The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Future Parks Team, and consultants Natural Capital Solutions, have finished hosting a three part workshop series to explore how mapping Natural Capital across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough could help decision makers better understand the benefits of parks and green spaces and the wider landscape. Including the potential to deliver a range of social and environmental benefits for local communities.

The first workshop in this series, was an introduction to Natural Capital Accounting and the range of potential benefits (or ecosystems services) provided by parks and the wider landscape. It enabled participants to probe and explore the underlying data and maps so the maps can be best developed to reflect local circumstances.

The second workshop focused on the health and wellbeing agenda, including the opportunities and challenges for parks to help tackle health inequalities and promote wellbeing. A health and wellbeing matrix was overlaid onto the Natural Capital Map and the combined opportunities available were reviewed. The idea of creating a single matrix used to capture key information via an Environmental Justice Index (similar to Birmingham City Council project), was also explored. Participants voted on the most important datasets to include when setting health and wellbeing prioritises, as well as identifying key areas across the county that experience health and wellbeing challenges.

The third and final workshop focused on the opportunities and challenges for parks in relation to growth and development and where parks could provide multiple benefit. The workshop reviewed how the Natural Capital Maps can be used in strategic planning (Local Nature Recovery Plans, GI strategies etc) and the opportunities overlaid on the site allocation for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. After this review, participants explored the key challenges and opportunities Natural Capital Map have on the growth agenda.

The overall outcomes of these workshops will now be reviewed by the FPA Team and partners to explore how to best implement the social and environmental benefits for the county.

If you were unable to attend any of these workshops, you can still view the presentations by using the navigation bar select which recording you would like to view