmingham
Blackbirds are one of the UK’s most familiar garden birds, yet surprisingly little is known about how their breeding success varies across urban environments. That is where you come in. Blackbird Detectives is a local citizen science initiative, led by a PhD researcher at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the British Trust for […]
The Green Heart of Birmingham
We are proud to present “The Green Heart of Birmingham,” a short film by Sima Gonsai that captures the spirit of our network of incredible people that we support. This film is a tribute to the volunteers who show up week after week, giving their time, energy, and love to the places that matter most […]
A Story of Growing Roots: From Cologne to Handsworth Park
At our 20th Anniversary Volunteer Celebration in late 2025, we hosted a “Just a Minute” segment – a space for our members to share a snapshot of what their local open space and volunteering means to them. When Natascha Rohde (Secretary & Trustee from the Friends of Handsworth Park) stood up to speak, she shared […]
Friends of Balaam’s Wood – Bringing a Tree Trail to Life
As part of our mission to support and celebrate Birmingham’s parks & open spaces volunteer groups, we’re sharing stories of projects that have made a real difference to local communities. This case study highlights the Friends of Balaam’s Wood, who turned a long-held idea into reality thanks to the help of a University student placement. […]
Birmingham Open Spaces Forum awarded National Lottery funding
We’re celebrating a major new funding award from the National Lottery Community Fund’s Reaching Communities programme! This three-year grant will support our core work across Birmingham and help us launch a brand new programme focused on supporting communities in Nechells, Balsall Heath, and Bordesley & Highgate – three wards that experience some of the city’s highest inequalities in access […]