Parks Trust splashes out on television commercial to promote Milton Keynes

The ad was commissioned by The Parks Trust, the self-financing charity that looks after more than 6,000 acres of parkland in Milton Keynes.

Called ‘Trust us’, it describes how the cities green spaces bring pleasure to tens of thousands of people and help educate everyone from children to pensioners.

The commercial will go live from today (Monday) on local television across the region. You can watch it here.

The Parks Trust recently won a Green Flag award for the fifth consecutive year and has achieved a 98% satisfaction rating in its own public opinion survey

Over the past year it has delivered 560 education sessions and organised or supported 1,700 events, attended by almost 100,000 people.

Volunteers for the charity have notched up 6,000 hours during this time.

At this months annual meeting, the Trust revealed its total assets had increased to £150m, including £2.4m in new endowments.

It reported a total investment income of £9.4m for the year and a record annual spend on charitable activities of £14.8m

Other achievements include the appointment of a new Sustainability Manager to support the Trust’s ambition to achieve net zero, and the creation of a new in-house cleansing team to tackle the growing litter problem

Some 35,000 new trees and shrubs have been planted, including a number which form part of the Queen’s Green Canopy, and phase two of the Willen Lake development has been completed.

There has also been progress with the rejuvenation of Great Linford Manor Park, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Hannah Bodley, the Trust’s head of marketing, said, “Our wide-ranging work is entirely funded by income we have to generate ourselves and touches the lives of every resident in the city. However, many people still don’t realise that it’s a charity caring for their green spaces, delivering outdoor learning to their schools and bringing the community together.

"Local TV advertising is now a more affordable channel and, as we enter our 30th birthday year, it offers a great way to increase awareness of the Trust.”

The 30th birthday of The Parks Trust is to be commemorated on July 10 with a tea party at The Milton Keynes Rose.