Weekly update, 10 July 2020

A blog by Catherine Leonard, Secretary-General

Reciprocal Visiting

INTO members participating in our new Reciprocal Visiting Programme are invited to join a discussion on 14 July at 12 noon UK time (11am GMT). We will review next steps and participating organisations will share where they are on the timeline.  Please join the conversation via this link.

The new arrangements between INTO members in the Isle of Man and Guernsey, which I mentioned in my last update, made it onto the BBC news this week. It’ll be really great when we can announce our new INTO-wide programme!

Reopening webinar

As many INTO members have now reopened their doors, gates and drawbridges (!), the next webinar in our series will explore the reopening experiences and lessons learned. Site managers from three European trusts will talk about the practicalities and compare different approaches, with tips that can be applied elsewhere in the world.  It will take place at 3pm UK time (14h00 GMT) on 22 July.  Please register via our webinar page.

It’s really heart-warming to see the joy of reopening in our Members’ social media feeds, here’s a few examples.

• Like many INTO members, the National Trust for Scotland has been using social media to interact and engage with its members and supporters
• Hydrangeas in the rain in Japan
• An article about National Cream Tea Day (26 June, if you’re interested) spent at Sissinghurst
• And an absolutely reopening beautiful video of the Zimbabwe National Trust’s flagship property, La Rochelle – can’t wait for those travel restrictions to end (click here for the full experience)!

Sustainable tourism survey

Many thanks to everyone who has completed our survey on the impacts of C-19 on your work and organisation.  If you haven’t already, there is still time and you can access it via this link to Survey Monkey.  We want to get as full a picture as possible of the global impacts of C-19 on the INTO family and really welcome your support.

NTEWNI calls for £5.5 billion investment in greening urban areas

This week, the National Trust EWNI has called for a £5.5 billion commitment from the UK government to invest in ‘greening’ the nation’s most deprived and greyest urban areas over the next five years.   Director-General, Hilary McGrady said the surge in use of green spaces during the coronavirus pandemic – up 25% this May compared with May 2018 – shows a desire for urgent green investment in neighbourhoods, towns and cities right across the country.  “Everyone needs access to natural beauty for their wellbeing. It’s the very foundations on which the Trust was built, and we want to live up to that ambition by supporting partners, projects and innovations that can deliver this humble but inspiring benefit to millions more people.”

The idea is to transform grey side streets into street parks, upgrade poor quality parks with more trees and better facilities to make them ‘fit for the 21st century’, and create large regional parks and forests on the urban fringe to make it easier for people without a car to enjoy wild natural spaces.   You can find out more here.

Moustachioed moochers

I love this initiative, raising the profile of REMPART’s work to save and celebrate French heritage!  (And I have a bit of a soft spot for an Yves Montand chanson …)  You can follow their progress, by bike, through the most beautiful villages of France via the REMPART website.

Dogs and drive-ins

And here’s another couple of nice ideas – a sponsored dog walk organised by An Taisce in Ireland and drive-in cinema at Blenheim Palace (non-INTO).

Diversity, equity and inclusion

Next week, the National Trust for Canada will be hosting five heritage leaders, talking about how heritage organisations, heritage sites and heritage advocates can show anti-racist leadership through their programmes, practices, plans and actions.  It sounds really interesting and you can sign up here, as well as access earlier discussions on subjects like fundraising, marketing and site management.

And finally …

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the National Trust for Scotland, here are ten ways it delivers its core purpose: From grazing battlefields to preserving poetry!

This afternoon we have a meeting of our Board of Trustees which I will report on next week.  Have a wonderful weekend, stay safe and enjoy this beautiful rainbow from the National Trust for Fiji.