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What do we mean when we talk about Nature-based Solutions?

23 September 2021

When we think about green infrastructure, we are thinking about parks and open spaces, woodlands, street trees, allotments, private gardens, green roofs and walls, and sustainable drainage systems. The collection of these features into an integrated space creates multi-functional places that provide numerous benefits to society. Such as, better mental health and wellbeing, increased physical activity, reduction in urban heat, reduction in the impact and risk of flooding, carbon capture and storage, and increased investment.

We know green infrastructure has its benefits, however, can the development or enhancement of green infrastructure provide solutions to the challenges communities face now, and will face in the future. Challenges such as, climate change, disaster risk reduction, food and water security, health and wellbeing, and economic development. Nature-based solutions is a recent ‘hot topic’ in the world of parks, open spaces, and the wider environment. In a world where the need to start thinking seriously about how humans can build more symbiotic relationships with the natural world is becoming more apparent; one of the biggest questions is whether green infrastructure can provide cost-effective solutions to societal challenges, as well as providing environmental, societal and economic benefits.

The IUCN defines nature-based solutions as:

Actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural and modified ecosystems in ways that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, to provide both human well-being and biodiversity benefits. They are underpinned by benefits that flow from healthy ecosystems and target major challenges like climate change, disaster risk reduction, food and water security, health and are critical to economic development.

This broad sweeping definition of nature-based solutions encompasses a wide range of activities, so we’ve explored some of the ways in which nature-based solutions can be applied to parks and public open spaces.

Water and Flooding

Natural drainage is severely hindered by heavily built up urban areas with predominantly non-pours surface cover – such as concrete. Urban green spaces infiltrate an average 30% of rainfall compared to heavily built-up areas with little vegetation which infiltrate approximately 6%. Urban green spaces, parks and vegetation can help intercept as much as five times more rainfall, enabling direct infiltration into the more permeable soil underneath.

Nature-based solutions also include more targeted approaches to managing the risk and impact of flooding in local communities. Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are designed to manage surface water in ways that mimic the natural drainage process. These types of green infrastructure include rain gardens, swales and wetlands. A network of inter-connected SuDS integrated into grey infrastructure can not only reduce the risk and impact of flooding for local communities, but can also reduce the costs associated with infrastructure maintenance and water management.

Click here for examples of how SuDS infrastructure has been integrated into local community parks and open spaces.

Biodiversity

Urbanisation is one of the key drivers of biodiversity change, the protection and enhancement of remnant nature areas in urban environments, such as ponds and urban meadows, provide an indispensable habitat to support biodiversity. Whilst conservation is vitally important, there are a number of other approaches to supporting and enhancing biodiversity, particularly in local communities. Incorporating green infrastructure into the built environment supports significantly higher levels of biodiversity then conventional ‘grey’ infrastructure alone.

Some ideas of interventions to enhance the variety of natural life within local communities could be, for example, introducing a new mowing regime or enhancing natural wildflower meadows. This will increase the biodiversity of grassland and flower specifies in the local environment. Planting native tree species, shrubs and hedgerows will also enhance plant life biodiversity and all together provide excellent habitats for birds, pollinators and other invertebrates. Bug hotels, nest boxes, hedgehog highways will also provide welcoming environments for wildlife.

Carbon sequestration and urban heat

Vegetation sequesters carbon through photosynthesis. On average, urban parks, vegetation, green spaces and grasslands sequester 0.2kg of carbon per year per m2. The estimated value of carbon sequestration in parks and open spaces in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is £700,000 and is estimated to increase by 23% by 2031. Parks and open spaces also help cool urban heat through evaporative cooling, reflecting heat energy and shading heat absorbing surfaces. Therefore parks and open spaces store less thermal heat compared to building and road infrastructure, shade these surfaces to reduce the amount of thermal heat stored, and actively cools the surrounding environment (evaporative cooling). Due to the ‘urban heat effect’ cities experience day and nigh temperate that are, on average, 1.0 to 3.0°C warmer than the surrounding nature and agricultural landscape. Studies in the UK, Sweden, Solvenia and Rotterdam reveal an average reduction of daytime air temperatures of 2.7°C in central urban parks. This cooling effect has been shown to extend beyond park boundaries, for at least the width of the park or green space.

