Jubilee Gardens is proud to join the new ‘Clean Parks for London’ campaign organised by Parks for London starting in April 2022 with a simple ask for Londoners and visitors to keep our parks clean.
Parks for London estimates £14.8 million of taxpayers’ money is spent on litter collection and disposal for London’s parks and green spaces every year. Jubilee Gardens have joined hands with Parks for London along with 16 other organisations including the Mayor of London to launch a new campaign this April with a simple ask for Londoners and visitors to keep our parks and green spaces clean, by simply taking home what they bring with them.
Ted Inman, Chair of the Jubilee Gardens Trust which manages Jubilee Gardens on London’s South Bank, said: “As one of the busiest and best-loved green spaces in Central London we provide essential space to play and relax for South Bank residents, local workers and visitors alike. In the South Bank area 70% of residents don’t have access to a garden, with parks such as Jubilee Gardens offering green space for exercise and access to nature which has such a benefit for mental health.
Unfortunately, as lockdowns ended in 2021 the Gardens saw a huge increase in litter at a time when the Trust’s funds had been significantly impacted by the pandemic. Not only was this litter a shocking eyesore but an environmental tragedy and upsetting for Jubilee Gardens visitors and staff alike. For our small locally based charitable trust comprising representatives of residents, businesses and adjacent landowners, the cost of hiring additional staff to clean and clear rubbish, along with waste disposal, put an increased strain on our finances.”
Jubilee Gardens Trust, the local charity responsible for Jubilee Gardens on London’s South Bank, is looking for a volunteer Treasurer to join the Trustee board. Jubilee Gardens is one of the busiest green spaces in the country, with 7m-8m users each year pre-Covid, a turnover of c.£0.5m pa, and reserves of c.£1.5m. The board is made up of representatives of local resident organisations, local businesses and adjoining landowners including Shell and Southbank Centre.
Our new Treasurer is likely to be a qualified Accountant with an understanding of Charity SORP, to chair the Trust’s Finance Committee and to lead the Board’s duty to ensure proper accounting records are kept, financial resources are controlled and invested in line with governance, legal and regulatory requirements. The role is one of oversight, not day-to-day management – the Trust has a service contract which provides qualified staff to manage its financial affairs.
This is a volunteer role, though reasonable expenses can be reimbursed. The Board meets four times a year, and the Finance Committee six times a year, though the role will require some time outside these meetings. The Trust plays a significant role in the South Bank and Waterloo community and we believe that candidates would find the treasurer role interesting and rewarding. People from all backgrounds are welcomed – the Trust aspires to have a diverse board reflecting its users and communities.
The following would be desirable:
A qualified Accountant/Treasurer – chartered level preferred
Ideally with some experience of working in the charities sector – not essential
Auditing and risk management skills and experience
Today, the Jubilee Gardens Trust and maintenance partner The Nurture Landscapes Group, together with local MP for Vauxhall Florence Eshalomi, celebrated winning a Green Flag Award at Jubilee Gardens.
Local MP Florence Eshalomi, Jubilee Gardens Trust Chair Ted Inman and trustees, along with representatives of maintenance partner The Nurture Landscapes Group.
The award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.
After 18 months that have seen our parks and green spaces play a vital role for people through lockdowns as a place to relax, exercise and meet friends and family safely, the news that Jubilee Gardens has achieved the Green Flag Award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that make this immensely popular green space an area that everyone can enjoy.
Unusually, for a prime Central London open space, Jubilee Gardens is managed by a small locally based charitable trust, comprising representatives of local residents, businesses and adjacent landowners.
Ted Inman, Chair of the Jubilee Gardens Trust which manages the gardens, said: “As one of the busiest and best-loved green spaces in Central London we are delighted that Jubilee Gardens has achieved a prestigious Green Flag Award. With a footfall of some 8 million people a year prior to the pandemic, we provide essential space to play and relax for South Bank residents, local workers and visitors alike. We’d like to thank our maintenance partner The Nurture Landscapes Group for keeping the Gardens safe and looking beautiful, especially during this difficult time.”
Florence Eshalomi MP added her thanks and congratulations, saying “Jubilee Gardens provides a welcome green space in the heart of London which has been vital during the pandemic. It has been especially important for the 70%* of local residents who don’t have access to a garden, with parks such as Jubilee Gardens offering green space for exercise and access to nature which has such a benefit for mental health.”
Simon Cummins, Regional Manager, Nurture Landscapes Group added “We are delighted to be awarded Jubilee Gardens first Green Flag Award. This is a real testament to the great collaboration and teamwork between all stakeholders, the Jubilee Gardens Trust and our fantastic team. The gardens are maintained to a really high standard and enjoyed by many visitors on a daily basis, so it is great to have all the hard work that goes into maintaining this beautiful green space recognised.”
Commenting on the news that Jubilee Gardens has achieved the Green Flag Award standard, Green Flag Award Scheme Manager Paul Todd said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making Jubilee Gardens worthy of a Green Flag Award.”
“To meet the requirements demanded by the scheme is testament to the hard work of the staff and volunteer trustees who do so much to ensure that Jubilee Gardens has high standards of horticulture, safety and environmental management and is a place that supports people to live healthy lives.”
The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.
Florence Eshalomi MP with Chair of Jubilee Gardens Trust Ted Inman and trustees, celebrate with members of The Nurture Landscapes Group maintenance team.
We recently welcomed a new member to the Jubilee Gardens team!
Paras Sanghavi completed a two-week work placement at Jubilee Gardens as part of his Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST) Future Gardeners course in the middle of June.
Paras impressed us all with his attitude and hard work during his placement which has now led to a position working with our team two days per week.
Launched in 2016, Future Gardeners is an innovative training and work experience scheme, giving participants the core skills to gain entry-level jobs in the horticulture industry without having any previous experience or specialist education. Jubilee Gardens are proud to support this scheme.
You may have noticed a bumper crop of acorns and beech nuts in Jubilee Gardens and other parks this year, keeping the squirrels, mice and other critters happy and well-fed. It looks likely that 2020 will be declared a ‘mast year’ – one in which there is a much heavier crop of fruits and seeds such as acorns, conkers, berries or pinecones, from certain tree species than in a normal year.
The reasons for this aren’t fully understood, but Andrew Smith, Director of Westonbirt, The National Arboretum told Forestry England1:
“We experienced a warm and dry spring, which are the perfect conditions for flowers to ‘set’ seeds. This, along with no late frost meant that flowers and young fruit survived into summer. The warm and moist summer has meant the nuts, fruits and berries have filled out well and are continuing to ripen nicely.”
Weather and climate do have an impact, but mast years tend to occur in cycles – for Oak trees this is usually every four years according to Smith. There is a major evolutionary advantage to mast years for the tree; producing nuts and seeds requires a lot of energy and as a result slightly stunts the tree’s growth, however, with such an abundance of seeds there is an increased likelihood that at least some of the crop will germinate into new saplings.
Another theory about the reason for mast years, according to the Woodland Trust2 is ‘predator satiation’:
“Animals like squirrels, jays, mice and badgers feed on the acorns and beech nuts. When the trees produce smaller crops for a few consecutive years, they are in effect keeping the populations of these animals in check. But during a mast year, the trees produce more food than the animals can possibly eat. This abundance causes a boom in populations of small mammals like mice. More importantly, it guarantees some will be left over to survive and grow into new trees.”
Mast years are not just one-off events for individual trees. The vast majority of trees in a particular species will have a fantastic crop all across the UK in the same year. How the trees co-ordinate this when they’re so far apart is one of nature’s many mysteries.
Find out more about the different tree species in Jubilee Gardens here.
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