Press Release – Spotty Otter Helps Unzip Access to the UK’s National Parks
-
Date posted: 23/05/2022
-
Time to read: 4 minutes
PRESS RELEASE
23 May 2022
Kids’ Outdoor Clothing Company Helps Unzip Access to the UK’s National Parks
As spring turns to early summer, the temptations of the outdoors shouldn’t be limited by lack of suitable clothing or lack of access to the wealth of the UK’s countryside. Leading sustainable children’s outdoor clothing company Spotty Otter are putting their money where their footprints have long been leading, with two big-striding initiatives to support the work of the UK’s great National Parks, and help families discover them.
From the lush New Forest to the lofty Cairngorms, the UK’s 15 National Parks offer endless options for outdoor fun, from gentle walking to action filled adventure. Covering a staggering 16,267 square kilometres, they’re much closer and more accessible, for free, than many realise.
Founded in 2007 by a small team of outdoor enthusiasts frustrated by inadequate kids’ clothing, Spotty Otter has built a strong reputation and committed following for their fun, functional, bright and hardwearing performance clothing, designed and made exclusively for kids. A perfect fit for children taking their first steps, leaps, splashes and swings in the great outdoors while staying warm and dry, the company has announced a partnership with the National Parks UK to help preserve and promote these natural playgrounds.
15% of all profits from their dynamic waterproof Forest Ranger and Leader clothing and footwear ranges will be directed to the National Parks UK Education Travel Fund. Investment will support vital work protecting and enhancing the Parks, and co-ordinating programmes, activities and travel grants to help young people, families and communities discover and connect with nature.
The company is also on the nature-hunt for “family ambassadors”, with children aged up to 8, to share their Spotty Otter adventure pictures and stories from their favourite National Park. Two lucky families selected per park (at random) will receive free Spotty Otter Forest kit, (down to the all-important puddle-tastic wellies), to take their adventures further, higher, and splashier than ever before.
Spotty Otter MD Rob Merrett says: “Designed from a child’s point of view, we love seeing our Forest kit keeping kids warm and happy as they discover the great outdoors across every season. We’re immensely proud to support the National Parks UK inspiring conservation and community work, with long term investment from our profits- not our customers’ pockets- without adding one penny to our prices.
“We’ve made it simple to apply to be a Family Ambassadors. Visit www.spottyotter.co.uk/national-parks-ambassadors/ then get out to your favourite National Park, anywhere in the UK, get creative, and get submitting!”
Lisa Sensier from National Parks Partnerships says: “Spotty Otter is a great brand whose investment and commitment matches our ethos of access to nature for all. The new ambassadors will be also taking great strides, to inspire more families to pull on a jacket and follow in their footsteps.”
Media Information:
Founded in 2007, Spotty Otter, is an outdoor clothing company, making top-spec, weatherproof outdoor clothing made exclusively for kids.
Their exclusive collections use top of the range Ottertex® ripstop and waterproof fabric (up to 15,000mm), and are graded to the highest sustainable, cruelty- and harmful-chemical-free independent standards, including Bluesign® environmental standard, and OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 confirming 100% harmful substance-free.
Spotty Otter will be donating 15% of all profits from the Forest Ranger and Forest Leader clothing and footwear ranges to the National Parks UK Education Travel Fund.
Two families with children up to the age of 8 will be chosen as “Family Ambassadors” for each park, receiving free Spotty Otter clothing and footwear, and the opportunity to share their Spotty Otter favourite National Park adventures and pictures via the company blog and social media. To apply, see the Ambassadors” page at www.spottyotter.co.uk/national-parks-ambassadors or Spotty Otter on Facebook. A ‘favourite’ park does not need to be the closest National Park geographically to home, it can be one visited regularly with grandparents, or a holiday favourite.
For further media information, photographs or interviews, please contact Spotty Otter Brand Manager – Indy Dhillon on 07734464060 or indy@spottyotter.co.uk
About UK National Parks:
- There are 15 National Parks in the UK, spanning the length and breadth of the country. 10 in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland.
- National Parks cover almost 10 percent of England, 20 percent of Wales and 8 percent of Scotland.
- Each National Park is administered by its own authority, but that authority does not own all of the land within the Park. They are independent bodies funded by central government to:
- Conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage.
- Promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of national parks by the public.
