Client: Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust

The Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust have been awarded a National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) development grant towards an £18 million project Unlocking Highgate Cemetery which aims to ensure the cemetery remains an active burial ground and a vital sanctuary for heritage, nature and community.

One strand within the “community” theme of Unlocking Highgate Cemetery focuses on health, particularly mental health. We are partnering with the North London Foundation Trust and UCL to inform this work, building on the Healthy Parks Framework, an evidence-based policy tool designed to assess and manage greenspaces inclusively and sustainably through the lens of health. The Framework was co-produced with Gemma Moore, Liza Griffin and Ruth Hynes (UCL), along with stakeholders from Camden and Islington councils as part of their Parks for Health Strategy.

We are looking to develop a Healthy Cemeteries Framework which draws out the health-promoting qualities specific to cemeteries as green spaces and provides guidance for good practice.

Read When is a Cemetery Good for Your Health?