Natural England's Access to Nature programme is to fund 29 new projects in England's towns and cities.

The £5.8m grant will enable communities to improve the green spaces in their area, providing a range of volunteering opportunities, conservation training, events and group activities, as well as the regeneration of often under-used and derelict land. The scheme is funded through the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme and is run by Natural England, leading a consortium comprising BTCV, British Waterways, Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission, Greenspace, Groundwork UK, Land Restoration Trust, RSPB, The National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts and the Woodland Trust.

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the Big Lottery Fund, said: "These projects will help thousands of people across the country, particularly those in our towns and cities, to get outside and enjoy nature and the environment around them. "They are great examples of what the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces funding programme is all about and we're very pleased to be able to support them."

The projects funded by Access to Nature include the Gateway to Urban Nature Project, which will focus on two under-used areas of green space in Bolton, and Walk on the Wildside, which operates in a diverse, inner city area of Nottingham and aims to bring the community together on guided walks, talks, trips, organised activities and volunteer work parties. Elsewhere, Wild about St Werburghs is based at a city farm in Bristol and has activities which will include; 'play out' days for children and families, including shelter building and traditional countryside crafts, while the Blue Loop Community Project in Yorkshire aims to get more local people involved in caring about the River Don and Tinsley Canal in Sheffield, known as the 'Blue Loop'.