Inspiring places, inspiring people

Campaign for National Parks uses ‘National Parks Week’ to encourage more people to connect with iconic landscapes

There is nothing to stop you exploring Britain’s glorious National Parks at any time of the year – but if you do need an excuse then why not go during National Parks Week (26th July – 1st August). The Campaign for National Parks’ (CNP) Mosaic Community Champions are taking the opportunity to encourage individuals, groups and communities from ethnic minority backgrounds, who would not normally visit the Parks, to get out and explore these unique and inspiring landscapes.

Throughout July and during National Park’s Week CNP’s Community Champions will be organising trips and activities for hundreds of people. From Taster Trips to the New Forest for Asian Elders and visits for school children to the Yorkshire Dales, to attending Community Festivals in the Lake District, the Mosaic team will be embracing the many opportunities for ensuring that National Parks are as accessible for as many people as possible.

Now in its 10th year, CNP’s ground-breaking Mosaic project is working with ethnic minority leaders in 20 cities across the UK to build sustainable links with the National Parks. Over 130 new community champions have helped to facilitate more than a 1,000 visits by new audiences in the last 18 months alone. The current phase of the project is supported by Natural England through Access to Nature as part of The Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme.

National Parks Week celebrates some of Britain’s most iconic landscapes and encourages more people to visit, understand and enjoy their special qualities. It is fitting that this year’s National Parks Week focuses on ‘Inspiring places, inspiring people’ as CNP’s Community Champions demonstrate:

Community Champion, Nurjahan Ali Arobi has just won the 2010 Ken Willson Award for her work encouraging more people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups to visit the Yorkshire Dales National Park. “Nurjahan has an infectious enthusiasm for the Yorkshire Dales. Everyone who hears her speak praises her warmth and ability to put forward her message about the Dales and its links with neighbouring communities. In organising visits and advising staff on communicating with BME groups, Nurjahan is invaluable to the outreach work of both the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Yorkshire Dales Society.” (Spokesperson from Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority)

Community Champions tend to be influential members of a community who are committed to increasing the profile of the National Parks amongst their peers, are willing to organise visits to the Parks and are motivated to help shape the future protection and promotion of these special landscapes. Mosaic provides practical support through training such as map reading and group leadership skills, but it’s the inspirational individuals who make things happen! Earlier this year ten Community Champions took 130 people from their local community to the Peak District for the launch of a walking festival, and between April 2009 and March 2010 CNP’s Community Champions gave over 750 volunteer days to help promote the National Parks.

Learn more about the events taking place in the Parks throughout National Parks Week

To learn more about the specific activities being led by CNP’s Community Champions contact the Mosaic Programme Manager, Nina Arwitz: 020 7924 4077 ext. 227 / nina@cnp.org.uk

Photo credit
Mosaic Community Champion Andy Lai from the Southampton Chinese Association took a group of 16 people to visit Bolderwood and Brockenhurst in the New Forest earlier this year (Photo: Mosaic)

Media Enquiries
Jo Hall, jo@cnp.org.uk / 020 7924 4077 ext 224

Notes to editors
1. The Campaign for National Parks (CNP) is a national charity dedicated to protecting and promoting all thirteen National Parks of England and Wales for the benefit and enjoyment of all.

2. Mosaic is a groundbreaking national project lead by the Campaign for National Parks that aims to build sustainable links between ethnic minority communities and the National Parks. It focuses on those audiences who would not normally visit the Parks and provides them with the knowledge, tools and confidence to explore some of Britain’s most iconic landscapes. It is a partnership between the Campaign for National Parks, the Youth Hostels Association and the organisations that help look after the National Parks in England: the Broads Authority, Dartmoor National Park Authority (NPA), Exmoor NPA, Lake District NPA, New Forest NPA, North York Moors NPA, Northumberland NPA, Peak District NPA and the Yorkshire Dales NPA.