Society, Community, Health and Wellbeing

In addition to the benefits parks and open spaces can have on the risk and impact of flooding, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and urban heat, they also have a range of well-established benefits for health and wellbeing, quality of life, and social cohesion. Evidence suggests that social ties are stronger in greener neighbourhoods, and that natural space has an important role to play in both the attachment people have to the area they live, and their interactions with other local residents.

A rapid scoping review of the benefits of green infrastructure to people’s health and wellbeing found that people who life in neighbourhoods with greater amounts of green infrastructure tend to be happier, healthier and live longer lives. Frequent exposure to good quality green space is associated with improved mental and physical health, increase physical activity and increased connectedness to nature. However, quality and quantity of provision is important as greener environments – i.e. spaces that provide for nature as well as residents – as associated with stronger health and wellbeing outcomes.

Click here to read more about the health and wellbeing benefits of parks and public open spaces.

However, a recent report from Friends of the Earth revealed that, nationally, as many as 1 in 5 people in England ‘lose out on the benefits of quality local green space’ and that people from non-white backgrounds are more than twice as likely to live in an area deprived of green space. The fact that some of the UK’s most deprived communities often have less access to green space is not only an environmental justice issue, but also a potential barrier to realising sustainability targets. Studies in the UK have demonstrated a positive relationship between exposure to nature and pro-environmental behaviour, highlighting the importance of engaging local communities in nature-based solutions.

Nature-based solutions can also provide economic benefits through improved health and wellbeing – reducing the associated costs of treating ‘lifestyle diseases’ – reduced costs associated with climate change impacts, community revitalisation, and attracting investment. Accessible, multifunctional nature-based solutions can not only reduce costs but also spur economic growth, for example, 50% of parks visitors will also visit a local business before or after visiting a park.

Delivering multiple benefits

This article has sought to demonstrate the multiple benefits of nature-based solutions in parks and open space, and whilst the examples have focused on particular themes these benefits should not be considered in isolation. Principally, a nature-based solutions approach seeks to use green infrastructure to sustainably overcome a variety of environmental, social and economic challenges. This in turn requires us to view parks and open spaces as multi-functional spaces that have the potential to deliver multiple benefits.

The novelty of nature-based solutions for cities lies in a focus on the cost-effective provision of multiple co-benefits for many urban residents

Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change in the UK: A report by the British Ecological Society

For instance, an inter-connected sustainable drainage system, integrated into ‘grey’ infrastructure is capable of delivering social, environmental and economic benefits to the local community. The infrastructure provides social benefits by reducing the risk and impact of flooding and provides a service to the local community as an adaptive measure to the risks of climate change. Sustainable drainage systems also provide biodiversity services providing habitats for a variety of plant and wildlife species. Finally, sustainable drainage systems reduce the costs associated with incidence of flooding, and reduce the cost of infrastructure maintenance and water management thus providing an economic service as well.

To summaries nature-based solutions can take a variety of forms and serve a variety of functions. It would be impossible to prescribe a one size fits all approach to maximising the potential benefits of green infrastructure in local communities. The potential applicability of nature-based solutions varies and will depend on the opportunities and challenges present in a particular locality. However, there is huge potential to be gained for integrating a nature-based solutions mindset to addressing some of the most challenging problems we face in the 21st century.

If you are interested in taking a much deeper dive into nature-based solutions, there are a wide variety of resources to draw from. The Greater Manchester IGNITION project for example has collated an exceptionally comprehensive database of resources. The IGNITION project aims to develop business models and funding mechanisms to demonstrate the case for further investment in nature-based solutions. By collating evidence of the potential economic, environmental and social benefits of green infrastructure, this can form a solid foundation for a robust business case for investment in nature-based solutions.

