A fund launched in the Summer to help preserve Scotland's parks is close to reaching a target to raise £1million by the end of 2023.
While 90% of urban Scots say it’s important to have access to nature, one in four say the quality of community greenspaces has declined in the last five years.
The Parks4Life fund was launched in August by social enterprise Greenspace Scotland - backed by The Herald - and since then £927,688 has been received in donations.
Community groups will be able to apply for grants to support projects and activities once the target has been achieved.
Many donations have come in the form of £10 or £20 contributions from locals who have voiced their support for the campaign, with one anonymous donator saying, “Parks have given me so much. They will only thrive if we care for them. Happy to give something to help their future”.
READ MORE: Scotand's parks need our love and support and you can help
Another commented, “Parks and greenspaces have given me so many happy memories over the years and hope this will help make many more.”
Greenspace Scotland launched its Park Portraits campaign; a digital photo exhibition bringing to life the stories of a dozen Scottish people and the ways that parks have enriched their lives.
The series, available to view on social enterprise's website celebrates people from a wide range of backgrounds across Scotland, and uncovers just how important their parks are to them for their mental and physical wellbeing.
The gallery features stories of a young BMXer at Bellshill Pump Track, a volunteer and campsite manager at Silverburn Park, and a community group in the Hebrides that has come together to build the first play park for the island’s children, among others.
These stories are intended to inspire Scots to reflect on the value they gain from their own local parks and consider donating to ensure they can continue enjoying these spaces.
READ MORE: £1million fund to safeguard Scotland's greenspaces is launched
With less than £75,000 left needed to hit the goal by the end of the year, project leaders say every donation large and small makes a difference towards reaching the first £1 million target.
There is a longer-term ambition to create a multi-million-pound sustainable endowment fund, similar to those commonly used by charities where money raised is held in an investment fund and the interest and dividends generated from that investment provides a sustainable source of income.
Parks4Life is what’s called a ‘restricted endowment’, in which the funds raised are held in perpetuity, and the investment interest and dividends alone are used to provide grant funding to community groups to support work in local parks.
A spokesperson for Greenspace Scotland said: "Funds raised by the end of 2023 will be invested as an endowment which will provide a steady source of funds for parks and will be used by communities to support parks improvements, activities, events, and projects; providing a much-needed opportunity to boost the resources that parks need to keep them in top condition.
"While local councils will continue to do their best to maintain and protect greenspaces, Parks4Life ensures a sustainable source of funding for communities to access towards specific goals that align with the mission to keep parks healthy and happy for the future."
Donations to Parks4Life can be made online or by texting PARK to 70450 to make a one-off donation of £5.
People across Scotland who would like to share their own Park Portrait and park story are invited to post on social media using the hashtag #Parks4LifePortraits.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here