What is London National Park City?

London National Park City is a grassroots movement for everyone making our city greener, healthier and wilder.

The National Park City movement began with a simple idea in 2013; how might we think differently about the way we live in our cities if we applied the idea of National Parks to urban areas. With the majority of the world’s population now living in urban areas, National Park Cities are an inspiring way to rethink cities, their futures and how we inhabit them. National Park Cities are about the whole place and landscape – where everyone can be involved and help make a difference to improve city life for nature and people alike.

London became the world’s first National Park City in July 2019, launched by the National Park City Foundation with the support of the Mayor of London and 260 partner organisations. With Adelaide joining in 2021, there are dozen more cities around the world are on the journey including; Glasgow, Cardiff, Breda, Rotterdam, Southampton and Chattanooga – we are on course for at least 25 National Park Cities by 2025.

Our Charter for London sets out how we can reconnect every Londoner with urban nature, supporting communities to recognise their place within their natural environment and join in with helping it thrive. It is the long-term achievable vision guiding what we can do by working, learning, sharing and acting together, across communities, governments, and businesses. The Charter confirms our collective ambition, responsibility and power to deliver all these things and more.

Our aims for London

We want more bird song, ultimate frisbee, hill-rolling, tree climbing, cycling, hedgehogs, volunteering, sharing, outdoor play, kayaking, clean air, otters, greener streets, outdoor learning, ball games, outdoor art and hilltop dancing in the city!

1. Connect more people to nature and the outdoors through increasing the availability and quality of nature-based activities that people can join – especially amongst those who don’t feel connection or inclusion within their natural environment.

2. Create more high-quality accessible ‘green’ and ‘blue’ space through enabling practical actions to increase our connection with neglected spaces along with the biodiversity that can flourish there in ways that are sustainably maintained by communities.

3. Promote the rich cultural life enabled by the outdoors supporting communities to be better able to take practical climate action, in their streets, homes and green spaces.

4. Inspire more cities to become National Park Cities with over a dozen cities around the world on a journey to become a National Park City.

Greener, healthier, wilder

We actively help promote the hundreds of active campaigns, organisations and local groups who are doing inspiring work collectively across our cities to get more people outdoors, and bring the outdoors to more people – improving the health and wellbeing of thousands of people.

We help people to take the lead in improving their own communities, supported by our growing community of volunteer Rangers, delivered in neighbourhoods and green spaces across the city in three ways:

Making Places

Celebrating the world’s first National Park City, promoting the work of the hundreds of grassroots and community groups leading on practical climate and biodiversity action.

Rangers

Growing our diverse community of 160 volunteer Rangers who run community gardens, deliver conservation work, lead outdoor activities, improve nature engagement, walks, talks, health and wellbeing activity in their own communities.

Connecting Communities

Working collaboratively with London Boroughs, to connect individuals, families, educators, community leaders, campaigners, cultural and arts groups, with nature.

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Find ways to get involved, volunteer some time, or come along to one of the many events happening all across London.