After months of hard work the team are delighted to present the all new London National Park City Paper to our supporters!
Available in both digital and print formats the 52-page Paper is the second edition of this exciting publication showcasing many of the creative and diverse ways Londoners are making the capital they call home greener, healthier, and wilder.
12 ways to connect people & nature in London introduces the Lives, Health and Wellbeing Strand of the Charter for London National Park City, and features a wealth of stories from our Rangers and peer organisations in the nonprofit space. Each of the ‘ways’ are designed to inspire positive action in readers, whether that’s through physical activity in London’s green-blue spaces, art and other creative pursuits, making community connections, leading the way in micro climate actions and much more.
Editor and London National Park City Ranger Zabby Allen below tells more:
The first London National Park City publication featured 12 Ways to Make Life in London Better. It was created when LNPC was in its infancy, and the question of “What if?” dominated the pages of that Paper. This year, London National Park City turns six, and a number of those “What ifs” have become a reality. As one of the 130 Rangers helping to make London greener, healthier, and wilder, I know how hard London National Park City volunteers work to turn their visions into reality. We shine a light on just some of those Rangers and their projects in this issue.
This Paper is inspired by the first point in our Charter: Working together for better lives, health, and wellbeing. It features 12 simple ways to connect people & nature in London. In reality though, there are far more than 12 recommendations within these pages. Whether you’re new to nature and looking for ways to bring a little calm into your day, a nature enthusiast who wants to find community through sport, or just somebody searching for a bit of inspiration, there’s something for you in these pages. I really hope you enjoy reading them.
The Paper is also home to the State of the National Park City Report 2025 (p. 46-49), written by Executive Director Mark Cridge and reflecting on the past, present and future of the London National Park City movement, particularly as it relates to our dynamic Ranger Programme.
The Report includes impactful data on the spread on Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and designated species across London boroughs, giving us cause for hope and pause for thought on how we can make the areas of London that aren’t yet as green and wild, so. There’s also an illuminating snapshot of London in Numbers. Many thanks to Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC – GIGL for their support in providing these critical numbers.
12 ways to connect people & nature is full of highlights – too many to name here, we want you to explore them first hand – but we’d love to draw your attention to our crowdsourced Nature in London is…poem (p.6) – thanks to all those who contributed -, a fascinating AI-generated narratives from London’s wildlife in Make use of Machines (p. 8 – 11), a beautifully illustrated map of a section of Thames with an accompanying appendix with sites of interest (p. 26 – 28), and Ranger Stories weaved through the Share, Care and Get out in the Fresh Air (ps. 40 – 45) tagline of Re-Action Collective’s Citizen Friday project.
And final word from our Communications Manager, Miriam Habte Sellasie.
We hope you relish reading the London National Park City Paper as much as myself, Zabby and the key members of the team – Mark Cridge (words and concepting and and Michael Shilling (photography and words) – enjoyed putting it together. With so many contributors coming together to make this Paper possible, it really shows what can be done when people rally for an important common cause. Much like the National Park City Movement itself.
- Download your own digital copy of the London National Park City Paper here for a suggested donation of just £2.
- Get your own paper copy of the London National Park City Paper by dropping into our Visitor Centre at 80 Mortimer Street and donate what you can afford.
