Health and well being
Parks provide a much needed space for people to take part in organised or informal sports and provide recreational opportunities for those unable or unwilling to join a gym or leisure centre. We all know that a walk in the park can help clear the mind and the mental health benefits of parks and green space are well documented. To find out more click on a link...
Did you know
- Potential psychological and mental health benefits from exposure to nature are not limited to exposure in the countryside only; within urban and semi-urban settings, access to green, open spaces can have a beneficial effect.
Nature and Psychological Well-being, Mentality (2003)
- There is increasing evidence that access to high quality green spaces can produce measurable improvements to stress levels in a relatively short space of time.
Julia Thrift, Journal of Public Mental Health (2005)
- For every 10% increase in green space there was a reduction in health complaints equivalent to a reduction of 5 years age.
Dr William Bird, Natural Fit (2004)
- Obesity has increased by 50% in adults in the past decade.
2006 Coronary Heart Disease Statistics, British Heart Foundation (2006)
- The Government aims to increase participation in physical activity from 32% to 70% by 2020.
Dr William Bird, Natural Fit (2004)
- Only 11% of adults claimed to use a park to take part in formal organised sporting a ctivity with the most popular activity being football (7% of all adults).
The Use of Public Parks in England, Sport England (2003)
- Walking is the most popular sporting activity (in parks) with over a third of men and women in the UK participating regularly.
Taking Part: The National Survey of Culture, Leisure and Sport,
National Statistics (2006)
- Going for a walk was the most popular leisure activity of visitors to parks (75%), followed by taking children to a play area (43%) and sitting and enjoying the surroundings (28%).
The Use of Public Parks in England, Sport England (2003)
Research
Natural Fit
The importance of green space in sustaining good healthDr William Bird, RSPB
2006 Coronary heart disease statistics
British Heart Foundation
Evidence of the links between nature and health
The Environment Agency
The Use of Public Parks 2003
Sport England, The Countryside Agency and English Heritage.
Case studies
Mental Health Case Studies
Walking the way to healthAddressing inequalities in physical activity
Walking the way to healthBritish Military Fitness
Find out more about the military approach to getting fit in a park near you.Leaping into action
LEAP is an initiative to encourage exercise, jointly funded by the Department of Health, the Countryside Agency and Sport England. Local Exercise Action Pilots are locally run pilot programmes to test and evaluate new ways of encouraging people to take up more physical activity.Articles
A walk in the park
A look at how parks and green spaces can be used to improve healthBecky Volker, Feb 2005, Spaces&Places
Healthy Parks, Healthy People
A case study about a program to encourage participation in green spaceJacqui deKievit, Feb 2005, Spaces&Places
Urban green space and mental health
An investigation into the link between green space and mental health.Ian Douglas, May 2004
Quotes
"Inactivity is the silent epidemic; more than 70 % of the population are not active enough to benefit their health.’"Ralph Riley, Chief Executive, Institute of Sport and Recreation Management
"Traditional exercise programmes often fail because people don’t stick with them - 50% of people will have left a gym within 6 months of joining. Your local swimming pool may be full when you want to swim but their will invariably be room to move for exercise in the park."