We have also provided a list of resources that we referred to when putting this article together:

British Ecological Society (2021) Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change in the UK: A report by the British Ecological Society

The IGNITION Project (2020) IGNITION Nature-based Solutions Evidence Base Headline Findings Report

Natural England (2020) A Rapid Scoping Review of Health and Wellbeing Evidence for the Framework of Green Infrastructure Standards

Biodiversity Toolkit for Housing Providers

Complete list of references

Stafford, R., Chamberlain, B., Clavey, L.,Gillingham, P.K., McKain, S., Morecroft, M.D.,Morrison-Bell, C. and Watts, O. (Eds.) (2021). Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change in the UK: A Report by the British Ecological Society. London, UK. Available at: www.britishecologicalsociety.org/nature-based-solutions

Chapter 8 ‘Nature-based Solutions and the Built Environment’ Authors: M. W., Cadotte, E., Bader, B., Chamberlain, M. A., Gaddard, J. S., MacIvor

Dr R., Morrison and S., Hartley (July 2020) IGNITION Nature-Based Solutions Evidence Base Headline Findings Report

Lovell, R., White, M.P., Wheeler, B., Taylor, T., Elliott, L. (2020) A rapid scoping review of health and wellbeing evidence for the Green Infrastructure Standards. European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School. For: Natural England, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public Health England, and Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, England.

Botham, M.S, Howell, K.A., Kerans, J., Pescott, O. L., Roy, H. R., Barnett-Warden, E.L., Scott, I., Szczerba, P., Vince, J., P., Boydell, M., Cartwright, S., Hunt, T., and Peyton, J. M. (2020). Biodiversity Toolkit for Housing Providers. Field Studies Council Publications, Telford. https://doi.org/10.6084m9.figshare.14061959.v1

Flood Risk Mitigation in Parks and Public Open Spaces

22 September 2021

Natural capital describes features of the natural environment that provides valuable goods and services to people such as flood risk mitigation, carbon capture and natural woodland, which has valuable benefits for people and the environment. There are many ‘assets’ that make up the natural capital which deliver value for people including soils, wetlands, urban greenspaces and hedgerows. Check out our Jargon Buster to find out more about Natural Capital. There is increasing evidence of the successful use of parks and public open spaces “assets” to fulfil services such as flood risk mitigation in local communities. Here are but a few examples.

Natural flood mitigation features, such as floodplains, are seen as an important natural capital asset as they deliver a wide range of benefits to people. They regulate flood events by providing space outside of the river channel for flood water to occupy, they store carbon deep into their soil and support large amount of biodiversity. Great examples can be found in the Chimney Meadows National Nature Reserve, the North Meadow National Nature Reserve, and the Nene Valley Nature Improvement Area.

Flood risk is a combination of the probability and the potential consequences of flooding. The probability of flood events tend to be described as 1 in 50-year to 1 in 100-year events. A 1 in 50-year flood has a 2% probably of occurring in any one year. The consequences of a flood depends on 2 factors, exposure, and vulnerability. The consequences of a flood will be less severe in an areas with very few people who are able to evacuate quickly and easily, whereas flooding in an area with lots of people who have difficulty with evacuation is likely to have more serious consequences.

Sustainable drainage system (SuDS) are used to mitigate and manage the risks of flooding by managing rainfall through the replication of the natural process. SuDS prevent many problems cause by surface water runoff from development sites and reduce the of large among of water flow. SuDS manage the flooding and pollution aspects of drainable and ensure that the community and wildlife are considered in the design. They delivery efficiently and effectively across four different criteria:

Quantity (reduce the risk of erosion and flooding)
Quality (prevent and treat pollution)
Amenity (provide visual and community benefits)
Biodiversity (enhance and create habitats for wildlife)

The following case studies below provide an evidence base to support the implementation of SuDS and the multiple use benefits parks and open spaces can provide:

