Fields In Trust

05/06/2026

We are incredibly proud to support our President, Jill Scott MBE, as she takes on her epic 388-mile Coming Home Challenge for Sport Relief next week! 💚

Starting on Monday 8 June, Jill will embark on an extraordinary five-day journey, running and cycling from Wembley Stadium all the way to the Stadium of Light in her hometown of Sunderland. 🚴‍♂️

Before becoming a renowned Lioness and European Champion, Jill started out playing football in her local park. She knows more than anyone that local parks and green spaces aren’t just land, they are the foundations of healthy communities and grassroots sport, providing a range of opportunities to young people. Jill’s Coming Home Challenge highlights just how much of an impact these spaces can have.

Good luck, Jill! 🌟

Find out more and support Jill here: https://fieldsintrust.org/about-us/news/our-president-jill-scott-mbe-takes-on-sport-relief-challenge

04/06/2026

New research from The Wildlife Trusts finds that while 90% of UK adults have positive memories of spending time outdoors when they were children, almost half of adults now spend less than three hours a week in natural settings like parks, woodlands and other green spaces. 😢

Spending time outdoors can have huge benefits on our physical and mental wellbeing, allowing us to exercise, play, socialise and spend some quiet time in nature. Without these spaces, communities suffer.

We are the only UK charity that legally protects parks, playgrounds, playing fields and green spaces forever, ensuring these spaces remain accessible to the communities that depend on them for generations to come. 🌳

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/25/half-of-uk-adults-say-they-spend-less-than-three-hours-a-week-outside-in-nature

Most people have joyful memories of playing outside as children – and now wildlife charities are urging people to ‘rewild their inner child’

03/06/2026

We're excited that our Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths, will be speaking at the Festival of Place on Wednesday 10 June!

Helen will be joining a panel of experts in architecture, play advocacy and urban policy to discuss how we can reshape our built environments to improve the lives of young people.

If you're attending the Festival of Place, don't miss "Play policy: Implementing the NPPF and the Design and Placemaking PPG for children and teens" at 4:15pm on 10 June.

Tickets are available here: https://www.festivalofplace.co.uk/events/festival-of-place-events/festival-of-place-2026

02/06/2026

It's Volunteers’ Week! 🌻

Last week a group of fantastic volunteers from our corporate partner, Octopus Group, joined us in Bishops Park in London to make this vital green space tidier and more welcoming to the local community. 💚

We’d like to take a moment to thank our brilliant Octopus volunteers for their unwavering support, as well as all the fantastic volunteers and Friends of Parks groups who generously give their time to support our 3,000 protected parks. 🌳

Find out more about one of our Octopus volunteering days that took place earlier this year: https://fieldsintrust.org/about-us/news/making-hammersmith-park-safer-with-octopus-group

29/05/2026

It was great to see our playing fields campaign spotlighted by ITV News Tyne Tees recently! 🏈

Accessible playing fields are essential to bringing communities together and helping us stay active, but proposed planning reforms threaten to put these vital spaces at risk.

Watch the video below to see just how important local playing fields are to sports clubs like Cramlington Rockets Rugby League Club, and see our Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths, discussing why we must protect these spaces before it’s too late.

26/05/2026

In March 2026, South Derbyshire District Council officially protected three of its green spaces with us, helping to ensure 5,300 additional people now have a protected space within a 10-minute walk of home. A total of 30,000 people in South Derbyshire now live near a protected space. 🎉

The protections are part of the Council’s new Green Space Strategy. When creating the strategy, the Council ran a public consultation which found that 97% of people believe it’s important or very important to protect key green spaces with Fields in Trust. 🌳

Station Street Park, Oversetts Recreation Ground and Sandholes Open space offer a range of different facilities for local communities including woodland, a sports pitch, a playground and lots of options for local walkers. All three newly protected spaces are vital to the local community in their own unique ways. 💚

22/05/2026

Mile End Park in East London began its life as a King George V Field in the 1950s on land that had been heavily bombed during World War II. The park has expanded over the decades and is now home to sports courts, playgrounds, a BMX track and an Urban Adventure Base where local children and young people can come together to take part in activities like canoeing and climbing free of charge. 🚴‍♂️

Mile End Park is legally protected forever with Fields in Trust meaning it will continue to serve the local community for generations to come. 💚

20/05/2026

New findings from the Landscape Institute show that 9 in 10 people want greener neighbourhoods.

The results highlight that people value biodiversity, air quality, recreation and community connection, and feel that green space must not be seen as an afterthought or an optional extra in new developments.

🏘️ 90% of people say green features between buildings and pavements are important

🌳 89% say access to communal green spaces matters when choosing a home

🐝83% say nature conservation is important in housing development

We firmly believe that all new developments must incorporate high-quality and accessible green spaces to support local communities. Green spaces are essential to our physical health, mental wellbeing and ability to socialise, and should be seen as essential pieces of infrastructure.

Find out more about the research: https://landscapeinstitute.org/news/nine-in-ten-people-want-greener-neighbourhoods-new-research-shows/

19/05/2026

Have you signed up to the BTO British Trust for Ornithology's Birds in Greenspaces project yet? 🐦

Until 30 June 2026, the BTO is inviting people across the UK to record the birds they see in their local public-access green spaces. From parks and playing fields to cemeteries and community greens, these places are lifelines for both wildlife and people: they offer food and shelter for birds – especially in urban areas – while giving communities a place to exercise, socialise and connect with nature. 🦉

We've been collaborating with the BTO on this project to ensure we’re capturing accurate data on UK green spaces and local bird populations. This will help inform how these spaces can be adapted to better support both nature and local communities. 🐦‍⬛

Find out more and get involved: https://fieldsintrust.org/about-us/news/bto-launches-exciting-new-birds-in-greenspaces-project

We’re thrilled that the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)’s Birds in Greenspaces project has just launched – kicking off today and running from 1...

15/05/2026

According to new research from The Woodland Trust, more than a million people in the UK are living in “tree deserts” and missing out on the benefits of having trees close to home.

“That can mean hotter homes and streets, dirtier air, higher rates of asthma and heart disease, and poorer physical and mental health,” Caroline Gray, Woodland Trust Tree Equity Officer, told The Guardian. “These challenges affect daily life in countless ways and, combined with wider inequities, can even contribute to lower life expectancy.”

We must protect publicly accessible areas of tree cover, such as parks and green spaces, before it is too late. Legally protecting these spaces – no matter how small they are – provides long-lasting benefits to the communities that depend on them. Access to green space is a right, not a privilege.🌳

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/14/clacton-on-sea-tree-desert-woodland-trust

Woodland Trust also finds significant north-south divide in tree cover, leaving many people at risk of poor health