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Support Others > Insight & Learning > Active Environment Network
Active Environment Network – creating a movement from the doorstep
Active Environments are green, blue and urban (grey) spaces where people can be active. We aim to ensure that these spaces are walkable by being safe, accessible, stimulating and connected to nature.
The Active Environment Network is a space for anyone who works to provide safe, active and inclusive places and spaces to come together so we can share learning, develop opportunities and engage in supporting people to make movement a part of their lives. If you’d like to join the network, please sign up below.
To help us explain what we mean by an active environment and what makes an active environment, this diagram aims to illustrate this.
Active Environment Network Sessions
To catch up on the Active Environment Network sessions which have been held so far, please see below.
The Importance of Play in Creating Positive Physical Activity Experiences for Children – 16 July 2025
Connectivity and Active Travel – 06 May 2025
Connecting Nature and Movement – 22 January 2025
Embedding Health and Movement into the Planning System – 03 December 2024
Creating Community Activity Hubs – 02 July 2024
Creating Safe Open Spaces – 16 April 2024
More Active Environment Network resources
Included Outside – Natural England
There is a wide range of information, from academic studies to personal experiences, that helps us understand what supports or prevents different groups from accessing and enjoying nature and outdoor spaces. Natural England created this publication series to bring all this evidence together in one place. The aim is to help practitioners consider the needs of under-represented groups and learn from past efforts to meet those needs. The series also highlights the importance of intersectionality – how different aspects of a person’s identity, such as race, age, or social background, can overlap and shape their experiences.
Creating Health and Wellbeing
A partnership approach to
evidence-led planning and design
in our cities, towns and villages.
Sport England – Active Design
Where we live, work, travel and play has a major role in shaping our activity choices. By applying Active Design’s 10 principles to our built and natural environments, we can create active environments that encourage people to be active through their everyday lives. With a shared belief and commitment to the great value that well designed places can have on health and wellbeing, Sport England have worked with Active Travel England (ATE) and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) to produce this updated version of the Active Design guide.
Access for All
Access for All offers practical and cost-effective solutions to create accessible indoor and outdoor environments for everyone.
Walk Derbyshire
Walk Derbyshire aims to promote all walking opportunities across the county. they want to make every day walking the norm across the county and more people to enjoy walking and its benefits. They provide information and support to encourage local communities across the county to get out and walk more from their doorstep. This could be walking to your school, a visit to the local shop or as part of your lunch break from either your home or workplace.
Walk Notts
Walk Notts have a big ambition, they want to inspire, enable, and support residents and communities in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to walk or wheel in their everyday lives, particularly those who don’t currently walk or wheel much. They want to transform the way people think and behave in relation to walking and to do this they are working with key partners such as transport planners, schools and other organisations to help improve walking conditions.
This Girl Can – Safer Spaces to Move
Safer Spaces to Move is a dedicated project between ukactive and Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign designed to help women and girls to feel safe and more confident while being active in gyms, fitness and leisure facilities. The Safer Spaces to Move project provides resources, training and guidance for the sector to reduce some of the barriers women and girls face in taking part in physical activity and create spaces that are inclusive and enjoyable for all.
The Nottinghamshire Spatial Planning Framework 2025-30
This refreshed framework is the result of independent evaluation and strong collaboration between county, district, and borough planners. It represents a shared commitment to making health a priority at every stage of the planning process.