Join us at Groundwork East, and let’s make green spaces great again.
Our local environments matter – the natural environment is essential to the success of our planet, to those who live here and to future generations. Creating and protecting spaces that mitigate against the impacts of climate change requires a combination of central and local government, businesses and communities all working closely together now.
We work to ensure that local people can influence decisions that affect them. As a result, local people respect, care for and appreciate spaces for years to come.
We do this by helping people of all ages to protect, preserve and improve spaces that matter to them; from community parks, to river catchments to local allotments. Our landscape architects work with communities and landowners to introduce specialist solutions which reduce flooding, improve air quality and restore rivers to their natural form.
Green infrastructure, like parks and street trees, is vital to adapting to the impact of climate change, including rising temperatures and more extreme weather events. Which is why our team of Landscape Architects are committed to creating sustainable designs. From installing sustainable urban drainage systems, to including plants for pollinators and insects in their plans, and recommending carbon consuming trees, our team is dedicated to reducing the region’s impact on the environment, one design at a time.
The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world and 41% of species have decreased in abundance since 1970. So, our community engagement teams are running projects that help solidify rivers within their communities, to ensure we protect the health of the rivers and the species within them. In Watford we’re running Rediscovering the River Colne and in Luton we’re part of the Luton Lea Catchment Partnership. Both schemes bring the rivers back to the heart of the communities they’re in, teaching local people how to care for the habitats, how to monitor their health, and how to use the spaces around them for their own wellbeing but without having a negative impact on the natural environment.
Climate change has made extreme weather events 59% more likely and 1.8 million people are living in areas at significant risk of flooding. So our Yellow Fish project remains as important as ever. Our community team is helping people across the region to understand how their actions impact their local rivers and drainage systems. By raising awareness of the issues the sewage and drainage has, and what communities can do to combat these problems, helps to prevent flooding occurring.
In response to the challenge presented by COP26 we’re asking for central and local government, businesses, landowners and communities to work together more closely to introduce more natural solutions to landscape management.
Greening towns and cities is a vital part of helping nature recover, do you think your organisation could help us to do this, or to reach those most in need? If so, let’s take action together to make green spaces great again, and reconnect communities with nature. Get in touch on east@groundwork.org.uk, or fill out this form for a call-back.