Community spirit flourishes in lockdown as we re-discover our green spaces
Despite us living under the strictest social distancing measures we’ve ever experienced in the UK, there has been an increase in community spirit and appreciation for local green spaces and countryside during lockdown.
Our research for CPRE, the countryside charity, and the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (WI) has found that more than half (54%) agree people are doing more to help their communities and nearly two-thirds of people (63%) feel protecting local green spaces should be a higher priority for the government when lockdown ends.
Only 11% of us feel less connected to our community during lockdown, 40% feel more connected and one in three (33%) of 18- to 34-year-olds report having made new intergenerational connections.
Other key findings:
- The majority (53%) of people saying they appreciate local green spaces more since the country adopted social distancing measures;
- More than half (57%) of us reported that the lockdown has made us more aware of the importance of these local green spaces for our mental health and wellbeing; and
- One in three people (35%) reported visiting green spaces more since the start of lockdown.
The high-profile volunteering and fundraising initiatives, including the remarkable fundraising by Captain Tom Moore, are clearly not isolated acts of kindness and community spirit. The poll has also uncovered an outpouring of community spirit and feeling of togetherness.
Read more here.
