Remember Our Green Spaces After Isolation
It’s accurate to say that the United Kingdom is a beautiful country. From our rolling hills to our beautiful beaches, we have a landscape to be proud of.
However, there is part of our home which, prior to COVID-19 and lockdown, seemed to be becoming more forgotten: our green spaces. Green spaces are any ‘vegetated land or water within an urban area’ including parks, community gardens, woods, children’s playgrounds, allotments, etc. Where people used to spend their weekends in cities or shopping, people are now looking to get fresh air after being stuck isolation.
As a crucial part of our urban landscape, these types of spaces improve the overall health and well-being of their communities. The European Centre for Environment and Health at the University of Exeter have investigated the effect of green spaces on communities, finding that they had a significantly positive impact on people. Acting as areas for children to be physically active, adults to socialise and improve the overall mental wellbeing of the community. Green spaces are a fundamental part of our society’s future, not merely for the benefits they bring to health and well-being but to increasing and sustaining the biodiversity of a particular landscape.
However a recent study, the Green Space Index, completed by Fields in Trust found that a growing number of people faced communities without ‘green spaces’. In fact, 2.5 million people lived at least ten or more minutes away from their nearest green space.
As our country develops and grows there’s an increasing need to protect such areas from the intrusion of industry. Currently, a mere 6% of green spaces are protected and the Fields in Trust organisation believes the Green Space Index should be considered a warning for what could potentially occur in future. Each person has as little as half a six-yard of green space and without stronger initiatives, such spaces will not continue to be sustained.
As our lockdown continues for the inevitable future, suddenly people are desperate to get out into our green spaces and appreciate the parks, fields and gardens for that hour of exercise (and really we shouldn’t be going out to these spaces because of social distancing). However, will this enthusiasm for the outdoors continue, when lockdown is over will people be as eager to be out in our green spaces and landscapes. We must consider the future of our urban communities and the place which green spaces have within them.
Of course, there is hope. Strategies and projects are frequently launched with the goal to improve the urban environment. The Green Flag award, for example, had merely 487 areas holding their award in 2008/2009, however, a decade later that has increased to 1’963 — showing a drastic increase in the interest and dedication given to our environment.
It is our role to continue such momentum with a renewed determination after lockdown is done. Green spaces should be seen by our society as an opportunity to become more sustainable, using allotments and community gardens to grow and yield the benefits of our own produce. Rather than crumble under financial and development pressures, we should rise to the challenge utilising the area we have.
The benefits green spaces bring are worth every ounce of time and money invested in them, now and in the future.
Sources
Check out official Green Flag Awarded Green Spaces near you via: http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/award-winners/
The National Archives: 20 Facts About Urban Green Spaces https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118110335/http://www.cabe.org.uk/publications/urban-green-nation/facts
The National Archives: Green Spaces Strategy https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118142343/http:/www.cabe.org.uk/files/green-space-strategies.pdf
UK Government: Public Health Matters Blog https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2016/11/09/green-space-mental-wellbeing-and-sustainable-communities/
BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48398033
