NEWS: Groundwork joins Nature for Everyone campaign
Today, Groundwork joins over 60 organisations concerned with nature, planning, health and equality to call for a ‘legal right to nature’ to form a core part of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda, to ensure that everyone across the UK can enjoy the benefits of accessing green and blue spaces.
To do this, the campaign is asking that the government:
- Make equal access to nature a core test of levelling up
- Set legal duties in the Levelling Up Bill for developers and public bodies to provide access to nature-rich green spaces for everyone
- Provide funding for locally-accessible nature-rich spaces by extending the Levelling Up Fund to green infrastructure projects
Access to nature is incredibly important for both individuals and communities. A 2021 report by Groundwork, alongside 23 other organisations, detailed the large inequalities across the UK regarding access to nature. Findings included that 2.69 million people do not live within a 10-minute walk of a green space and Black people are almost four times more likely to not have access to a private or shared garden.
The Nature for Everyone campaign intends to address this, ensuring everyone can enjoy the benefits of green and blue spaces.
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork UK’s Chief Executive, said:
At Groundwork, we know the transformative power that bringing nature into towns and cities has on communities and individuals. More and better green space will help us tackle health inequalities, make our neighbourhoods safer and our communities stronger. But all too often, the people who would benefit most from spending time in green spaces find it hardest to access them. Addressing these inequalities must be an integral part of how Government delivers its ‘levelling up’ commitments.
Find out more about the campaign on website and sign the petition.