Love Parks Week is a national celebration of the parks and green spaces that bring so much value to our communities. From supporting physical activity and improving wellbeing, to creating opportunities for social connection, these spaces play a vital role in helping people lead active, healthy lives.
At Active Essex, creating and supporting connected places and spaces is a key part of our work. We know that when local environments are welcoming, accessible and offer opportunities to move more, they can help people of all ages and backgrounds build activity into everyday life.
Across Essex, we work with partners to unlock the potential of these spaces through initiatives such as ParkPlay, supporting the development of parkruns, investing in improvements to local parks, and helping community events integrate physical activity opportunities. Through our Connected Places outcome, we are creating environments where being active feels easy, enjoyable and accessible for everyone.
To mark Love Parks Week, we asked Active Essex Relationship Manager; Juliette Raison, who leads much of our work around activating green spaces, to reflect on the role parks and open spaces have played throughout her life, and why they continue to be such an important part of creating healthier, happier communities.
“Growing up in France before moving to Essex, some of my earliest memories are of spending time in local parks with my family. What stands out most is how easily children connected through play, regardless of language or background. Whether it was making friends in the park or exploring play areas, those experiences showed me from a young age how green spaces naturally bring people together.
After settling in Brentwood, parks and green spaces continued to play a central role in my childhood. From cycling to the local park for family picnics and taking part in nature activities at our country park, to performing at community events and spending time with friends after school, these spaces became places to play, learn and connect. Looking back, many of my happiest memories were made outdoors, and they helped shape my appreciation for the important role green spaces play in supporting both wellbeing and community life.
Today, parks and green spaces remain an important part of my life. Whether it’s walking my dog, Jango, or taking part in local parkruns, I regularly see people of all ages and backgrounds using these spaces to be active, spend time outdoors and connect with others. Families, runners, cyclists, dog walkers and groups of friends can all enjoy the same space in their own way.
For me, that’s the real power of parks and green spaces. They provide welcoming, inclusive environments where people can support their physical and mental wellbeing, build social connections and create lasting memories. Often without any competitive element, they make it easy for people to enjoy being active in a way that works for them.
My own experiences have shown me the lasting impact these spaces can have throughout every stage of life. That’s why the work we do through our Connected Places outcome at Active Essex is so important. By working with partners, we’re helping more people across Essex access welcoming places where they can be active, social and connected to their communities.
This includes supporting 10 ParkPlay sessions across Essex, helping to establish new parkruns, including the launch of Canvey Island parkrun earlier this year, and working with local partners to integrate physical activity opportunities into community events held in parks and green spaces. Last year alone, 31 neighbourhood events across Essex received support to include physical activity opportunities and signpost residents to local activities.
We are also helping improve local parks through investment programmes, including enhancements to accessible pathways at Northlands Park in Basildon, the introduction of Table Tennis in the Park in Maldon, and improvements to the accessibility of the Colchester Orbital. Alongside this, we are supporting larger park developments, including new PlayZones in Basildon and Tendring, and have recently supported Basildon Borough Council in achieving Green Flag status for Northlands Park.
Looking ahead, exciting initiatives such as Find Your Active Here signage in parks across Thurrock and Harlow will help more residents discover opportunities to be active close to home.
As Love Parks Week reminds us, parks and green spaces are some of our most valuable community assets. They provide opportunities to move, play, connect and improve wellbeing, while creating memories that can last a lifetime. I feel fortunate to have benefited from these spaces throughout my life and am proud that Active Essex continues to work alongside partners to help more people across the county experience the same benefits.”
To find out more about what green spaces have to offer across Essex, visit: https://www.activeessex.org/find-your-active/ways-to-keep-active/keep-active-outdoors/
