Hundreds march on the moors
On Saturday 30th July, campaigning organisation 38 Degrees brought together hundreds of walkers and art-lovers on Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the charity Campaign for National Parks.
The Campaign for National Parks was created in 1936, when a group of people - passionate about the nation’s stunning open landscapes - decided to work together and launch a campaign to protect them for future generations.
80 years later and England, Scotland and Wales now has fifteen designated National parks, bringing over £4 billion to the UK economy (through food, business, tourism and conservation) and 70,000 jobs. Which means they richly deserve to be cherished and protected!
In 2015, 38 Degrees started to campaign with the Campaign for National Parks for greater protection for these stunning landscapes, resulting in almost 200,000 of their members signing a petition to protect parks against a proposed £350 million cut in Government funding. A further 68,000 members added their name to protect the National parks from fracking.
On Saturday, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of this amazing achievement and milestone, a record 1,860 walkers turned out for the ‘Inspired by Nature’ events, hosted by 38 Degrees.
People took part in either a professionally guided walk (sharing the very best that Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks have to offer), or joined a unique ‘art in nature’ walk with a very special arts workshop, curated by land artist Richard Shilling and hosted by local artists.
Maddy Carroll, 38 Degrees Campaign Director, said: "38 Degrees is the UK's biggest people-powered organisation - with millions of members across the UK who work together to achieve great things. 80 years ago people power led to the creation of National parks. This weekend thousands of people came together in every National park in Britain as tribute to those who’s campaigning means that we can still enjoy these beautiful places today."
Gemma Rogers, campaign and communications officer for Campaign for National Parks, said: “This weekend was a fantastic display of how much people care about some of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes. National parks truly are sensational and it was great to hear from people at Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks who said how much they enjoyed themselves. We are so lucky to have worked with 38 Degrees again on this monumental occasion of our 80th anniversary and to celebrate the magnificence of National parks.”
For those that missed out on the events (or for the people who took part and want to do more), you can still join in campaigning to protect the National parks!
Keep an eye on www.38degrees.org.uk or the 38 Degrees social media channels (Facebook and Twitter) to find out what campaigns are taking place in your area.
THE NUMBERS
- There are fifteen designated National parks in England, Scotland and Wales
- Volunteers in National parks put in 43,000 work days per year
- The National parks receive over 90 million visitors every year
- Over 1/3 of England’s food with a protected name status is produced in the National parks
- On 30th July, 1,860 people took part in 45 different events to celebrate the Campaign for National Parks 80th anniversary
- They drank an estimated 2,700 cups of tea
- 30 pieces of land art were created, each inspired by the National park it was designed within
- 33 artists across England, Scotland and Wales were involved
- During one day, people taking part in 38 Degrees’ art workshops collectively walked for a total of 1,905 hours, or almost 80 days!
- Those taking part in 38 Degrees guided walks walked for a total of 4,404 hours, or 183.5 days. Which according to this website, is the same time it took Bilbo Baggins to walk from Bag End to Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit!
