London is bursting with nature. Home to eight million trees and more than 3,000 parks, it became the world’s first National Park City in 2019. The grassroots organisation has built a network of National Park City rangers across the capital.
Here, three of them explain the best ways to enjoy nature in London.
Mushroom hunting
“When it comes to wild mushrooms, it’s not so much about where to look for them, but how,” says Mike Green, who became a National Park City ranger in 2020. “The best way to find mushrooms is to slow down. These incredible organisms are all around us, but it’s so easy to overlook them when you’re rushing from one place to the next.”
With support from the National Park City scheme, Green founded the London Fungus Network, which runs guided walks. “Urban mushroom hunting always gives me a buzz, like finding Fairy Rings on football fields or hundreds of Shaggy Ink Caps carpeting the lawn outside a block of flats,” says Green.
“The magic in mushrooms is that, once you start learning about them, they become a gateway for discovering deeper connections in nature.”
Growing
Community-led initiatives are making growing your own food more accessible to Londoners. Having lived in Newham for 62 years, National Park City ranger Katie Blake set up a community garden on her allotment when she retired. “There is so much satisfaction to growing your own food, as well as the health benefits,” says Blake.
She and a colleague have raised £20,000 from the Community Infrastructure Fund to build a garden at Folkstone Road Allotments “for deaf, elderly and disabled people to come and grow vegetables and flowers in comfort.”
“Becoming a National Park City ranger has connected me with so many other people doing great things for nature in their communities and really gave me the confidence to get started,” she says.
Walking
“We have lost our connection to nature, particularly in London. Therefore, I’m keen to share different ways that we can connect with it,” says Chantal Woodun, who guides walks as a ranger and runs the @wanderfulldn Instagram account to highlight the natural wonders on our doorstep.
“It is so easy to miss what is right under our noses,” she says. “As soon as you stop and start observing, you realise London is full of natural wonder.”
Look out for Green, Blake and Woodun — along with 300 other heroes inspiring their communities — on a billboard near you, as London celebrates its fourth year as a National Park City.
Visit nationalparkcity.london
