Urban Nature: the issues
With around 84% of the UK population living in an urban area, it has never been more important to make our cities and towns more wildlife friendly. Accessing nature means something different to each of us, for some, it may mean a garden or allotment, for others, it may include watching birds along a river or canal or access to a green space at school or work. Providing people with easy access to nature is vital, yet roughly 1 in 5 people in the UK are deprived of green space.
The critical state of nature in the UK means we must work to improve all ecosystems and environments for wildlife, including urban spaces. The abundance of key urban species in the UK fell by 10% between 2002 and 2013.
The importance of access to nature
The importance of nature for our mental and physical health is undeniable. In England alone, it has been calculated that the NHS could save an estimated £2.1 billion a year in treatment costs if everyone had access to good quality green space.
Access to nature is not equal. 40% of people from ethnic minority backgrounds live in the most green-space deprived areas, compared to 14% of white people. Efforts to improve access to nature in urban spaces must work to address this inequality.
Political asks – what are we trying to achieve?
We are calling on governments and local authorities to increase the quantity, quality and accessibility of nature in urban spaces.
Watch this space for more specific asks and targeted mini Urban Nature campaigns.
Urban Nature Festival 2023
On the 9th of September, UK Youth for Nature held our first ever Urban Nature Day festival. The team came together in Liverpool to launch our Urban Nature campaign and to hold a day of workshops, talks, discussions and wildlife walks. The goal of this event was to celebrate Liverpool’s wildlife, share tools and ideas for improving urban nature and to discuss how we can make nature more accessible to all.
“I had an incredible time at the Urban Nature Festival! It was so inspiring to learn about the great work UK Youth for Nature is doing and has done, as well as to network with so many other like-minded people with so many of their own projects. I walked away with a new perspective on how we view our relationship with nature and a refreshed energy to be proactive. I would go to another event like this in a heartbeat!” – Vicky Luk, attendee
Access to nature panel
A key component of our campaign is addressing inequalities in access to nature, which is why we ended our Urban Nature Day with a panel discussion. This was a thought provoking discussion between Kwesia (City Girl in Nature), Mahnoor Kamran, Jasmine Isa Qureshi, Meg Watts and Jenny Gill from Natural England, chaired by Seniz Mustafa. The panel addressed systemic issues that can make accessing nature and the environmental sector very difficult for marginalised communities. For supporting resources collated by Seniz Mustafa and Raman Nijjar from the UK Youth for Nature team, click here.
We will be continuing our work in Liverpool and working to facilitate discussion between young, local, campaigners and local decision makers. If you are from Liverpool or the surrounding area and wish to get involved, drop us an email!
We hope to recreate our Urban Nature Day Festival in a different city in 2024 so watch this space!
