According to one UN definition, London could be classified as a forest. It has over eight million trees. If we thought of London as a forest – what opportunities would that create? Despite our recognition of the UK’s unique countryside, we tend to see our towns and cities as if they were just people and buildings. But a third of urban areas are covered with natural land– scrub, woodland, waterways, parks, playing fields and greenspaces. A further third is made up of private gardens.

We know greenspaces reduce flooding, mitigate pollution, reduce heat, contribute to well-being, improve mental health. We know that climate change is the most important threat to our planet. And yet, a glance at the average council agenda or Westminster order paper would give no hint of this. This is not just about the good work going on in parks and open spaces, but about reshaping the way we all think about where we live.

If councils and government applied ‘garden mind’ to the work of a town or a city, what would change?

• We would connect things together. We would no longer think about food, leisure, shelter, travel or pollution in separate boxes, we would trace the connections and encourage our experts to talk together to find ways to amplify each other’s solutions rather than cutting across each other.
• We would acknowledge the many experiments that are underway and make more. We would create space for self-organising to flourish. We would work through trial and error, not abandoning experiments when they fail, but learning thoroughly and curiously about our mistakes, encouraging others to improve upon our attempts.
• We would ‘think little’. Instead of abstract strategy documents, we would start with practical work in a specific place. Local teams would work with the energy and experience of the people they encounter, co-creating solutions that work in that place. These initiatives would be led by the people who made them and be flexible to adjustments, changes and constant improvements.
• We would build relationships. We would spend time together, sharing knowledge, building a shared endeavour, linking our networks, so that we connect more and more people to these ideas.
• We would change the relationship between councils and communities. Communities brim with ideas but often need practical help and funding from local authorities. But councils can too easily take over and treat community organisations as ‘contractors’ rather than partners. By making the relationship reciprocal, by responding with kindness and flexibility to match the excitement and energy of community groups on the move, councils can forge a new powerful dynamic that draws on the strength of both.
• We would start to change the education not just of children, but of civil servants, council officers, managers, doctors, social workers – sharing the skills to collaborate effectively and think about and work in systems. Perhaps every council and health service employee could be allowed to volunteer for a local project for a few days a year. Perhaps every senior manager should be reverse coached by a young environmental volunteer.

Since none of this can be accomplished through committee reports, we will have to experiment. Let’s go outside. Ask decision makers to spend less time in meeting rooms and more time out and about. Post COVID-19, should we create meeting spaces in parks? Perhaps we can make meetings more useful – by litter picking or weeding or making up foodbank parcels as we talk. In a neighbourhood project I was involved in in Islington, we began to hold ‘walkabout meetings’ where for two hours or so we walked the patch. In doing so, everything changed. We would notice things around us and stop and chat to residents. We spotted railings fencing off a garden space so it couldn’t be used. The housing director made a note. The chief executive came alongside a community worker and discussed the adventure playground. We popped into the health centre. Understanding grew.

Show, don’t just talk or write papers. Invite MPs and councillors down to the woodlands and parks, to the community greenhouses and the rewilded waterways. Offer the top management team their own allotment. Give the MP a flower garden to design with residents. Ask schoolchildren to help you plan the next project. Put your garden mind to work.