From Seed to Roots

Reflections on Five Years of Future Parks in Birmingham
By a Community Facilitator, Birmingham City of Nature Alliance

When we first set out on the Future Parks Accelerator journey five years ago, the goal felt both urgent and enormous: tackle environmental injustice, reconnect people with the nature on their doorstep, and transform the way green spaces are valued and used in Birmingham. Today, as we officially bring the FPA project to a close, I feel a deep sense of pride — but also a clear understanding that this is only the beginning.

Reconnecting People with Nature

Across Birmingham, we’ve seen what happens when communities are supported to shape the natural spaces around them. From youth-led gardening projects in inner-city neighbourhoods, to cultural celebrations in our parks, to residents co-designing green corridors. This project has been about listening first, then acting together.

We learned that people didn’t always feel welcome or safe in local green spaces and some didn’t even know they existed. Environmental injustice isn’t just about pollution or a lack of trees; it’s about who feels included, heard, and empowered. Through trust-building, cultural awareness, and long-term community relationships, we started to overcome these barriers. That work must continue.

Breaking Down Barriers

It wasn’t always easy. At times, bureaucracy, funding gaps, or even well-intended top-down thinking got in the way. But the power of community-first collaboration helped us navigate these challenges. We stopped asking “What can we do for you?” and started asking “What can we do together?”

Whether it was co-developing green space plans with neighbourhood forums, building confidence in groups that had never been given a seat at the table, or translating ideas into action with the support of local and national organisations we saw that change doesn’t come from one source. It comes from a network of people pulling in the same direction.

The City of Nature Alliance: Our Future, Together

The Future Parks Accelerator may be complete, but our ambition is growing. The real work, the generational shift, is ahead of us. The City of Nature Plan gives us a 25-year vision, but it will take a city-wide alliance of people, groups, and institutions to make that vision real.

We need to keep holding the door open. We need to stay rooted in justice, equity, and inclusion. And we need to keep reminding ourselves and each other: nature isn’t a luxury. It’s a right. And it must belong to everyone.

Looking Ahead

I’m proud of what we’ve achieved: new green spaces, stronger relationships, better access, and empowered communities. But I’m even more hopeful for what’s to come because I’ve seen what’s possible when people come together around a shared belief in the value of nature.

So here’s to the City of Nature Alliance. Here’s to every volunteer, organiser, council officer, resident, and child who planted seeds, both literal and metaphorical, in these past five years. The project may be ending, but our collective journey is just beginning.

Let’s keep growing.