Birmingham Open Spaces Forum awarded National Lottery funding

We’re celebrating a major new funding award from the National Lottery Community Fund’s Reaching Communities programme!

This three-year grant will support our core work across Birmingham and help us launch a brand new programme focused on supporting communities in Nechells, Balsall Heath, and Bordesley & Highgate – three wards that experience some of the city’s highest inequalities in access to safe, welcoming green spaces.

Thanks to this funding, we’ll expand our team and start working directly with local communities to support the creation and development of at least 10 new green space community action groups across these areas.

This initiative builds on our 20-year track record of empowering grassroots volunteer groups to care for Birmingham’s parks, allotments, nature reserves, and open spaces. These groups are vital in supporting the city’s open spaces – this funding ensures more people can get involved, and will help increase local use of green spaces. Leading to safer and more inclusive environments, and will support residents who wish to take pride and ownership in their nearby open spaces.

As our Operations Director Mary Kennedy says:
“We’re absolutely delighted to receive this funding. It means we can carry on supporting our citywide network of green space volunteers while focusing on reaching communities that have historically been left out of the conversation. It’s about encouraging local people to build a better relationship with the green spaces on their doorsteps.”

Over the next year we’ll begin work in each ward, getting to know communities, mapping existing spaces, and organising accessible outreach events to bring people together for example nature walks and litter picks.

The project recognises the need for long-term, relationship-led support in communities where trust in public spaces may be low. Coordinators will offer hands-on guidance and one-to-one mentoring, from helping a new group to adopt a constitution or set up a bank account, to supporting them with social media, fundraising, and partnership building.

Our aim is to build confidence and support local leadership so that these new groups can keep going well beyond the life of the programme.

This project will help bring people together, improve the places that matter, and support more people to fulfil their potential through volunteering, connection with nature, and community ownership of green spaces.

Posted on 9th May 2025