Can a park be a portal into the future?

The fertile grounds of this park are ready for the seeds of new ideas!

A park can be a place where play meets learning, a site of community, care and connection to the more than human. How can good stewardship unlock that potential for this piece of land so that it can be a part of York’s long - term infrastructure of change? In 1904, Homestead Park was given to the people of York by Seebohm Rowntree as the city’s first free to use park - a radical act!  Seeing the park as a gift generates its own challenges and opportunities and opens up questions about access and ownership of land.

This session invites us to explore the potential of Homestead Park as a portal into the future. Drawing on its rich past and the insights of our speakers, we’ll think aloud about how this space might evolve to meet the challenges of our times. How can Homestead Park become a site of practice for alternative social, climate and economic futures in York?

Speakers: Jemma Pym (Global Generation) , Siana Bangura

Chair: Kate Wilkinson (Joseph Rowntree Foundation)