London National Park City is a celebration of everything that has been done and could be done to make London greener, healthier and wilder.
In 2019 we brought all of that together in the Maker Paper to support the debut of London National Park City. Inspired by the principles in the New Economics Foundation’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing, the Maker Paper encourages everyday ‘makers’, London residents and visitors who want to engage with the cityscape and greenscape to try out one, or more, of our 12 Ways to Make Life in London Better.
“I love the expression maker because it was so broad and it captured pretty much everyone, everyone is a maker of sorts,” says London National Park City Chair Navdeep Deol.
“So basically, it’s not something that’s hard to achieve. It’s accessible to everyone. And many people are ‘making’ without even thinking about it. So people who sit in their front/back garden with a cup of tea, people looking out of their window at trees, people who do extreme sports in the River Thames, people who litter pick or do community gardening, urban rewilders, or even amateur photographers, they’re all part of the tapestry of makers. And that, I think, was an incredibly inclusive message.”
Like the first ‘What if?’ questions that helped establish the National Park City story, the Maker Paper helps connect these questions to everyday actions asking: what if we could all be more active, connect, take notice, keep learning, play, create, give, love, grow, make space for nature, organise and take action?
The Maker Paper is an invitation to be more imaginative about the place you live, whether that be tapping into play to test and develop new skills that will help us experience the capital in new ways or a call to action to take notice to nurture, and build upon, our natural curiosity about the world around us.
it takes a village
London National Park City supporters and volunteers came together to quickly assemble the paper. With input from a wide-range of organisations from CPRE London to the Wells Way Triangle Residents Association, gathered at a number of locations from a room above a local pub to the Better Bankside office in London’s Guildford Street of bringing plenty of creative vigour and a healthy bank of editorial ideas.
In just a single weekend the outline for 52-page Maker Paper was created, packed full of practical actions, fascinating facts about the capital’s flora and fauna, case studies of greening in London, pull out and keep maps for exploring London and beyond, visually arresting photography and much more. It was officially launched at Conway Hall in October 2019.
Imagined by design studio Fieldwork Facility and printed on 100% recycled paper by the Newspaper Club, the Maker Paper is a tangible manual for a life lived differently, and more greenly in London.
content to amplify communities
“I think the Maker Paper had a very grassroots feel to it. It made smaller groups and players in the environmental scene feel more important, and it made them feel part of something much bigger,” continues Deol. “This was certainly from Heston Action Group’s perspective, which is where I was at the time. We were just blown away by the fact that we were going to be in a paper about London National Park City. I don’t think Dan, Steve or Alison or any of the founding Trustees could have imagined the positive impact this had on grassroots movements, because it made them feel very included and very appreciated in an environment where they weren’t otherwise.”
And on the subject of inclusion, Ranger Lesley Wertheimer – part of the original Maker Paper team – outlines that the Maker Paper was designed with all London residents in mind, including those who may not have access to computers/the internet.
where to find it
You can still pick up your own copy of the Maker Paper if you’re quick at our pop-up Visitor’s Centre at 109 Fleet Street. It continues to offer up a fresh perspective on the London we have come to know and love. You can also read the digital version of the Maker Paper here
maker paper: a new version
The current Maker Paper was made possible thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, backed by 471 supporters including: CitizenZoo, Capel Manor College, Friends of the Earth, HandsOn London, Urban Good and the Ordnance Survey.
We’ll be producing a new version of the paper this Autumn, so if you’d like to help with this then join our free online community to keep up to date with the latest from London National Park City and how to get involved.
