Looking to the future of our parks and greenspaces at APSE's Parks Seminar 2026

The role of greenspaces in Natural England’s strategy

Oliver Harmar, Chief Officer of Strategy at Natural England, opened the Seminar with an exploration of the role of greenspaces in Natural England’s New Corporate Strategy. Oliver examined the impact of greenspaces on society and their potential to build cross-community relationships, improve health and wellbeing and mitigate against environmental hazards.

OEP’s role in environmental protection and nature recovery

Helen Venn, Chief Regulatory Officer at the Office for Environmental Protection, discussed OEP’s role in protecting the environment, examined the government’s progress against the Environmental Improvement Plan and outlined recommendations to drive nature recovery. 

State of the Market: Parks and Greenspaces – Key Findings 

APSE Principal Advisor, Matt Ellis, presented the findings of the latest State of the Market: Parks and Greenspace report and highlighted the pressures facing local authority parks services. Matt outlined the growing number of councils prioritising biodiversity, the continued financial pressures facing the sector and the importance of engaging with the community and local leadership for long term sustainability.

The full report is available to down load from the APSE website here.

Transforming urban landscapes with wildflower initiatives

Helen McNally, Head of Commercial Landscapes at Pictorial Meadows, shared the transformative work they are doing to regenerate urban landscapes through wildflower planting initiatives. Helen highlighted case studies from across the UK, including the Parkhill Flats in Sheffield and Holbeck in Leeds, where wildflowers had transformed the local environment. 

Local nature recovery strategies in Greater Manchester

Dr Rachel Morrison, Senior Policy and Partnerships Officer – Environment at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, discussed Local Nature Recovery Strategies and their recovery on a local level. Rachel presented Greater Manchester's Nature for All strategy and outlined their targets to protect wildlife-rich spaces, connect people with greenspaces and build a more resilient environment.

Protecting dark skies and reducing light pollution in Wales

David Shiel, Area Manager at Denbighshire County Council, presented the vital work being carried out across Wales to safeguard their dark skies, reduce light pollution and protect the local wildlife. David shared the Wales National Good Practice Guidance and outlined the importance of considering light pollution when planning strategies and producing development proposals.

Impact of local government reorganisation on parks services

Mo Baines, Chief Executive at APSE, discussed the potential impact of local government reorganisation on parks services in England and the need to be resilient ahead of the change emphasising strong governance, forward planning and workforce stability as critical factors. Mo also highlighted the need to consider the opportunities to look at insourcing Parks services to generate efficiencies and synergy across new unitary authorities.

Emerging tree health risks and biosecurity workshop 

Dr Caroline Gorton, Tree Health Pathologist at Forest Research and Dr Emma Aspin, Biosecurity Officer at the Forestry Commission, led an interactive workshop into emerging pests and diseases, biosecurity and practical approaches to protecting urban trees. Delegates from local authority environment and nature teams worked together to discuss a series of real world scenarios, identifying potential risks, solutions and ‘quick wins’.

Grasslands, wildflowers and carbon sequestration workshop

Wayne Priestley discussed the evolution of grasslands, the current carbon landscape and the potential for wildflowers and grasslands to support carbon sequestration. Wayne outlined the steps to creating grassland and wildflower strategies and highlighted the importance of community support and transparent communication to gain buy in from the local community.

APSE will continue to be an advocate for the UK’s public parks and open spaces by promoting their value at every opportunity. Through our training suite, advisory groups, research programmes and benchmarking service, membership of APSE can bring significant benefits to those who work in local government – from officers to directors to elected members to chief executives by helping them comprehensively get to grips with the latest policy and technological developments.

 All APSE members can sign up to APSE’s Parks, Horticulture and Grounds Maintenance Network, which is an online network providing at least four learning events across the year, with expert speakers from across local government and the wider parks and greens pace sector. You can sign up to the network using this link.