BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

B

ackin1840,JosephStrutt,whose

familyhadaccrueda fortune

intextiles,decidedtodonatea

4.5haplotoflandinDerbyfor

useasa publicpark.Designed

byJohnLoudon,a leadinghorticulturalist

oftheday,DerbyArboretumbecamean

instanthitasa havenfromthesmogforthe

citizensofwhatwas,atthetime,a heavily

industrialisedtown.

Withentrytotheparkbeingfree,this

philanthropicmodelprovedsopopular

thatpublicparksquicklybeganspringing

upinotherurbanareas,andthereare

todayaround27,000dottedacross

theUK.Rangingenormously,from

hugerecreationalareaswitha plethora

offacilitiesandamenitiestosmall

neighbourhood plots known only within

theimmediatecommunity,parksmust

beconsideredamongthemostimportant

greenspacesremaininginourtownsand

cities.Theyarewellusedandmuchloved

too,witha 2016parliamentaryreport

estimatingthat37mpeople,or 57 percent

oftheUK’spopulation,regularlyusethem

forrecreationandleisure.Inessence,

publicparksgivemanypeopletheironly

opportunitytoregularlyconnectwith

natureandwildlife.

Despitecurrentairpollution

levelsbeingconsiderably

lowerthanduring

theheightof

theIndustrial

Revolution,

publicparks

still play an

importantroleinhelpinguscleanupour

act.Thetreesandshrubs,forexample,are

particularlyeffectiveatdampeningdown

thenoiseofpolicesirensandjackhammers

intrudingfromthesurroundingcity,

whileparkflorafilterssomeparticulate

airbornepollutants,suchassootanddust.

Urbanparksalsoabsorblargeamounts

of atmosphericcarbondioxide,thereby

operatingasveryeffectivecarbon

sinks.Thissequestrationofcarbon,

inturn,helptomitigatetheworst

effectsofclimatechange.

Inadditiontotheir

environmentalcredentials,public

parkshavebecomevitaloasesfor

a vastarrayofwildlifethroughout

theyear.Thekeytothisrichurban

biodiversity is down to the fact that most

16 BBC Wildlife December 2019

WILD DECEMBER

WILDLIFE WATCHING

InhisseriesofgreatplacestowatchwildlifeintheUK,thestarofBBCOne’s

TheOneShowthismonthrevealshowthegreenspacesinourtownsand

cities oer an oasis to wildlife and a crucial place to connect with nature.

MIKE DILGER’S

URBAN PARKS

IN DECEMBER