Have a Field Day is happening this coming Saturday around the UK
Have a Field Day on Saturday 8th July is a celebration of the UK’s parks and green spaces.
Charity, Fields in Trust is working with local communities to demonstrate the many ways we value our parks. From carnivals, sports competitions, musical performances and community picnics, thousands of people will be attending hundreds of events in local parks across the country which showcases exactly how much we love our local parks and green spaces.
Fields in Trust, the charity behind Have a Field Day, was founded on July 8th, back in 1925 with a clear aim to ensure that everyone – young or old, able or disabled and wherever they live – should have access to free, local outdoor space for sport, play and recreation. However, financial pressure on local authorities means that our parks and green spaces are increasingly under threat and many could be lost forever to building and redevelopment.
The recent Communities and Local Government Parliamentary Inquiry reported on the public benefit that parks contribute to preventative public health, mental well-being and community cohesion; yet parks could still be lost to building development as they are not a statutory service for local authorities. Funding cuts mean green spaces are less well maintained and they are under threat due to pressure on land for housing and retail developments. Nearly 92% of local authority parks departments have experienced budget cuts in the past three years. This is in the face of three-quarters of park managers reporting increased visitor numbers (State of UK Public Parks 2016).
New research for Fields in Trust indicates that more trips to more parks more often is good for the health and wellbeing of the UK. Visiting every day produces the highest wellbeing scores but our new research suggests the optimum use of green space is at least once a week as this gives us 65% of the health and wellbeing benefits rated across the four Office of National Statistics indicators. The completion of this research will identify a robust economic and monetary value for these health benefits in order to make the case to local councils and governments to maintain our parks.