Lamb Drive, Cambourne

As part of the FLOWS project (Living with Flood Risk in a Changing Climate), Lamb Drive development, a residential development with 35 houses on a 2.5 hectare site, integrated a number of SuDS features into the development design. The aim of the site was to show how SuDS are a practical and innovative sustainable water management technique on a new development and how to incorporate SuDS and property flood resilience and resistance. The development built swales – a series of shallow open channels which slow down the flow of water and make sure that the water continues to be treated – to contain the majority of access water from the site. The also built ‘detention basins’ which are depressions in areas of open space to help flow the water runoff rate and temporarily store water on a short-term basis during extreme events. Finally, bicycle sheds were fitted with green roofs, again to reduce and treat runoff. The impact was a significant reduction in peak flows of water, improved quality of water discharge from the nature filtration, and greater biodiversity. In addition, the capital and maintenance costs were much lower compared to the cost of conventional pipe drainage, the open spaces around homes was valued more highly where SuDS features were present, and the features added to the visual quality of the development, which residents appreciated and said added value to the development.

Red Hell Primary School, Worcester

Another example is Red Hill Primary School, Worcester. The school site is 2 hectares in size and is bounded by a road, railway line and domestic gardens. There is also a small woodland area on the northern boundary. With the new SuDS design, including a detention basin and swale maze, the runoff would go into a new storm sewer. The woodland and detention basin create sufficient storage space for excess water. The swale maze built between the trees created an amenity feature and delivered water to trees. Run-off water from the car park is treated via permeable paving, which stores and sufficiently treats water. Swales, filter strips, and basins all act to treat the water before releasing it to the wildlife pond then the storm sewer. Finally, the pupils could enjoy playing in the swales maze and learning about how SuDS drain sites work.

Overall, we can see sustainable drainage features can not only deal with drainage solutions on a development site, but they can also bring benefits to the communities that they are build in, and the open spaces available to them. They also bring an education element, which can help explain the benefits of these systems to future generations and how they can help the environment in different ways. SuDS reduce flood risk, improve water quality, and increase community engagement, biodiversity and green spaces whilst protecting society from the cost and disruption of flooding.

Guest Author: Olivia Jones

We would like to thank Olivia Jones, Cambridgeshire County Council Flood Risk Trainee, who briefly joined the Future Parks team as part of her trainee programme and produced for us this article.

We asked residents what they think about their local parks and open spaces

31 August 2021

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks have been working alongside project partners Futurebright Solutions to explore aspirations of green space provision among residents of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Through desk-based research, focus groups with local communities, a survey, and engagement with Community Connectors, housing boards, the LNP Developing with Nature Forum and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Community Resilience Group; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks investigated how residents in new communities use and value their local parks and green open spaces which were created as part of the development that they live in. We asked the residents from three new communities what they thought of their local parks and open spaces, these included: Hampton Vale in Peterborough, Northstowe in South Cambridgeshire; Trumptington Meandows and the Southern Fridge in Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire. Follow this link to access the full report.

Here are the highlights of some of our findings:

Residents enjoyed a wide range of activities in their parks and open spaces. The most popular activities were exercising, relaxing, spending time with children and families, socialising and spending time with friends, and spending time in nature. Few residents said they currently volunteer in their local park or open space (10%). However, 37% said they were interested in joining a local volunteer group, and 17% said they would be interested in setting up a volunteer group.

Overwhelmingly, the reasons some people didn’t visit their local parks and open spaces was because ‘there is nothing there for me’ (24%). So we asked residents what they thought the most important features a local community park or green open space should have.

Spaces that were well-maintained – i.e. clean, tidy and safe – were high on peoples agenda and was a recurring feature residents said was important. When asked about their current use of parks and open spaces, only 6% of people said they don’t visit their local parks or green spaces because they were poorly maintained, and only 4% said they don’t feel safe in their local parks or open spaces. This suggests that, for the communities sampled, parks and open spaces are generally perceived as safe, pleasant spaces to be. However, maintaining parks and open spaces to a high quality and ensuring they are safe spaces for communities to enjoy is high on peoples agenda and should be treated as such.

Some of the most common responses highlighted that the most important feature for a local community park or open spaces is that these spaces are inclusive and accessible spaces that cater to the needs of the community. Some people responded that parks and green open spaces must be accessible for people with different mobility needs. Including paths that were well-maintained and plenty of spaces for people with limited mobility to sit.

