Trees company

Some time ago, Greener Leith ran The Leith Links Ask, which asked local residents to vote for three proposals that would improve Leith Links. At the time, some people were surprised that proposals to plant 'mini-nature reserves', wildflowers and establish a 'Leith Gardens' came in high on the results list. 

It's therefore interesting to see that Leithers attitudes to their parks aren't so different from people who live in the rest of the city. The City of Edinburgh Council have just released the results of their 'Parks Survey' that sought, amongst other things, to identify what people value about their parks. Here's the list of things that people said they thought were 'very important' or 'quite important':

Aspect	%
Trees and woodlands	96%
Nature reserves	94%
Presence of wildlife	93%
Grassed areas	92%
Public toilets	77%
Facilities for young people	76%
Sports facilities	74%
Signage	74%
Educational activities	72%
Formal planting	68%
Allotments	65%
History of parks information	59%
Events in parks	57%

These figures are based on the views of just over 1000 residents from all over Edinburgh. It would seem that Leithers are not the only people to value green space, wildlife and trees. As we've noted previously however, it is unfortunate that Leithers have access to a lower amount of green space than other parts of Edinburgh, and the parks, and the play facilities we do have are not of the same quality as elsewhere. 

Interestingly, the report also highlights the fact that the older people get, the less likely they are to agree with the statement, "Edinburgh's parks meet my needs." Does this mean that more thought needs to be given to making parks enjoyable and accessible for older people too? The report suggests another possible reason for this trend -  is it because older people have higher expectations of maintenance than younger folk. If this is the case, perhaps this is a case where we should listen to our elders?

You can download the whole Parks Survey Report here.