An environmental charity is putting the heart back into urban community parks in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole – but it needs your help.

The Parks Foundation is dedicated to enhancing local parks, working to transform them from ‘green deserts’ into ecologically rich, inclusive green spaces, that improve the lives of the community and encourage wildlife to grow and flourish.

This month, The Parks Foundation is asking residents to show their support for the area’s parks and the wildlife that calls them home.

Cathi Farrer, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We’re delighted to be part of the Big Give Green Match Fund.

“An amazing opportunity for your donation to be doubled, at no extra cost to you.

“So, for every £1 you donate, we receive £2.

Cathi Farrer

“The Big Give Green Match Fund runs for a week, from Thursday April 20 to Thursday April 27.

“This year, we’d love to raise £10,000 for even more park improvements.

“Your donation to our charity will make a real difference to improving biodiversity within our area’s urban parks.”

To donate to The Parks Foundation – between April 20 and 27 – please click here.

All money raised for The Parks Foundation during the campaign week will be used within local parks across the BCP area.

During the week, the charity will also be celebrating Earth Day and residents are invited to join in.

The charity is hosting a ‘World of Insects’ event at Winton Recreation Ground from 10am to 12 noon on Earth Day, Saturday April 22.

The event is free to attend and you can discover which insects are emerging at this time of year and why they are so important for the ecosystem and locally in our parks.

Stephen Concar, the charity’s Nature Recovery Project Manager, said: “Earth Day is a great opportunity to show your support for our parks and make a donation which will have twice the impact.

“Parks are vital for people and wildlife.

“Being in nature and parks is proven to support improved health and wellbeing.

“We want to encourage residents to join our activities in local parks and discover the nature on their doorstep.

“One of our focus areas has been working together with local people to plant trees, hedges and wildflowers in parks.

“Wildflowers not only give our parks a pop of colour for us to enjoy, but they provide essential support systems – food, shelter, and places to breed – to butterflies, bees and other wildlife.”

The Parks Foundation will use the donations raised through the Big Give Green Match Fund to buy wildflower seed, plants, and bulbs, trees for hedges and copses, materials for community growing beds and for wildlife ponds.

The charity says this will make a real difference to improving biodiversity within the area’s urban parks and help to create a green corridor to enable wildlife to travel more easily between their feeding stations and habitats.

• To find out more about The Parks Foundation’s Earth Day activities and book your place, please visit: parksfoundation.org.uk/events/