Shortly before Christmas, the nine rangers who look after the parks and green spaces of Brighton and Hove were sent a text message from their bosses: six will lose their jobs under the Labour council’s austerity budget, a bonfire not of bureaucrats but of guardians of our green spaces.
Most of us imagine a squadron of Percy the Park Keepers if invited to consider “countryside managers”. In fact, this was a burgeoning profession. But conservation, keeping urban greenery safe and accessible, maintaining rights of way and promoting the outdoors are now considered inessential next to other duties of local government.
Sacking six rangers will save Brighton £175,000 a year, but will cost the city far more in the long run. Its rangers manage nearly 100 green spaces: they deploy sheep for “conservation grazing” on chalk grassland, which enables rare flowers and insects to flourish; they’ve recently organised volunteers to plant 100,000 native flowers and trees.
The Guardian: Parks are good for us – so why are they being neglected?
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