Get involved! Facilitators, creatives, organisations and community groups come and part of the Make Space Festival of Free Events, taking place in June 2026.  The festival brings teenage girls into York’s parks to try new things, meet new people and feel confident and welcome in public space.

Dates and locations
13 & 14 June 2026 – Rowntree Park
20 & 21 June 2026 – Second York park (TBC)
Events run across both weekends, during the daytime.

How you can get involved

Activities can include sport, movement, arts, creativity, wellbeing, nature based sessions, performance or anything that works well in a park and would appeal to teenage girls. If you think “this could work outdoors” then I would love to hear from you.

You can apply to:
-Run an activity or workshop
-Host a drop-in stall (activities, crafts, awareness, information)
-Join the wider project team and help make the festival happen

About Make Space York

The Make Space York project started by Abigail Gaines in 2021 with engagement with teenage girls on what would make Rowntree Park more welcoming to them. This led to co creating an area in the park with girls with equipment they asked for, and also the festival of free events.  The festival began in 2023 – the UK’s first dedicated programme of park-based events for teenage girls. It has since become an annual festival, reaching around 350 girls each year.

The project exists to address the well evidenced drop-off in park use as girls enter their teenage years. Many girls tell us parks do not feel welcoming or that there is nothing for them. This festival is about changing that, through visibility, activity and joy in public space.

The project won a national Green Flag award in 2023 for Best Initiative in the UK to increase park use by women and girls. The project as a whole has featured as a case study in research and guidance used across the UK.   The project is run by Abigail with support from volunteers and continues to evolve and be shaped by York teenage girls.  

Running an activity or event

Sessions can be:
• A one-off activity (1 to 1.5 hours)
• A drop-in activity stall (2-4 hours)
You would be responsible for your own equipment and delivery.

Facilitators can choose to:
• Volunteer their time
• Request a fee (£50, £75 or £100 per session, depending on activity and length)

The project has a limited budget, so not all paid requests can be accommodated. We aim to create a balanced, varied programme that appeals to a wide range of girls. All facilitators are promoted through festival marketing, social media and partner networks.

Key practical information
Activities are usually aimed at girls aged 10-18, but age ranges are flexible and some can include girls from age 8 and others may include adults.
• Sessions run outdoors in the park
• Events are free to attend
• Public liability insurance and a risk assessment are required (support available)
• Parents and carers remain responsible for their children
• A limited amount of basic equipment such as tables, stools and a gazebo may be available to borrow,        however having your own equipment helps

Stall holders
We are also inviting interest from stall holders, particularly on Saturdays.
Stalls may include:
• Information or awareness related to girls and women
• Drop-in creative or activity stalls
• A small number of food or refreshment stalls
Community groups and small charities can usually take part free of charge.
Small fees apply to individuals/businesses (from £15-25) and food stalls (fee TBD generally £100+). Details shared at application stage. 

Expression of interest
If you are interested, please complete the expression of interest form. Submitting a form does not commit you to taking part and not all applications will be selected. We aim for variety across the programme.
For questions, contact:
makespaceyork@gmail.com
(hello@rowntreepark.org.uk)
Thank you for helping us continue to make space for girls in York’s parks. 

A Celebration of Confidence, Creativity & Community

Over two June weekends, the parks of York were transformed into joyful, buzzing spaces of creativity, energy, and empowerment as the Make Space for Girls Festival 2025 brought together hundreds of girls and young women for an unforgettable celebration of movement, expression and connection.

From Rowntree Park to Homestead Park, older girls a took part in over 40 free activities and workshops, from the bold to the beautiful, the high-energy to the hands-on – all designed to reclaim public spaces for girls and make them feel truly welcome.

A festival for every girl

The range of activities was as diverse and inspiring as the girls themselves. Drop-in and pre-booked sessions included:
Musical theatre, drama and dance.
Football, basketball, cheerleading, tennis, orienteering and yoga
Art, printing, pottery, nature crafts, jewellery making, photography and needle felting
Whittling, wood carving, woodland crafts and nature walks
Tote bag design, badge making, placard painting Empowering flags and zine-making exploring girls’ rights and futures

With additional activities like tap dancing and a ceilidh, the festival offered something for everyone – including special sessions that welcomed women too, helping build intergenerational community and solidarity in shared spaces.

