In his capacity as Chair of GreenSpace South West, Peter Wilkinson again Chaired the quarterly GreenSpace National Forum (GSNF) in Birmingham - this role is part of The Next Field's wider contribution to the ongoing development of the green space sector.

Discussions at the meeting focused on initiatives across the English Regions, with much attention given to how we deal with the acute challenges faced by public agencies and local authorities as a result of the Government's austerity measures.

This was the first GSNF attended by Sarah Royal who is the Chair of the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces. Sarah gave a brief talk regarding the background and growth of the NFPGS, explained which local authority areas were represented by their own local Friends Group Forums, and set out the Federation's plans for the future. For more information regarding the NFPGS, please see www.green-space.org.uk/community/nfpgs/

The GSNF also included two excellent presentations. The first was on Heritage Lottery funding for Parks and Landscapes by Drew Bennellick - Head of Landscapes and Natural Heritage at the HLF. Drew focused on the different funding schemes available for Parks and Landscapes, and shared (off the record) HLF's ambitions to change the grant regime under the Parks for People programme. For further information on extremely encouraging changes to the P4P grants - which have reduced the match funding requirement - please visit the website www.hlf.org.uk The second presentation was by Dave Solly from the People and Access Team at Natural England. Dave introduced the Monitor Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) Survey and highlighted the results of the 2009-2010 survey. The MENE survey provides the most comprehensive dataset yet available on people's use and enjoyment of the natural environment. The full report is available on Natural England's website, please see www.naturalengland.org.uk