Communities Get Active in Nature with Walking Together

Bank holiday Monday 1st May was the sixth and final Walking Together event in the pilot community walking series that F&BF has been running since August 2022 in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The walks have happened at six different parks and green spaces in the borough, bringing together people from different faiths & beliefs, cultures and ages. 
Overall, the project saw over 200 people attend the walks, with Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, atheist, agnostic and spiritual people all attending to hear about community work going on in the borough. This is a new type of project for F&BF, a great experience of localised, physically active interfaith work. 

This project was a new direction for the Faith & Belief Forum. The pandemic exacerbated demographic inequalities in use of and access to green spaces across the country. We applied to London Marathon Charitable Trust to help us promote active citizens in green spaces while fostering intercultural understanding and interfaith activities.  

During Walking Together, the group has taken in aspects of each other’s cultures and faiths. We held three walks in August-September 2022. Marks Gate Relief Project held a talk about similarities between faith groups, including shared etymologies of Hindu and Muslim words (while the group powered through 40-degree heat!). Community Concord held their event to coincide with the Ganesh festival in Barking Town Square, allowing participants to experience local Indian culture. We were also joined by local voluntary historians through BeFirst, who gave insight into the historic Barking Abbey and surrounding Barking Town. Al-Kawther Academy centred youth through their walk, with young people being walk Marshals and gave talks at their event in their event in Dagenham.  

We allowed an intermission for the winter months (who wants to rely on British weather?), before resuming in March 2023 with a walk that promoted residents’ engagement in the borough, providing the group a chance to hear about park redevelopment with Citizen’s Alliance Network who help residents participate in civic life. We also toured the Dagenham Community Hub and Library, hearing the diverse services available to residents including employment, money management, books, and food clubs.  

Two more walks in April and May closed the project. Firstly, APSC led the group in Barking Park. Completing a peaceful walk by the lake, the group then headed to APSC’s nearby offices to be immersed in African Portuguese culture. We learnt to speak a few words of Portuguese, attempting our best pronunciations, while also hearing about the great work with art therapy and education in the APSC offices. There was also excellent African Portuguese food on offer. Finally, MSA led an Eid-themed walk at Fairlop Waters. The largest group of the project walked round the lake, experiencing a sporty warm up with an MSA coach as well as viewing the diverse nature through gathering leaves as we walked. We gathered at the end for food and activities including pass the parcel, face painting and henna.  

The event concluded with a presentation of certificates to the project partners:

Marks Gate Relief Project, Community Concord, Al-Kawther Academy, African Portuguese Speaking Community, and Muslimah Sports Association. Everyone who attended also received a certificate of participation for them to remember the project. Participants shared that they enjoyed “meeting familiar and new people, being in the outdoors, and lovely food and games for kids”, and “walking as a group and connecting with nature”.  

By Matthew Gold