The British Isles has a huge variety and richness of landscapes, buildings, wildlife, history and cultural association which helps give each area its local identity. This local distinctiveness is being eroded by mass production, out-of-town shopping developments, signs and shop fronts, roadsides and landscape planting, all of which are tending to make one area look and feel very much like another.
Common Ground is a charity formed to promote the importance of our everyday cultural heritage, including nature, buildings, popular history and local places. This is done by developing links with the arts and encouraging local action to emphasise the cultural and emotional bonds that develop with the places in which we live. From this concept has sprung a wide range of practical projects which have been taken up enthusiastically by many communities. These include Tree Dressing, Apple Day, community orchards, and the Parish Maps Project. Further details on these and other projects are available from Common Ground.
