Has giving back to the community ever been more important?
Communities in the UK and, around the world have shown unparalleled kindness in arguably the most testing time of our generation. But is there one community in the UK that gives back the most, and is the most thoughtful?
Bloom & Wild, the UK’s leading letterbox flower company have crunched the numbers and identified which communities in the UK are the most thoughtful. By analysing the number of charities, volunteering opportunities, community gardening schemes, ultra-low emission vehicle ownership, and recycling rates, in proportion to population size, they’ve determined which places give the most back to their communities.
The research revealed that the most thoughtful places in the UK…
Swindon! With an overall score of 79 out of 100, Swindon, in the Wiltshire, has proven to house a super thoughtful bunch of people. Nearby neighbours Bath and Oxford came a close joint second with a score of 78/10. Darlington ranked 6th overall with a score of 74.
Best places to work with charities
The places with the most charities in the UK (per person) are Bedford, with almost 1,300. In second place, we find ourselves in Scotland, with Edinburgh home to almost 3,000 charities. Other places that fill our top 5 are Bath, Wokingham, and Gateshead.
Best places for volunteering
Head up to the Lake District’s biggest city Carlisle, to find the place with the most volunteering opportunities per person. Other locations great for UK volunteering include Burnley in Lancashire, Cheltenham and Gloucester, in the South West.
Highest density of Community Gardening Schemes
With 15 community gardening schemes, Truro, in Cornwall has the highest density of community gardening schemes in the country. The next best locations for green fingers are Blackpool, Rochdale, Sevenoaks and Exeter.
Highest recycling rates
Recycling is an enormous part of our everyday lives and something all of us should take really seriously, and it’s clear that one country in the UK does more than anyone else. Bridgend in Wales take their recycling responsibility seriously too, with a recycling rate of 69.7%. Following Bridgend, the other places that take their recycling seriously are the Welsh towns of Wrexham, Caerphilly, and Swansea.
Best places for ownership rate of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles
Finally, it became apparent that Slough currently has the most registered ultra-low emission vehicles, with just over 4,500 plug-in vehicles cleanly roaming the roads. Peterborough, Swindon, Milton Keynes and Sevenoaks also all made the top 5 in ULEV ownership rates in the country.
This is what Marisa Thomas, Head of Brand at Bloom & Wild, had to say about the research: “It’s incredible to see the level of thoughtfulness so many communities embody. Everywhere, people have been giving back in any way they can. What really stands out to me is the huge number of opportunities there are to give back. From volunteering for your local charity to joining a community gardening group – there’s lots we can all take inspiration from. It’s also so great to see a big rise in environmental efforts, like recycling rates and eco-friendly cars on our roads increasing.”