4 September 2022
Green space charity Fields in Trust is calling on residents to support work with Liverpool City Council to protect the city’s parks forever. A new campaign, launched on 3 October 2022, showcases the role of green spaces in making lifelong memories and their value to communities. A series of short films shot in parks across Liverpool share heart-warming and inspiring stories of the memories which are made in our green spaces. Four films – featuring memories made in Calderstones Park, Otterspool Park, Sefton Park and Walton Hall Park are now available on the Fields in Trust website. Local people are urged to get involved with the campaign, share their park memories and support Fields in Trust’s work to protect their parks forever.
Liverpool City Council has made a first-of-its-kind commitment to protect all their parks and green spaces forever with Fields in Trust. This will ensure that 100 parks, covering over 1,000 hectares, will always be there for the city’s residents to enjoy. The first phase of green space protections will include local community parks, as well as all ten of the city’s major parks. Once phase one is complete, 64% of Liverpudlians will live within a ten-minute walk of a legally protected green space which can never be built on or sold off; this includes 85% of residents in areas identified as having the highest strategic need.
Liverpool City Council’s commitment ensures the positive health and well-being benefits of green spaces will always be available for the city’s residents. But this is a joint effort; the Liverpool Park Friends Forum were instrumental in bringing about the initiative and continue to support its implementation. Now Fields in Trust is inviting local businesses and the wider community to support this ambitious programme.
Fields in Trust Chief Executive Helen Griffiths said: “We all have memories in our local parks. Whether it is spending time with friends, teaching a child or grandchild to ride their bike, or just relaxing with a picnic. Parks are where we all make life-long memories. Over recent years we have seen a major shift in the way people talk about, visit and value their local parks. Our parks provided a lifeline throughout lockdown and now, we can all play our part to make sure local green spaces will remain a healthy part of the local environment forever. We are working with the city council to ensure all Liverpool parks will be protected and available for the whole community, for future generations. As a charity we need support from the communities and businesses in Liverpool to help turn the Council’s pioneering vision into a reality.”
The campaign will raise awareness of the vital role that parks play in communities across Liverpool and Fields in Trust is calling on park users to get involved. As a charity, Fields in Trust needs to raise the funds required to put in place the legal protection for each and every park and green space in Liverpool.
By supporting the campaign, sharing their own memories of local parks and making a donation, residents can play their part in bringing about a fundamental change by future-proofing Liverpool’s much-loved parks – securing green spaces for good.