75 Years of National Parks
14th April 2024
This year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, an act which secured access for everyone to open countryside whilst preserving and enhancing natural beauty; founded on the understanding that connection with nature is essential to the health of people, society and the planet. This truly visionary legislation has had a vast and lasting impact on our relationship with the natural environment across the UK and is an achievement we must celebrate and not take for granted.
For more information go to: https://www.cnp.org.uk/our-national-parks/75th-anniversary-national-parks/
In the year 1993 and on the 50th anniversary of the creation of national parks, Bodfan Gruffydd, the founder of the Cheltenham landscape course wrote an article on natural beauty which was published in our house magazine Landscape Issues (volume 10 1993 p10). To download a copy, go to https://www.landscapeissues.com/archiv
“National parks failing to tackle biodiversity crisis”, says the Campaign for National Parks (CNP) on their website. Rewilding is recommended. Read the report via https://www.cnp.org.uk/. Here’s a summary:
We’ve been calling for wilder National Parks for over 30 years. In that time, the idea of managing land in a way which allows natural processes to shape the landscape and habitats has grown in popularity among the public and there are now a growing number of examples of rewilding and nature-friendly farming initiatives being adopted in National Parks. Various public opinion surveys in recent years have shown that there is a strong desire among the general public for National Parks to be playing a far more effective role in nature recovery. Over 70 per cent of respondents to a Green Alliance survey carried out in August 2023 said that providing habitats for wildlife should be a priority for these areas. An earlier poll carried out by Rewilding Britain found that 83% of the public support Britain’s National Parks being made wilder, with areas set aside specifically for rewilding. The public also expect wildlife in National Parks to be faring better than in other areas. A 2022 survey by RSPB found that 85% of respondents were concerned to learn that is not the case and 90% said it was important that the abundance of wildlife in National Parks and AONBs increased. This rose to 96% among people living in these areas. Importantly, 81% were supportive of doing things to achieve this that would change the way these landscapes look such as reducing the number of grazing animals and increasing the number of broadleaf trees.