The search for UK’s favourite parks returns for 2022

Abstract

Fields in Trust - the independent charity that has been protecting parks and green spaces for almost 100 years - has announced that its search for the UK's Favourite Parks is back this summer and is calling upon the nation to get nominating now! The hugely popular campaign has returned for the first time since 2019 and will shine a light on the green spaces that hold a special place in our hearts. Having acted as sanctuary to so many over the past few years, Fields in Trust is bringing back the campaign to find the UK's Favourite Parks to ensure that they continue to be celebrated in a post-pandemic world. The charity recently commissioned a study which found that almost half of us have visited local parks more often than we used to as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Coupled with research that has shown that access to nature was one of the main ways people have supported their mental health during lockdowns, Fields in Trust is determined that this year's campaign celebrates the spaces that we relied on. This year's UK's Favourite Parks campaign is made all-the-more important in light of the Fields in Trust's recently released annual Green Space Index report. The study - which analyses the provision and distribution of parks and green spaces in the UK - found that 2.8 million people live more than ten minutes' walk away from a green space. With only 6% of green space legally protected in Great Britain, the charity is concerned that this will only worsen in coming years if we do not appreciate and advocate for our local parks.