The Campaign for National Parks marks National Parks Week

The Campaign for National Parks, the independent charity that inspires everyone to enjoy and look after National Parks, marked the end of National Parks Week (25-31 July) high in the peaks of the Lake District.

On Saturday 30 July a group of 12 walkers from ethnic minority communities took on the very tough challenge of scaling Helvellyn, across the famous Striding Edge, raising £400 through sponsorship in the process. They then travelled to Ambleside to tell local people about the benefits of getting involved in National Parks to encourage more people to get into National Parks too.

On Sunday 31 July they went to the Community Spirit Cumbria, a festival which was organised by the Campaign for National Parks Community Champion Mohammed Dalech with the Lake District National Park Authority. There the walkers celebrated diversity with Asian cuisine, traditional crafts, music, dance, and more.

Malaz Elsaddig, from London who was one of the walkers and who has been encouraging other people to get into National Parks said: "This has been a great weekend. The climb was challenging but the views were fabulous. It’s reminded me of why I want to encourage more people to experience for themselves all the great things that National Parks have to offer – there really is something for everyone.”

The weekend was the brainchild of Campaign for National Parks Community Champion Aisha Mirza. Aisha is one of 185 Community Champions that have been recruited and trained by the Campaign for National Parks as part of their Mosaic project to help open up these iconic landscapes to people who didn’t know or feel that National Parks had anything to offer them. Aisha and the other Community Champions are given the training, skills and confidence to be able to organise activities that show other people from their communities that National Parks have something to offer everyone – no matter what their background. So far Community Champions have introduced over 6,000 new people to the benefits of National Parks. The Mosaic project is funded by Natural England through Access to Nature, as a part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme, with match funding from Nationwide Building Society. 

Aisha says: "I have always had a real thirst for the stunning beauty of the National Parks but family commitments hadn't allowed me the time to enjoy them over the years. However, Mosaic has reopened the doors to my childhood, reawakening memories and reinvigorating my soul that I now can actively share my passion for the National Parks with people of my community." 

Nina Arwitz, Mosaic programme manager said: “The Mosaic model of community engagement, has proved to be very effective because it not only empowers individuals to engage with the National Parks independently but also supports and trains them to promote National Parks within their communities. It is very fitting in our 75th anniversary year, that we are developing the National Park pioneers of the future, and helping to make sure that a cross section of British society continues to care for these most spectacular landscapes.”

For more information contact Natasha Roe, communications consultant for Campaign for National Parks on 07528 663141 or Natasha.roe@redpencil.co
 

Notes to editors

• The Campaign for National Parks is an independent charity that inspires everyone to enjoy and look after National Parks. It does this by protecting these iconic landscapes against threats and making sure they are open to everyone to enjoy – regardless of background. The Campaign for National Parks is 75 years old in 2011. 
• The Campaign for National Park’s 75th anniversary theme is ‘Getting into Parks’ building on the work the organisation’s award-winning Mosaic project that engages new audiences with National Parks. Mosaic has been running in England for the last 10 years and has been awarded £296,308 from the Big Lottery Fund People and Places programme over three years to extend its work with BME communities into the three Welsh National Parks www.mosaicnationalparks.org.uk
• National Parks Week (25-31 July) was run by the UK Association of National Park Authorities the organisation that brings together the 15 National Park Authorities in the UK to raise the profile of the National Parks and to promote joint working. www.nationalparks.gov.uk
• Access to Nature is run by Natural England and is part of The Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme launched in November 2005 to help communities enjoy and improve their local environments. Natural England manages this £25 million Lottery-funded programme on behalf of a consortium of twelve national environmental organisations comprising BTCV, British Waterways, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Greenspace, Groundwork UK, Land Restoration Trust, The National Trust, Natural England, RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts and the Woodland Trust. Through this programme, it is Natural England's ambition to create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to have greater access to our natural environment and bring a lasting change to their awareness and understanding as well as improved links to the natural world, which many of us can take for granted. For further information about Access to Nature visit www.naturalengland.org.uk/accesstonature. For further information about the Big Lottery Fund, its programmes and awards visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.