Many people also said that parks and open spaces must be accessible for the whole community, and that these spaces should offer a diverse range of services for all ages, abilities and interests. For example, play facilities that cater to children as they develop through adolescence, and facilities for adults and teenagers – such as social spaces, cafes in places where parents and carers can keep an eye on younger children, nice walks, and quieter spaces where people can enjoy a little solitude and peace.

Another feature that came across strongly from residents was for parks and open spaces to be more spacious. References to ‘space,’ ‘enough space,’ ‘open space,’ and for parks to be ‘bigger’ were common.

The breadth of suggestions for spaces that are both accessible, inclusive, and inviting for members of the community came across strongly from respondents. There is clearly more to be done to provide multi-functional spaces that offer something for everyone. Our findings are testament to the diverse potential of parks and open spaces to serve local communities.

Finally, residents recognised that their parks and open spaces must not only serve them, but also provide services to nature. The importance of nature and wildlife came through strongly in the survey and as part of wider focus groups discussions. Any many residents highlighted that the preservation and enhancement of nature in parks and open spaces where an important feature to them.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks Love Parks Conference

30 July 2021

On Wednesday 14th July, attendees joined us for our Love Parks Conference to highlight the importance of parks and open spaces for communities, for nature and for health and wellbeing and showcase some of the fantastic projects and activities happening in parks and open spaces across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Working together to improve health and wellbeing

7 June 2021

On Tuesday 11th May Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future parks hosted a Health and Wellbeing Workshop, delivered in collaboration with project partners Futurebright Solutions. The aspirations of the workshop were to bring representatives from a wide range of sectors together to explore opportunities to improve health and wellbeing in parks and green open spaces.

Over 60 people attended from a wide range of backgrounds including representatives from the health sector, voluntary sector, environment sector and parks sector. After a brief introduction from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks team and a guest presentation from Naturally Birmingham, attendees were invited to share their thoughts on the opportunities for strategic collaboration between parks and health professionals.

The big question of the day was how can we work collectively to use our parks and open spaces to support improved health, wellbeing, and quality of life?

There was strong consensus among the group that the key to collectively delivering health and wellbeing activities in parks and open spaces was as a joined-up network of practitioners from the health, voluntary, and environment / parks sector. In the first instance, attendees proposed the development of a network or forum to bring all interested parties together to share opportunities, knowledge, good practice, and learning. Building a network would also enable the collaborative group to develop a strategic health and wellbeing offer, using parks and green spaces as a ‘hub for delivery,’ and create a space to explore joint-funding opportunities.

“workshops like this one really help to bring people together and improve communication between health and parks”

– Workshop participant

Sharing information and opportunities would also help raise awareness of what activities in parks are currently available and enable partners to sign-post people to opportunities suitable for them. Attendees wanted to take this idea further and proposed a public facing ‘portal’ that residents and practitioners can use to find their local park or green space, the facilities, groups, and activities the are available, and who their main point of contact would be.

The group highlighted that, for a collective approach to delivering health and wellbeing benefits in parks to be successful, the network must secure buy-in from those working on the ground in the health sector, such as GPs and health surgeries, the community and voluntary sector, and grass roots organisations, all of whom are a key link to local communities. Community, voluntary, and grass roots organisations are key contacts who can identify where there is need to develop initiatives, feedback information to local communities, and raise awareness. Attendees also highlighted the need to communicate the importance of parks and open spaces for people’s health and wellbeing to key decision makers, local elected members and representatives from the combined authority.

Following on from our health and wellbeing workshop, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks team are exploring the opportunities to support, collaborate, or accelerate existing work across the county, building best practice examples and working to better understand how these can be brought to a county wide scale. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks team have also commissioned a public facing map of the county’s parks and public open spaces and are exploring the potential to broaden the scope of this map, over the longer term, to include a catalogue of volunteer, community groups and other activities active in people’s local parks and open spaces.

