Aviva Community Fund provided £2,221 of match funding
Transforming access to parks and nature
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Transforming park access for the 200,000 local people shut out
The problem
- Imagine strapping your child's wheelchair to your back and carrying your child through the park, and enduring the pain because the benefits of being outdoors outweighed the agony (real feedback from our research)
- Imagine if you couldn't take your child to their friend's birthday picnic.
- Imagine if you had to walk or wheel an extra mile around a park on your daily commute.
This is the reality for millions. This reality means millions are unable to use parks and enjoy their physical and mental health benefits, let alone fight the environmental emergency. The majority of the 580 parks and green spaces across Bristol and Bath are not inclusively designed – this means accessing them can be especially difficult for specific communities.
Parks are good for everyone’s health. People who grow up with little green space nearby have a 55% increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders. Defra says the NHS could save £2.1 billion per year if everyone regularly used parks.
Parks are not a statutory service. Public park budgets have reduced by 50% over the last 10 years and action to save them is not being taken. Their future is in our hands.
With cost-of-living, mental health and global environmental emergencies, it’s a no-brainer that more people need to access parks, which are free to enjoy and transformational for health and nature.
Let's Reimagine Parks
So let’s Reimagine Parks for the 1 in 3 local people who cannot access them - that’s 200,000 people in Bristol and Bath confined to concrete.
We will enable the following groups to better access green space and benefit:
- Disabled people
- unpaid carers
- women and girls
- minority ethnic groups
- people in low-income/disadvantaged areas.
What we will achieve with your support
1. Start building two exemplar parks - for 200,000 local people
These parks will set an example whilst enabling more people - including whole families - to enjoy outdoor recreation, play and connect. We have secured part funding and urgently need additional money to help complete the work:
- Hartcliffe Millennium Green will be the first park designed by and accessible for Disabled people with all impairments.
- Brickfields Park will be an exemplar park designed by and for women and girls, with safety in mind.
2. Host more in nature mental health sessions - for 500 people each year
Roots to Wellbeing provides in nature therapy sessions for people with mental health conditions. Many people come to us, unable to access our leading, unique therapy because they are in work or studying.
We will expand the Roots to Wellbeing programme to provide regular out of hours activities, for 200 adults in employment and young people in full time education. After taking part now, 91% of people feel happier.
3. Launch a programme of accessible activities - for 2,000 people each year
Physical activities will include sensory walks/wheels, supported play sessions, family activities and accessible gardening in:
- Bath: Sydney Gardens, Royal Victoria Park, Brickfields Park and Alice Park.
- Bristol: Eastville Park, Hartcliffe Millennium Green, Withywood Park, Willmott Park, Stockwood Open Space, Blaise Castle Estate and Ashton Court.
The activities will support people when using new parks for the first time. This will remove the stress of planning and help people visit again unsupported. We will train new Disabled guides to deliver their own activities, reaching more people and passing the baton to the community.
4. Introduce natural habitats to over 40 inner city parks - for 2,000 people each year
Your gift will help us continue our open community gardening sessions multiple times weekly with under-represented communities. Your support will enable us to redesign these activities for specific impairments and include:
- planting spring bulbs
- creating wildflower meadows
- planting trees
- building bird boxes
- managing invasive species
- planting and maintaining new beds for pollinators.
Your donations, doubled
Thanks to the Aviva Community Fund, all donations up £250 will be doubled at no extra cost to you. This gives us double the opportunity to enable more people to access and benefit from nature in parks.
- Just £10 doubled to £20 could build a raised planter so wheelchair users can get involved with urban gardening.
- £25 doubled to £50 could help fund a supported play session enabling a whole family affected by disability to enjoy time in the park and not worry about their child's safety.
- £100 doubled to £200 could fund a sensory walk for Disabled people and carers to ID nature and connect.
The difference you will make
With your support we will build upon our existing work. Over the last five years:
- 85% of people we supported feel more able to access parks
- 87% understand about how to make a difference to the environment
- 91% feel happier through accessing and connecting with nature and parks
- 92% feel a greater sense of belonging in their community
- More than 200
0 species thrive per habitat created, ranging from the most efficient pollinators hover flies, to birds and bats.
You can read more about our impact here.
Other ways to support the campaign
- If you would like to restrict your gift to a particular aspect of the campaign, please pledge then drop us a line on [email protected] to let us know your preferences.
- If you would like to pledge offline, please email [email protected].
- If your organisation would like to get involved, we have a number of mutually beneficial opportunities. Please get in touch on [email protected].
- If you would like to share your story or become an Ambassador, please email [email protected].
- If you would like to contact us about the campaign specifics, please do so on [email protected].
This project successfully funded on 21st June 2024