Natural England has found that around 9 in 10 people believe natural environments have a positive impact on their mental wellbeing, with over 40% feeling coronavirus restrictions have made them even more important[1]. To support the preservation of green spaces, Keep Britain Tidy is running its annual Love Parks Week from Friday 23rd July until Sunday 1st August this year. Members of the public, landowners and local authorities are encouraged to join forces to love, respect and protect Britain’s parks.
WHY DO PARKS NEED OUR HELP?
Parks up and down the country are undervalued by the communities they serve, leading to underfunding and poor maintenance. During lockdowns, parks have become a blessing for many, but they have also been subjected to increased levels of misuse. Keep Britain Tidy reported that, on average, local authorities collected an extra 57 tonnes of litter from green spaces during the first lockdown[2]! It is more important than ever that parks are supported and maintained.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
During Love Parks Week, we are all encouraged to love, respect and protect our nation’s parks. There are many ways that you can do this all year round. To keep areas clean for other users and wildlife, take your litter home with you, avoid harming or disturbing wildlife and only use BBQs in permitted areas to avoid fires.
Love Parks Week is all about maintaining healthy and well-funded parks that are free from litter. In order to achieve this, Keep Britain Tidy has created the Parks and Green Spaces All-Party Parliamentary Group where MPs can focus on preserving these spaces. We are all encouraged to write to our MPs to emphasise the importance of our local green spaces and to ask them to join the group.
Throughout the week, some local authorities are even hosting events to celebrate. To see what is happening near you, contact your local park or search for #LoveParks on social media.
WE LOVE OUR PARKS!
At Rendall & Rittner, we understand the benefits of open green spaces, both for the communities surrounding them and for maintaining local biodiversity. To celebrate Love Parks Week, we thought we would showcase some of the parklands that we maintain at the sites we manage.
Bentley Priory in Stanmore
The award-winning development at Bentley Priory shares its name with the stunning nature reserve that it is next to. Originally the land formed part of the estates of a 13th century Augustinian house, which was divided up and sold in 1926. Today, the Bentley Priory Nature Reserve comprises nearly 70 hectares of ancient woodland and scrub, as well as areas of wetland and grassland. Within Greater London, this is particularly unusual mixture of habitats, making the area even more special.
Imperial Wharf in Fulham
Imperial Wharf benefits from its close proximity to Imperial Park, which has to be one of the most peaceful gardens in the capital! Filled with stunning flowerbeds, carefully maintained lawns and tree-lined avenues, this 10-acre park is well-loved by our team. Imperial Park is also well-designed to meet the needs of the community with a boating pond and a play area for those looking for fun, as well as serene themed gardens filled with an array of plants and foliage for those looking for a place to unwind.
Kidbrooke Village in Greenwich
Kidbrooke Village is set inside 136 acres of green and open spaces, including Cator Park, winner of the ‘Sir David Attenborough Award for Enhancing Biodiversity’ in 2020. Here, we work with the London Wildlife Trust to protect wildlife at the site, by providing a variety of suitable habitats. The parkland areas are also perfect for staging communal events to bring the Kidbrooke Village community closer together.
To find out more about our property management services here.
[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/howhaslockdownchangedourrelationshipwithnature/2021-04-26
[2] https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/support-our-campaigns/love-parks-week
Posted: 21 July 2021