- In carrying out these aims, National Park Authorities are also required to seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the national park.
- National Parks are free to enter and explore and have 104 million visits each year.
- For more information visit nationalparks.uk
For further information please contact Lisa Sensier, National Parks Partnerships, lisa.sensier@nationalparks.co.uk, 07767 885824.
ENDS
💚 Our National Parks are intertwined in many of our lives, whether it`s on a daily basis or less often. But they don`t just happen by themselves.
They rely on people and communities every single day. From the friendly faces in a visitors centre to the farmer right out in the wilderness, our parks are what they are thanks to the people who give their time to them.
#NationalParksUK #PeopleinAction
🏴We all know Eryri National Park (Snowdonia) for being home to impressive peaks - but this landscape also holds some of the most dramatic scenery in the UK in the form of castles. 🏰
Hidden in the valleys are rugged, secret strongholds. Castle Harlech here, nestled onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea, hosted the longest siege in British history which lasted for seven years.
Our National Parks are known for beautiful views, but they also protect some incredible homes and stories that span across our history. Together we can preserve history.
#HarlechCastle #EryriNationalPark #WelshCastles
Good news for nature August roundup 🌿
This time there’s cats, bugs and birds. There’s so many spectacular sightings, breakthroughs and results for wildlife every single day in our National Parks.
Here are just four pieces of recent good news to make you smile this weekend. Share with someone who loves nature to spread the positivity 💚
#GoodNews #NationalParks #Wildlife
Three years ago, beavers returned to the Cairngorms. 🦫
After more than 400 years away, the first beaver family was released into the National Park in December 2023.
Since then, something special has happened: they’ve settled, spread and started breeding. There are now around 72 beavers in the Cairngorms, including kits born in the wild.
And they’re not just living in the landscape, they’re helping to shape it. By creating wetlands and changing waterways, beavers can help hold and slow water, and create habitats that benefit a whole host of other species. 🌿
It’s a brilliant example of how our National Parks can play a vital role in nature recovery - and what’s possible when people work together to bring species back and create healthier, more resilient landscapes for people and nature.
#NationalParks #Cairngorms #Beavers #NatureRecovery
September is a great time to try nature journaling 📝🍂
A simple form of mindfulness, nature journaling encourages us to slow down and notice what’s happening in the world around us - from the first changing leaves and fungi appearing to the birds we hear and the changing light.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simply about taking a moment to be present, pay attention and connect with nature.
All you need is a notebook, a pen and somewhere outdoors. Our National Parks are pretty good spots for it, too. 👀
Have you ever tried nature journaling? It’s another way our National Parks are helping people to unwind, everyday.
#NatureJournaling #NationalParks #Mindfulness
🦇When the sun goes down, a whole new world comes to life.
Our National Parks are home to many rare species, including wildlife that can be much harder to spot. The New Forest is home to 14 of the UK’s 18 species of bat, from tiny pipistrelles to some of our rarer woodland species.
Bats depend on a mosaic of habitats to survive, and across the UK’s 15 National Parks, work is happening to protect the places wildlife depends on – even when we don’t always see it.
This International Bat Night, meet just some of the bats our Parks are home to.
📸
1. Soprano Pipistrelle – Russell Wynn / Wild New Forest
2. Soprano Pipistrelle – New Forest National Park
3. Barbastelle – Hugh Clark/Bat Conservation Trust
#BatsOfInstagram #NewForest #InternationalBatNight
15 National Parks. Countless landscapes and communities.💚
Working farmland. Wild coastlines. Woodland paths. Places shaped by generations of people.
Our National Parks are incredibly diverse and not just in the landscapes they protect, but in the people, nature, heritage and stories that make each one unique.
#NationalParksUK #UKNature
Look a little closer and you’ll find a landscape full of life at the Peak District National Park. 🌿
From dippers, ring ouzels and mountain hares in the uplands, to curlews calling across the moorlands and meadow brown butterflies in grasslands, these are just five of the many species you can see in the Peak District this season.
Protecting the special landscapes across our 15 National Padks means protecting the variety of wildlife relying on these habitats as their homes.
Which would you most like to spot? 👀
📷
1. Mountain Hare
2. Curlew
3. Ring Ouzel
4. Meadow Brown Butterfly - Alex Hyde
5. Dipper - Tom Marshall
#PeakDistrict #Wildlife #NationalParksUK