More than just activities

This year’s festival wasn’t just about fun – though there was plenty of that! It was also about sparking conversations and sharing experiences. Girls were invited to imagine and design what welcoming, inclusive public spaces might look like with the help of design collective Meeting Place. Through crafts and co-creation, they explored what they want from their parks, communities and futures.

Alongside this, vital conversations were facilitated by pop-up awareness stalls, including- Bolshee and The Dance Floor Project, tackling the need for safer public spaces for women, and also St John’s University’s ‘All About Respect’ campaign, encouraging open dialogue around healthy relationships and preventing violence against women. These elements embedded the festival in a wider mission to build a culture of respect, inclusion and safety for girls in our public spaces.

“We want to create a space where girls can feel safe, confident, and empowered to be themselves,” said Abigail Gaines, founder of Make Space York and director of The Tiny Roar CIC. “Every girl deserves access to public spaces and the opportunities they offer.”

A real sense of belonging

What made the festival truly special was the feedback from girls, parents and carers, who described how powerful the experience had been:

 “Lovely idea! My daughter really enjoyed her workshops and the sense of community. Thank you!”

 “This is a wonderful event in our area to give an opportunity to girls to explore the park and spend time with their friends in a safe place.”

 “My daughter is 12 and she has speech and learning disabilities. This is the second year she was able to take part in the festival. As a parent, it’s so wonderful to see that everyone is welcome and she felt at ease that she was able to take part in most of the activities. All professionals considered her additional needs and made her feel very included. A massive thank you!”

These stories echo a common theme: confidence, ownership, joy and community. Girls left the festival having discovered new passions, formed new friendships and most importantly, seen themselves as rightful users of their parks and public spaces.

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The project behind the festival

The festival is part of the wider Make Space for Girls in York Parks project, led locally by Abigail Gaines and supported by the Friends of Rowntree Park, The Mount School, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and the York Children’s Trust.

Although the project is organised entirely by Abigail Gaines, the festival wouldn’t have been possible without the support of volunteers who helped across the weekends and the many talented facilitators and practitioners who ran workshops and sessions. Their enthusiasm and commitment to creating inclusive, inspiring experiences played a huge part in the festival’s success.

Since 2022, the project has worked with teenage girls to co-create spaces designed by them and for them – including a brand-new space in Rowntree Park that opened in May 2025. It’s about more than a weekend: it’s an ongoing mission to reimagine our public spaces through girls’ eyes – and to shift the culture so girls feel welcome, respected and inspired every time they step outside.

What’s next?

You can follow the project on Instagram @makespaceyork to see photos from the festival and hear directly from the girls involved.

Stay tuned for more events and opportunities – and thank you to every single person who joined in June.

Whether you joined in with the dancing, picked up a whittling knife for the first time, waved a flag, shared your story, or simply stood back and made space – you helped create something truly powerful. Together, we’re not just changing parks.
We’re making space for girls – and for a better, fairer future.

From buzzing bees to fluttering butterflies, pollinators are the unsung heroes of Rowntree Park. Discover more on a fun and engaging trail presented by the Friends of Rowntree Park.

The trail is suitable for all ages, the trail features the work of local artist Emma Feneley alongside information.

Trail leaflets can be collected from the York Explore cafe in Rowntree Park for just £1.25 – please leave cash in the tin or scan the QR code by the leaflets to pay online.

Our volunteer gardeners look after several areas of the park (see the map below) and they plant for flood resilience and to help biodiversity. A range of pollinators are spotted in Rowntree Park, and you can see some of the finds, and record your own, using INaturalist App. By doing so you help us build up a clearer picture of the types of pollinators found in the park and where.

The photographs below shows some of the pollinators spotted in the park over the last couple of years.

Please considering supporting the work of our volunteers by becoming a member of the Friends of Rowntree Park from as little as £10 a year – it means a lot and only takes 2 minutes to join online:

 

If you’d like to do a one off donation to help the work of our charity – you can choose your amount using the button below:

Emma’s original art collages of pollinators will be in display in the York Explore Cafe and are available to buy. Contact Emma if interested in a specific piece – emmafeneley@gmail.com