Improve Wellbeing by improving access to Nature and the outdoors, getting more people involved in managing and improving greenspace, and promoting the use of Letchworth’s network of leisure facilities.
2024 Highlights
As part of our commitment to Nature and Wellbeing in Strategy 2028, we welcomed two key team members in 2024. Emma Dagless joined as Policy and Programme Manager for Nature and Wellbeing, focusing on building relationships with organisations like Natural England and the Wildlife Trust to help protect and enhance Letchworth’s natural assets. Matt Jones was appointed as Tree and Woodland Officer, responsible for managing the town’s 57 woodlands and spinneys and leading sustainable tree planting projects.
We also launched our first Nature and Wellbeing Survey, which gathered insights from hundreds of residents about how they connect with nature. Popular green spaces included the Greenway, Norton Common, and Howard Park, with walking and spending time outdoors emerging as common wellbeing activities. The survey also showed that many residents are taking steps to live more sustainably, from recycling to reducing their environmental impact through lifestyle choices and advocacy.
At Standalone Farm, we introduced a new Water Play feature developed in partnership with Resilience Together. Designed to teach children about water flow and flood prevention through interactive play, this installation supports our work around the Pix Brook chalk stream. We also launched Oscar’s Riverside Ramble, a fun walking trail for families to explore and learn as they journey around the farm.
Delivery against Measures
Strategy 2028 outlines ambitious targets to reach, and 2024 was a key year to begin the delivery of the objectives. We committed to delivering a green spaces improvement plan. The Policy and Programme Manager for Nature and Wellbeing has spent this year scoping our Nature and Wellbeing policy and strategy, which will set a firm foundation for securing this work in the long term. The policy and strategy make up the Green Space Improvement Plan, which will also require input from a meaningful number of organisations and groups in the town that offer nature and wellbeing activities. Consultation with these organisations is well underway and has informed how we will continue this work in 2025.
We also committed to recruiting local volunteers to champion outdoor spaces. We will continue to build on the successes of 2024 in the coming years.
2025 Priorities
- Develop our Green Space Improvement Plan to improve and promote nature and the best of town and country.
- Create two new designated nature reserves at Hillbrow and one other site close to the Greenway.
- We will launch our ‘Living Well with Nature’ online platform in 2025. As a result of our consultation with local organisations in 2024, it has become clear that there is a need for an online central resource – a platform where we can express how we are working and how others are working with us, and where residents can go to find out how best to engage with nature.