Tell us about your local community parks and green open spaces

1 June 2021

Do you live in Trumpington Meadows, Southern Fringe, Northstowe or Hampton Vale? If so, the Future Parks team would love to hear from you about how you use your local community parks and green open spaces.

Please take five minutes to complete our survey and you will be entered into a £100 prize draw.

Please follow this link to complete the survey. If you would prefer the survey is posted to you, please call 07860 104223.

We are also holding local focus groups with residents and community groups. If you are interested in joining one of these at the end of June please email info@futurebrightsolutions.co.uk who are running the survey and focus groups on behalf of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks.

Find out more information about the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks Project, or contact us at FutureParks@Cambridgeshire.gov.uk if you have any questions

Making the most of our parks for our health

28 May 2021

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have sought refuge in their local parks and green spaces as part of their daily permitted exercise, as spaces to safely meet friends and loved ones, and for children to play. Research is beginning to show that people who live in neighbourhoods with greater amounts of green infrastructure tend to be happier, healthier and live longer lives, and some studies have found that as little as 2 hours a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. That’s less than 20 minutes every day!

However, you may now be asking yourself what can I do in my local park or green space that counts towards my 20 minutes a day? Well, this could be as simple as taking a short walk every day round your local park or green open space. Many of us on the Future Parks team make sure to go for a walk round our local park straight after work to stretch our legs after a long day. Some colleagues prefer to break up the working day with a quick jog round their local park during their lunch break. Although, for those who prefer a more relaxed lunch break, try taking your lunch outside into the sunshine and have a mini picnik.

For the avid gym goers among our readers, there are a wide variety of activities you can do outdoors to keep fit, from running, sports, to making use of your local outdoor gym facilities and gym classes such as body exercises, yoga, Thai Chi. If you are looking to try something new, meet new people, and spend more time outdoors, it is worth finding out more about your local volunteering opportunities, events and activities, local walkers or ramblers clubs, or community gardens.

For the nature lovers out there, some studies have shown that connectedness to nature is linked with a more positive mood and increased life satisfaction and wellbeing. Connectedness to nature is a sensory experience and initially sounds like it might be difficult, but simply listening to bird song, noticing nature, your local wildlife and their habitats is enough to start feeling more connected to your natural surroundings.

There are just a few ideas you can use to spend more time in your local green space. The mental health charity Mind has even more ideas and tips you can use to bring yourself closer to nature, not just in your local park, but also in your garden and even inside your home.

At Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks, we want to learn more about the activities, events and groups active in local parks and green spaces across the county to help people access their local green space and find out more about what they can do there. To help us keep up to date with some of the fantastic activities and opportunities in your local parks and open spaces, please follow us on twitter @CPFutureParks!

Future Parks for Health and Wellbeing

28 May 2021

For many people, since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, our parks and open green spaces have become sanctuaries to escape the same four walls and the stresses and strains of the ‘new normal.’ It is, therefore, not surprising that we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people visiting their parks and public open spaces across the country and an increased interest in exploring the benefits of parks and green open spaces on our health and wellbeing.

Among the UK’s general public, a recent survey, by Natural England found that 82% of people either ‘agreed’, ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘completely agreed’ that being in nature makes them feel happy. The survey also found that 42% of people said that, since the coronavirus restrictions began, they have spent more time being outdoors. 30% of people said that they have spent more time noticing nature and wildlife, 20% said they spend more time connecting with family and friends outdoors, and 31% spent more time exercising outdoors.

These trends are encouraging, given the emerging evidence of the positive impacts of access to green spaces on people’s health and wellbeing. A recent rapid scoping review of the benefits of green infrastructure to people’s health and wellbeing found that people who live in neighbourhoods with greater amounts of green infrastructure tend to be happier, healthier and live longer lives.

For people’s physical health, frequent visits to green spaces is associated with a healthier bodyweight and more positive obesity-related health indicators, as well as better heart rates, blood pressure, cholesterol, stress levels and self-assessed general health. Frequent exposure to green spaces is also generally associated with improved mental health and wellbeing in both adults and children: reducing stress levels and increasing life satisfaction. There is also some evidence suggesting that green space access can complement mental health recovery and help people recover from illness, injury, and poor health.

