Vodafone and UK National Parks partnership uses AI technology to help connect people with nature and protect it for the future - UK National Parks
- New polling from Vodafone reveals that majority of people (82%) want to spend more time in nature with less than 1 in 10 (8%) able to do so daily.
- Brits agree that being in nature offers measurable health benefits including improved mental health (60%), physical health (56%) and emotional wellbeing (55%).
- Businesses can play a role in supporting nature initiatives: More than three quarters of those surveyed (78%) think businesses can help protect the environment, with almost half (47%) agreeing that tech-enabled solutions are important.
- New multi-year partnership focuses on connecting people with nature: From this year, Vodafone will be working with UK National Parks on several key projects, including AI Habitat Mapping, an important restoration project in Eryri National Park, and a community engagement programme in Northumberland National Park.
29 April 2025 – Vodafone and UK National Parks have today announced a new three-year partnership that will use the power of Vodafone’s network and cutting-edge technology to help protect ecosystems, engage local communities, and support the future of the National Parks.
The partnership will initially focus on the rollout of AI-powered habitat mapping across all fifteen parks. This will help transform the approach to conservation, by securing detailed habitat and biodiversity data in just a fraction of the time it would take to produce manually. Vodafone will also use its innovative technology to help provide the National Parks with real-time, high-resolution data on biodiversity, visitor impact and habitat health. All of which builds on Vodafone’s recent network-as-a-sensor trial in support of flood forecasting along the River Severn.
The partnership will include a programme of initiatives designed to support access to nature and drive awareness of the health benefits it can bring. These projects will focus on how to increase engagement with the natural world, help more people access the National Parks, and support the existing 90 million annual visitors as they explore everything the National Parks have to offer.
Despite the health benefits of outdoor recreation having an estimated worth of £8.4 billion, new research commissioned by Vodafone to mark the launch of the partnership and better understand the public’s relationship with nature, revealed that just 8% of Brits are able to spend time in nature on a daily basis, with a huge 82% of people admitting they want to spend more time in the great outdoors.