The Greensand Trust is once again celebrating after receiving a Green Flag Award for Rushmere Country Park for the sixth consecutive year. The 400 acre site is one of 2,250 in the UK to achieve the award, which is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.

The news that Rushmere Country Park has met the standards required for the accreditation is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team of staff and volunteers who care for the green space so that visitors and residents alike can enjoy it.

Green Flag Award Scheme Manager, Paul Todd MBE, said:

Congratulations to everyone involved in Rushmere Country Park who has worked tirelessly to ensure that it achieves the high standards required for the Green Flag Award. Quality parks and green spaces like Rushmere make the country a heathier place to live and work in and a stronger place in which to invest. Crucially, Rushmere is a vital green space for communities in the Leighton Buzzard area to enjoy nature and is a safe space where families can socialise. It also provides important opportunities for local people and visitors to reap the physical and mental health benefits of green space.

Gill Welham, Chief Executive of The Greensand Trust which runs the park on a not for profit basis, said:

We’re delighted to have been awarded this prestigious accolade for the sixth year running and are, as always, extremely grateful to our volunteers and staff at the park for their continued hard work in looking after over 400 acres and providing quality facilities for our visitors at the Herons’ View Visitor Centre and Tree Tops Café.

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.