London National Park City is a movement to improve life for everyone in London. A movement working with citizens, visitors and partners to help everybody enjoy London’s great outdoors.

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!

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 principles and purpose of National Parks to urban areas. 

In July 2019 that became a reality when the Mayor of London signed the Charter making London the first such National Park City, receiving the support of a majority of local ward councillors across every London Borough. 

You might be asking yourself, how can London, an urban jungle of over 8 million people be considered to be anything like a national park? 

London can be a wild place – home to almost 15,000 species, living alongside us humans, and around 50% green and blue space, made-up of acres of public parks, green belt, front gardens, canals, ponds and pockets of nature and wildlife. There are National Parks representing every imaginable form of environment, we think it’s high time urban environments were celebrated as well.

Access to nature and the outdoors is essential for the health and wellbeing of all citizens, but it’s not always accessible to those who might benefit the most, and most of us probably don’t consider our cities as being wild and alive places.

OUR AIMS FOR LONDON

We have four aims for the London National Park City:

1. Connect more people to nature and the outdoors
2. Create more high-quality green and blue space
3. Promote the rich cultural life enabled by the outdoors
4. Inspire more cities to become National Park Cites

We want to introduce more people to the nature around them, to celebrate the amazing work carried out by so many conservation and grassroots organisations already working hard across London and beyond. 

We are here to help connect and support those who want to volunteer within their communities to improve their neighbourhoods and link with others to learn from each other and share resources.

People live better lives in cities when they have access to good quality, wilderness and outdoors. More green space adds value to transport routes, local economies and children’s development.  Nature helps manage the climate, reduces pollution and addresses many physical and mental health issues.