Richard McKeever on the progress made by the Friends of Broomfield Park group across 2025

Friends of Broomfield Park's horticultural volunteers — Friends of Broomfield Park’s horticultural volunteers

The Friends of Broomfield Park (FoBP) group has completed a busy year, securing major awards, hosting huge community events, and laying a strong foundation for the future of our cherished green space in Palmers Green.

The details are set out in our first annual report since achieving charity status last autumn. The most startling part of the report is the analysis of the value that our local volunteers deliver – an estimated £347,840 worth of value for the community this year; that’s over 17,392 hours of work and almost 4,000 person days dedicated to Broomfield Park!

Friends of Broomfield Park volunteers were celebrated for their exceptional horticultural work, winning six awards in the prestigious Enfield in Bloom scheme, including three coveted gold awards. From tending the historic walled garden and long border to maintaining the peaceful apiary and the productive community orchard, our volunteers are ensuring Broomfield Park remains an oasis of natural beauty and biodiversity.

Yet, volunteers do so much more than just gardening. They also care for the waterfowl and wildlife in the park with a dedicated lakes team and habitats group ensuring the swans, butterflies, bees and pollinators are supported.

Volunteers also run art activity sessions for local care home clients and support mental health groups. Education projects see local primary schools visit the park for guided workshops on the wetlands and beehives and older teens attend the popular Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteering scheme in the park.

Over the year FoBP has worked closely with the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported ‘Unlocking Broomfield House‘ project team to ensure the best outcome for the house the lakes and the park. Calculation of our volunteer time is based on NLHF figure of £20 per hour.

All this volunteer work in the park makes Broomfield Park a vital hub for Palmers Green community life. A full calendar of over 30 public events kept the park buzzing with activity over the summer.

Palmers Green Festival welcomed an estimated 8,000 visitors to enjoy the music, food, community stalls, and family fun – all made possible by volunteers.

The return of the popular Broomfield Blues and successful picnics and concerts in the conservatory and orchard filled the summer with music.

Plus, boating is back! Following renovation work, the historic model boating pond welcomed the Broomfield Model Boat Club back to the water.

“It has been wonderful to see the sheer breadth and depth of everything that’s been achieved,” co-chairs Finula Cilliers and David March write in their introduction to the annual report.

“The real impact of the Friends of Broomfield Park is not a series of isolated outcomes, but a mutually reinforcing ecosystem of community benefits. The park contributes to visitors’ physical health, mental wellbeing, and community connections “

FoBP will continue to contribute to the maintenance of our park and advocate tirelessly for our green space.

Read the complete annual report, follow FoBP’s ongoing work and find out about volunteering opportunities:
Visit fobp.uk

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