Connecting with nature in London

London has amazing green spaces - both public parks & gardens and private gardens.  I walk through Hyde Park almost every week and I'd recommend everyone tries to go for a walk in such a green space just for a few minutes - it blows the cobwebs away!

If I'm being really honest I don’t feel particularly welcome in any park, particularly at a weekend, from those dog walkers, cyclists and runners who think they are more important than you as you’re a mere pedestrian. These spaces are for everyone including those who just want to walk quietly at their own pace to take in the trees/plants etc and have even just a few moments respite from the hustle & bustle. 

Better, or improved, facilities might also encourage more people to use green spaces – better lighting, signage, toilets, litter bins etc and possibly ‘walk ways’ (not cycle or running lanes) which are accessible for wheelchairs or those not too mobile.

I wonder if any of the profits gained from the ever increasing hosting of festivals in our green spaces will ever be used to improve these same spaces for the benefits of local residents.

my thoughts are when the council get funding and plant a liad of non indiginous plants i do not like it .   the plants need to be native soecies to support the wildlife as the non indiginous including palms and grasses are too close to homes and will cause damage along with allergies from pollen that is not  indiginous and the pollution and dust  covers these palm trees also they block out the light mske shade and ground stays wet and end up mossy .  no good 

  ban all palm trees succuants and yukka type spiky plants . it is not a desert i 

I feel it is up to the individual to find a space in nature that they enjoy, can be involved in keep nice if interested and generally using the very many places available to all. Green spaces are free but often used more by tourists than local people. Walk, cycle, run, picnic, take family and in the end it is up to you to leave the mobile phone, TV, indoors and appreciate all that we have access to!

Many of London's parks are semi-sterile areas of mown grass where native wild plants and flowers get weeded out. London's roadside verges are often strimmed and cut down just when wild flowers and grasses are beginning to thrive and insect species beginning to colonise. After the war, London was rampant with wild flowers and insects in the bombed sites and open spaces that had been left un-tended. I loved this aspect of London that has long vanished. London is now becoming so densely built that most large gardens have been grabbed for building. Old houses with overhanging eaves chimney stacks and crevices have been ruthlessly demolished so Sparrows, House Martins & Swifts have nowhere to live. Front gardens have almost vanished from London for car parking, and electric vehicle charging will only make this worse. I fear that nature is losing out everywhere in London. If anyone can make things better it is Sadiq Khan who has achieved great things as Mayor, so I have some hope on behalf of nature which has no voice. 

A small but significant difference everyone that has a garden could make to greening our city would be to stop paving over gardens. Just not paving (or removing existing paving) in front gardens, however small, could make an enormous difference to neighbourhoods. Councils could make small grants to help/encourage people to do this. I believe  DEFRA has produced a report that shows the benefits of doing this (including reducing summer heat and reducing flooding danger). Of course it also would increase biodiversity. I have seen the difference in the number of bees that now visit my small formerly paved front garden.

I really enjoy walking in nature, particularly around Alexandra Park, Hampstead Heath, and the Parkland Walk. I also regularly walk around Highgate and Queen's Wood, but when I’m on my own and nobody else is around, I don’t always feel very safe. Spending time in nature is critical for my mental and physical health, as it helps reduce stress, improves my mood, and encourage physical activity. However, one thing that limits access to green spaces is the lack of public toilets in some parks and woods, such as in Coldfall Wood. This is necessary especially for people with children, who are pregnant, or who have disabilities such as colitis and crohn's disease.

Poor health restrictions limit what I’m able to accomplish 

The most welcoming spaces are The Green Chain Walk and the London Loop and Capital Ring.  Sadly Greenwich Council shows little interest in maintaining the signage or paths on GCW  and they are deteriorating in a number of places.   It all seems to be left to the Ramblers volunteers who have no budget. 
London’s smaller rivers too, need constant maintenance with footpaths being made accessible and muddy sections given some hard standing.  Signage is often obscured and sometimes vandalised.  Litter and graffiti is a huge problem as is the clearing of invasive plants.  
Publicity is needed in libraries and community centres to inform people of where the paths and open spaces are.  Population is changing and incomers  and young people need information. 
CPOs need to be visible in woodlands and parks to give reassurance and maintain safety 

Local Friends groups need affirmation and a budget to enhance their volunteer activities.