William and Kate visit Fields in Trust to learn more about reducing access inequality to UK green spaces

The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Visit Scotland - Day Six
1/12
Robert Jobson27 May 2021

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have visited a pioneering initiative to reduce inequality of access to green spaces in the UK on the final day of their tour of Scotland.

Prince William and Kate visited Starbank Park in Edinburgh to hear about the work of Fields in Trust. The Duke of Cambridge has been President of Fields in Trust since 2013, when he took the role on from his grandfather, The Duke of Edinburgh, who had been involved with the organisation since 1948.

They heard about the organisation’s Green Space Index, which is an annual barometer of green space provision and distribution across the UK, and heard from volunteers and families how crucial the park has been to the local community.

William and Kate helped nursery school children scatter plant seeds that will attract butterflies and also met teenagers working towards their Duke of Edinburgh's bronze award who were planting sunflowers.

The Green Space Index is an analytical tool that identifies inequities of green space provision and consequently enables the planning and protection of green infrastructure that can help mitigate climate change at a local level.

Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit Starbank Park, in Edinburgh
REUTERS

This year’s report has found that over 2.77m people live further than a 10-minute walk from a local park or green space and only 6% of all parks and green spaces are protected in perpetuity.

Starbank Park is protected by Fields in Trust and run by Edinburgh City Council. On the visit, The Duke and Duchess were heard how Edinburgh City Council have used the Green Space Index developed by Fields in Trust to ensure that almost all of the population are within a ten-minute walk of a protected park or green spaces.

Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit Starbank Park, in Edinburgh
REUTERS

Their Royal Highnesses met with local volunteers who have transformed the 125 year old park over the last seven years, and meet members of the community who use the space including local families, nursery groups and Duke of Edinburgh Award participants.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in