Living in a toxic and harmful environment has become a major concern in the past few decades. Living in a large city exposes us to various types of air, water and soil pollutants and with the recent developments in technology, radiation has added to an already delirious ambience making people crawl inside the walls of their homes most of the time.
Everyone dreams of living in a peaceful, green and healthy atmosphere and that is the reason why we occasionally plan vacations to a place that is cleaner, healthier and serene. Thinking about national parks leads us to images of mesmerizing landscapes, high mountains and natural springs. But the concept of National Park City is pretty different.
After planning for years, finally the capital city of the UK, London, is crowned as the world’s first National Park City on the 22 of July 2019, hosted by the mayor, Sadiq Khan, at City Hall. Signing the London National Park City Charter created by the NPCF, many organizations and individuals have acclaimed the idea to make the city more eco-friendly and refreshing. While London takes the first place, many other cities is being aimed to join the list over the years. In this article let us take a broader look at what this National Park City hike is all about and how would that improve our life on the planet:
The Idea Behind National Park City:
National Park City is a campaign started by the National Park City Foundation(NPCF) to bring more awareness among people and eventually improve the quality of life on this planet. Supported by visitors, residents and partners, the campaign promotes people to make the city more healthy and clean, so everyone can enjoy spending their time outside on the lap of nature.
How London Implemented the Idea:
It is the Londoners who are actively working to make their city more natural and vibrant. With the announcement of the National Park City campaign, many residents are planting more wildlife friendly plants in their balcony and yards. The public and private gardens have seen a considerable increase in the growth of vegetation and fruits. Not only this, but they are putting in a lot of effort to help the wildlife residing in the city to breathe freely.
The pledge is spreading like wildfire among Londoners and just like Sadiq Khan says, London would soon notice a zero emission transport system that would give them cleaner and natural air to breathe.
Wildlife Preservation Strategy:
London has an immense wildlife population comprising of around 15,000 different species of wild animals and birds. The largest population of stag beetles in England, stay in London along with hundreds of species of birds and eight different varieties of bats. Making the city greener gives these wild animals a natural habitat to live. With increasing urbanization, these animals are losing their homes and sometimes starving to death.
The National Park City program would help stop the extinction of animals and give them a better and natural environment to live. Residents of London have understood this fact and came together to help in their own little gestures. You can find many concrete surfaces are covered in ivy while some people are making holes on the boundary fences which gives free access to hedgehogs to roam around the city. These tiny efforts connected together can save our wildlife to survive happily and reduce the chances of extinction.
Future Places To Follow London:
Following a similar path many other cities in the world are joining the National Park City campaign. Acknowledging the benefits of the movement and craving for the sense of pride that London has gained with its prized possession of being the first, people are already putting in a lot of initiative to aim the next position on the list of National Park City. Places like Gasgow and Scotland are already taking the initiative to register their names on the list while places like Bogota, Manaus, Seattle, Chengdu, Bandung, Chiang Mai and Sabah are perpetual candidates for the next one to campaign for a cleaner ecosystem.
A cleaner today would make a healthy tomorrow. London has already started its journey on making the ecosystem fresh and refined. Now, it is your turn to make your city look fresh and bright. Even a tiny initiative can make a huge difference.
So, when are your starting your campaign?
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