Creating thriving, nature rich urban environments
We recognise that greenspaces are one of our most important assets, helping improve the health and wellbeing of our citizens, providing refuge for native wildlife and helping manage the effects of climate change.
Here at Groundwork Greater Manchester, we echo the World Health Organisation’s and Natural England’s recommendation that every person should live within 300m of a natural greenspace. We work with partners to protect, enhance and restore existing greenspaces across the city region and help connect people with their local greenspaces, until every person in Greater Manchester has fair and equal access to nature and all the benefits it brings.
We work primarily in places which have unequal access to greenspace, or in neighbourhoods where there is a high risk of flooding or exposure to excess heat, creating high quality outdoor environments where everyone can work, learn, play & connect.
Our landscaping design & build teams work with local communities to co-design high quality, accessible community spaces which:
Improve biodiversity
Feature nature-based solutions
Integrate SUDs
Why do we need to protect, enhance and create more places for nature in Greater Manchester?
Nature for health
Our natural environment supports the health of our population; providing us with healthy air, a space to connect with others and the opportunity to escape the stress of everyday life.
Reduce inequalities in access to greenspace
When it comes to publicly accessible green space, almost 40% of people from ethnic minority backgrounds live in the most greenspace deprived areas, compared to 14% of White people. Everyone deserves access to nature and the benefits it brings.
Improving our resilience against climate change
44% of land in Greater Manchester contains homes, work buildings, roads or other manmade structures. We need to protect, design and retrofit more natural features across Greater Manchester to help mitigate the effects of climate change so we can effectively capture carbon and store excess rainwater.
Enhancing biodiversity
Since 1970 UK species have declined by 19% on average, and nearly 1 in 6 species are now threatened with extinction. Work is required to restore the balance across Greater Manchester’s landscapes, ensuring there are stepping stones for nature in all urban areas and so nature always has a place where it can thrive.
