You may remember last week in this TurfPro Weekly Briefing, the subject of cuts to public parks' budgets leading to less well-maintained green spaces was discussed.

A couple of ideas were highlighted to me this past week which may well be an indication as to how looking after parks in the future could be governed.

Firstly it was wonderful to be contacted by Paul Errington of specialist machinery company GroundsCare Products. Paul is passionate about the upkeep of parks and was moved to make a generous offer to local authorities who are tasked with their upkeep.

Paul said, "Reading your editorial this morning got me thinking about how much the look of parks could be improved by edging the beds and borders. As a result of budget cuts, it has been all-but abandoned. It is seen as a time-consuming, labour-intensive job but can actually be very quick provided you have the right machine.

Paul continued, "In order to start getting edging back on the agenda, we are prepared to offer the loan of a TurfTeq edging machine that can quickly re-establish edges and gullies."

The machine will be made available, for a limited time, to Local Authorities or their sub-contractors with responsibility for maintaining at least one public park. To see the full details of the offer read the full entry in today's Briefing here.

I'd like to pass on my thanks to Paul for making this offer available. TurfPro are delighted to be able to make our readers aware of the gesture.

I've heard talk from various sources recently, that this culture of sharing equipment is likely to become much more prevalent in the coming years. Certainly, one can see it happening more if local engaged enthusiasts begin to take a more significant role in the way our parks are looked after - as many believe they will do.

Another form of harnessing the willingness of the public to help, but financially rather than practically, which could become more commonplace, is this modern phenomenon of crowdfunding.

A report out this past week from Future Cities Catapult, says that in the future, crowdfunding will become the de-facto method to assign council resources and budget to local projects.

The report explores how cities could use crowdfunding as a tool to adopt and foster innovation and change, and its potential to 'revolutionise local democracy'.

It says that 45 councils across the UK are utilising crowdfunding, but that little work has been done to understand what it can offer communities, "with 90% of local authorities largely unaware of the domain and how it could apply to them".

Scott Cain, Chief Business Officer at Future Cities Catapult says, “We’re very pleased to be launching our Civic Crowdfunding report, encouraging local authorities to adopt crowdfunding approaches that lead to stronger communities, more attractive neighbourhoods and a more democratic approach to community engagement.

“Crowdfunding is not a new concept, and can be traced back to 1884 when over 120,000 micro-donations were made towards the Statue of Liberty. It’s a great solution to a very real problem and considering it as simply another fund-raising tool is to ignore its huge potential for citizen participation and practical democracy.”

John Rossant, Chairman of the NewCities Foundation who were also involved in the report explained, "It is essential that we rethink the way cities can unlock the energy and creativity of their residents to produce vibrant, successful public spaces.

“We see enormous potential in new tools such as civic crowdfunding that can make a real difference in the city and deliver communities' needs and aspirations if they are properly understood by city authorities, residents, and and the private sector alike.

"The potential impact of leveraging the crowd in urban development may prove itself the new normal for working with communities to shape public space in cities."

Both approaches of sharing tools and of crowdfunding, do of course rely on the generosity of civic-minded individuals. Is there as much of a guarantee of their on-going support as a local authority, properly funded by tax-payer’s money.

Clearly not. However, in this time of increased cuts, it is a very welcomed alternative.