What the Listening Project found

The report distils ten practical takeaways that apply well beyond this single site. Highlights include:

• Active, human presence matters. People feel safer when there are visible, welcoming representatives on site. Crucially, these should be community-minded wardens, not policing figures, with a role closer to librarians than law enforcement.
• Co-design is continuous, not a one-off. Keep engaging diverse communities so the space meets different needs without excluding others.
• Governance builds belonging. Structures that promote community ownership, stewardship and responsibility deter anti-social behaviour and help people feel they belong.
• Design for both openness and retreat. Balance open sightlines and good lighting with quiet, enclosed nooks for reflection, prayer and sensory respite.
• Amenities are not optional. Clean, accessible toilets are a litmus test for care, safety and inclusion, alongside shelter, seating and rest points.
• Tackle what makes spaces feel unsafe with care. Dogs, alcohol, smoking and drug use came up repeatedly. Blanket bans are rarely the right answer. Clear, kind, well-communicated approaches reduce harm without stigmatising people.
• Access is end-to-end. Consider how people arrive, park or interchange, and then move around with mobility aids, sensory needs or neurodivergence. Surfaces, gradients, way-finding, rest areas and raised seating all matter.
• Blue space is as vital as green space. Being near water supports wellbeing. If offering outdoor swimming, introduce it inclusively with shallower zones, instruction and strong water quality assurance.
• Nature needs a voice at the table. Include a dedicated nature advocate in every design and decision-making team, and help more people become nature advocates.

Behind these points sits rich qualitative insight from workshops with groups including the Bargee community, people with disabilities, South Asian and Latin American communities, the Orthodox Jewish community, people who do not speak English as a first language, people recovering from homelessness and addiction, families with SEND, younger people and more. 

What we heard on the podcast

Our guests explained why ELWP put inclusivity at the project’s heart, and what it looks like in practice.

• “Nothing about us without us.” Disability campaigners’ mantra shaped the approach. People with lived experience must lead design decisions that affect them. They are the experts. The related idea of “not yet disabled” reminds us that inclusive design benefits everyone across the life course.
• Checking our own biases. Families may perceive groups of teenagers as threatening, while teenagers can feel judged in family-led spaces. Single men can feel out of place in play-heavy zones. Listening reframes these tensions so design can serve everyone.
• Compassion, not criminalisation. People with lived experience of addiction stressed the value of compassionate responses and community connection rather than defaulting to punitive measures.
• “Wardens, not police.” The librarian analogy came up again and again, knowledgeable helpers with enough authority to keep things safe without making the place feel hostile.
• Cultural relationships with nature. From worries about “wildness and bugs” to comfort with tiled pools versus natural ponds, cultural norms shape how people approach nature. Gentle, hands-on experiences and reframing help people build positive relationships.
• “Why not?” The project takes courage from Victorian park pioneers and today’s community campaigns. Building a people’s park is a marathon, not a sprint.

How ELWP organised the work

ELWP is volunteer-led and organised through six “circles” – design, learning, inclusivity, fundraising, communications and governance – making decisions by consent so anyone can propose ideas people can live with. This structure enables co-design with architects, ecologists, educators, and residents at different stages of their careers, while opening doors for new volunteers to gain skills and agency.

For more on the inclusivity strand and how it connects across the project, see ELWP’s Inclusivity page. 

Eight inclusivity principles to keep close

The Listening Project feeds a set of working principles that guide co-design workshops on habitats, buildings, swimming, learning spaces and circular economy activities. Principles include nature first, a safe space for all, welcomed and supported, all together, nothing about you without you, no cost or low cost, a mutually caring volunteering ecosystem, and always learning. 

Practical takeaways for charities, councils and community groups

Use ELWP’s findings as a ready-made checklist for inclusive, nature-positive design:

1. Put paid listening first. Budget to compensate community time. Start with open questions, then keep returning to communities in iterative cycles. Use community partners to convene safely.
2. Design a welcoming presence. Recruit and train local “park wardens” with safeguarding and de-escalation skills, clear role branding and a hospitality mindset. Co-write a simple code of care with the community.
3. Balance openness and sanctuary. Plan sightlines and lighting alongside quiet rooms, prayer spaces and sensory retreats. Test layouts with women, teens, SEND families and people with PTSD.
4. Sort the basics. Invest in clean, accessible toilets, drinking water, shelter, frequent seating and raised rests. People judge safety and care by loo standards.
5. Manage hot-button issues kindly. Co-create dog rules, alcohol and smoking policies, and responses to drug use that reduce harm without exclusion. Communicate them positively, back them with wardens and community stewards.
6. Think door-to-door access. Map journeys. Provide step-free routes, stable surfaces, continuous handrails, frequent rest points, tactile cues, high-contrast signage and quiet times or zones.
7. Introduce blue space well. Offer shallow shelves, coached sessions, gender-specific hours where appropriate, robust water quality monitoring and clear hygiene comms.
8. Give nature a seat in every meeting. Appoint a named nature advocate with real authority. Audit lighting, mowing, path widths and activity programming for ecological impact.
9. Make learning visible. Program guided walks, citizen ecology and creative activities that connect culture, memory and nature, building stewardship and pride.

Build governance that shares power. Adopt consent-based decision making, transparent roles and clear routes for people to join, contribute and lead. Then measure who benefits over time.