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Could Bristol be the next National Park City?
Amid Bristol’s concrete jungle, the green hills and fresh air of the countryside can feel like a distant dream.
When the tower blocks and traffic noise become too much, when news breaks that the Avon is England’s third most polluted river or smog reaches unsafe levels, it’s tempting to seek peace in the fields, forests and rivers beyond the city’s boundaries.
But what if, instead of running to the Mendips, we learned to notice and encourage the urban wild? Could the city become a haven for the natural world, a place to experience all the benefits of nature found in rural areas?
is needed now More than ever
Communities are getting together to create urban nature reserves that help wildlife to thrive in their neighbourhoods – photo: Really Wild Lockleaze
It’s an idea that’s taking off citywide. Groups are creating wildlife-friendly neighbourhoods among dense housing by linking up residential gardens and pockets of abandoned urban wilderness.
“Of course, many in Bristol have been making their gardens more wildlife-friendly for decades. But often this is a small, isolated space in a wider landscape of poorer quality,” says Ben Barker, BS3 Wildlife Group secretary.
“Several projects are seeking to develop a more neighbourhood-wide approach, with more starting up this year, including the Brislington BS4 community nature reserve.”
This ‘wild city’ concept is one that has long inspired guerilla geographer Daniel Raven-Ellison, who dreamed up the idea of a National Park City and now works to turn it into a global reality.
Dan’s idea is to redefine cities as species-rich ecological spaces for outdoor adventure, inspired by his visits to national parks as a child.
“I just think it’s one of humanity’s best ideas,” he explains. “If we didn’t have our family of national parks today, where would we be with the climate, ecological and health crises? The parks are fundamentally about us having special places where we have a better relationship with nature and can enjoy ourselves.
“In cities, quite often our thinking is short, it’s fragmented. National parks give us a way of thinking that is large-scale, long-term, holistic. It’s a forever project. And everyone, everywhere and everything is included in a national park.”
Dan spearheaded the campaign that saw London become the first National Park City in 2019.
“London has 15,000 species of wildlife, with more pairs of peregrine falcons than Yosemite or the Peak District National Park. If we think that urban life is as valuable as rural life, why wouldn’t we also want to use this brilliant idea for cities?”
So how has London changed? And how could a city like Bristol benefit?
“The idea gives a shared vision and purpose to citizens around creating a city that’s good for nature and people, that takes the landscape approach of everyone being included,” says Dan.
“People are reimagining London and doing things differently as a result – exploring places they wouldn’t have otherwise visited or putting in ponds. Children are playing outdoors.”
Volunteers like Cathy and Sandra have been helping to plant trees create wildflower areas in Sea Mills. Photo: Nikki Jones
But aside from encouraging people to reconnect with their wild human side, he believes the greatest benefit comes from the symbolic power of such a status.
“In the case of Bristol, you have people doing all kinds of awesome environmental action. So how could they leverage the idea of a National Park City to make cool things happen for Bristol?
“It can also create some nice political tension in terms of the outrage of – for example – if we’re a National Park City, how can the Avon not be clean enough to swim in? How can species be declining? What do you mean you’re trying to build in my park, putting down concrete, prioritising cars over people when we’re a National Park City?”
Dan is enthusiastic about Bristol having what it takes to embrace the movement.
“Bristol is absolutely thriving – it’s rich with a flourishing diversity of people, ideas, places and projects which add up to something really quite magical,” he says. “The National Park City idea is a way of people getting organised and leveraging something to enable more of that to happen even more of the time.”
BS3 residents have campaigned to stop pesticide spraying on their streets to encourage wildflowers and weeds that support wildlife – photo: Ben Barker
So what’s the next step?
“Call a meeting, see who comes and what you can achieve together,” says Dan.
“National parks give us a common language of understanding of what we’re trying to achieve, and that’s extraordinarily powerful.
“It’s about going on a journey together to make the city greener, healthier, wilder, cooler, and to protect those green spaces we already have. It’s also got to be dirt and soil, swimming and rivers. Otherwise, it’s just a story – and that’s not enough.
“I absolutely know that if there was anywhere there was a blindingly obvious case to be a National Park City in Britain, with all the people and places, the energy and projects, Bristol would be the one!”
Find out more at: www.nationalparkcity.org, or www.danravenellison.com
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Read more: Major campaign to make Bristol’s parks more accessible and inclusive
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We put a spotlight on a few of those taking the steps to rewild people and place in their neighbourhoods:
Ben Barker, Greater Bedminster Urban Nature Reserve
“The animal biomass of our Bedminster urban nature reserve is probably 99 per cent humans, dogs and cats. The BS3 Wildlife Group want to identify and protect the one per cent of wild creatures and improve their habitats in gardens and parks so they’re still around, perhaps more abundantly, in future decades. This requires community action.
“We’re developing an improvement plan for the Malago and Colliter’s Brook. Local parks are photographing their wildlife. Gardeners are making small holes in fences so hedgehogs and frogs can move around the area. Some park groups are planting trees and creating ponds and meadows of native plants. We also do regular butterfly and moth surveys.”
Find out more at: www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/team-wilder-community-nature-reserve
Laura Murgatroyd, Patchwork Community Gardening
The Patchwork gardeners get together to create mini patches for nature in BS3 like this orchard at Dean Lane – photo: Patchwork
“Patchwork is part of the Bedminster urban nature reserve, launched in January 2023, which brings together green spaces of all sizes across BS3, including domestic gardens.
“We’re pleased to be part of the initiative, to raise the profile of the importance of green space and encourage people to plant for wildlife in their own gardens.
“The tiny community gardens Patchwork have created are a small contribution to the overall green space in the area but they still manage to pack in lots of plants that are wildlife-friendly. We’ve got two mini orchards which attract bees, birds, butterflies and insects, as well as providing fruit that local people can pick.”
Find out more at: www.bedminsterpatchwork.tumblr.com
Eric Swithinbank, Really Wild Lockleaze
“We’ve followed the urban nature reserve model as nature doesn’t see boundaries. We utilise all available space to create connected habitats. We’re helping nature in people’s gardens, school grounds, church yards and communal green spaces. Over winter, we helped residents plant over 1,000 trees and created 800m² of wildflower meadow.
“Lockleaze is a post-war housing estate with an abundance of grass verges. We support communities to transform these into wildlife havens. We help them draw up plans, get council permission and plant hedgerows, trees, meadows and herbs to support wildlife right outside their houses. The satisfaction of watching species move in and providing insects and hedgehogs with somewhere to live is a powerful feeling.”
Find out more at: www.lockleazehub.org.uk/really-wild-lockleaze
Anne Silber and Suzanne Audrey, Totterdown Urban Nature Reserve
Totterdown’s annual front garden competition awards gardens designed to be nature-friendly. Photo: TRESA
“We aim to make 30 per cent of Totterdown suitable for wildlife – a tough challenge for an inner-city urban area. We encourage residents to make their gardens more wildlife-friendly and tell their neighbours they’re taking part.
“Residents are also encouraged to take part in the BS3 winter bird survey and national surveys such as butterflies.
“UWE students have been working with us to develop the project, and have calculated that 9.4 per cent of our Totterdown boundary is green space. So we will be relying on our small gardens to contribute to the urban nature reserve to reach our 30 per cent target.”
Find out more at: www.tresa.org.uk
Main photo: Really Wild Lockleaze
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