Gillespie Park:
Islington's best kept secret

Welcome

We're the Friends of Gillespie Park

We are a group of volunteers dedicated to protecting and enhancing Gillespie Park, a Local Nature Reserve in Islington, North London. Here you will find details of our events including the annual Apple Day, along with ways to get involved, the plants and animals found within the park, and a history of the park and Ecology Centre.

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Gillespie Park has had a fascinating and turbulent journey to the beautiful park that is found today. There have been many campaigns to save the park for the local community and time has seen the park change and develop from being a wild, semi-industrial wasteland to a mosaic of different habitats filled with a wide variety of plants and animals.

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Gillespie Park is a natural Wildlife Park and Nature Reserve in Highbury, North London. It is an example of an effort to provide new green space in an urban area which has one of the smallest green space per capita ratios in Great Britain. It is a sanctuary for local residents and has been an educational resource for local schools since its inception. Its development highlights both the support and the conflicts between residents and other interested parties.