We see these positive changes because access to green spaces provides an enables increased physical activity, recreation and connectedness to nature. For example, providing spaces for different types of outdoor activities is associated with improvements in self-competence and learning, a sense of escapism, relaxation, and improved social bonding with friends and family. Enabling people to connect with their friends and family in green spaces also reduces social isolation, and is linked with perceptions of greater social cohesion within the local community (providing the space is well managed).

In term of green space provision, generally, greener environments – spaces that provide for nature and for residents – are associated with stronger health and wellbeing outcomes. The quality of provision is also important, because well-maintained green spaces are likely to result in even better health and wellbeing outcomes. When we say ‘well-maintained’ we know this can mean different things to different people. Strong and meaningful community engagement with respect to the perceived quality of green space is very important, as perceptions of what quality green space actually is will vary depending on the local community.

In order to maximise the benefits of green space for health and wellbeing, people need to be able to regularly access their local green space, ideally, within close proximity to their home or place of work. However, the amount of time spent in green spaces, in order to experience their benefit, does not have to be substantial. Some studies have found that as little as 2 hours a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. This is less than 20 minutes every day.

Whilst the pandemic has made us more appreciative of the spaces we have, it has also highlighted the extent to which access to our parks and green spaces is uneven. Studies have shown that all social groups are likely to benefit from frequent access to green space, however, disadvantaged groups, and those living in economically deprived areas, appear to experience greater physical and mental health benefits from frequent access to green space, compared to less disadvantaged groups.

Nevertheless, a recent report from Friends of the Earth revealed that, nationally, as many as 1 in 5 people in England ‘lose out on the benefits of quality local green space’ and that people from a non-white backgrounds are more than twice as likely to live in an area deprived of green space. What’s more, evidence suggests that green infrastructure provision tends to be poorer quality in more socially and economically disadvantaged areas.

To fully understand where access to green open space is not fit for purpose for local communities, and their residents, strong meaningful community engagement is needed and a good understanding of the needs and desires of local communities. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks are working with project partners across the county to identify, accelerate and support projects aiming to put this research into practice and support people to improve their health and wellbeing in green spaces. If you would like to get involved please contact us at FutureParks@Cambridgeshire.gov.uk

For a more comprehensive report on the benefits of green infrastructure for health and wellbeing please refer to Natural England’s report ‘A rapid scoping review of health and wellbeing evidence for the Framework of Green Infrastructure Standards‘.

Events: Parks, health and wellbeing

7 May 2021

There already exists a strong evidence base showing the importance of green open space for people’s health and wellbeing. The CPFP Health and Wellbeing workshop on Tuesday 11 May aims to investigate how we can work together to ensure that access to green space is recognised as a key part of a sustainable green recovery. We have invited a wide range of stakeholders to start building relationships and develop some initial ideas for collaboration to take forward. If you would like to attend this workshop, please follow this link to register.

Future Parks towards a green recovery

4 May 2021

Our parks and open spaces have played a critical role in people’s lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, during the first national lockdown, a survey conducted by Natural Cambridgeshire found that 51% of people living in Cambridgeshire visited their local parks or open access spaces more often than before. A year on, and we are still seeing the same trends on a national scale. The latest research from the Natural England People and Nature Survey reveals that since the COVID-19 restrictions began nationally:

37% of people said they spend more time outside than before the pandemic
32% of people said they spend more time exercising outdoors
26% of people said they spend more time noticing nature and wildlife
18% of people said they spend more time connecting with family and friends outdoors

COVID-19 has highlighted just now important our parks and open space are. Not just as places to visit and enjoy but also to our general physical and mental health. As part of the project co-design phase, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks are working with engagement experts Futurebright Solutions to understand the needs and opportunities for collaborative working around health and wellbeing, COVID-19, and health inequalities and how this work can be taken forward as part of a green recovery response.