GROW WILD FUNDING TO HELP COMMUNITIES BLOOM
Organisations and community groups across the UKare invited to apply for funding of £1,000 to £4,000 from Grow Wild to create inspiring spaces in their local area using UK native plants.
Supported by the Big Lottery Fund and led by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Grow Wildmotivatescommunities, friends, neighbours and individuals across the UK to come together to transform local spaces by sowing, growing and enjoying native wild flowers.
Grow Wild has more than half a million pounds to share over the next three years with not-for-profit groups throughout the UK who put forward the most creativeideas to give a communal space a new lease of life for everyone to enjoy.
Grow Wild is looking for projects that offer volunteering opportunities for those aged 12-25 and older, with eye-catching results. Projects should also use fun stories and methods to share photos and activities from their space (or a series of linked spaces) as they find new ways of using native plants to revitalise their local area.
In 2014 Grow Wild funded a network of 75 projects that included; the reimagining of a train station entrance an interactive tour of planted spaces, a sensory garden for people with disabilities; as well as projects involving streetscapes, woodlands, housing estates and murals.
Applications for 2015 funding must be received by 2 December 2014. A panel of experts will then help decide who will receive funding. Successful groups will be notified in February 2015 ready to start their project in March and finish by October 2015.
David Tibbatts, Programme Manager at Grow Wild, said: “We want to hear from voluntary, community and youth groups who would like Grow Wild to help them realise a vision of transforming their local area as part of a network of people who are bringing colour and wildlife to their community’s shared spaces.
Philip Turvil, Lead Partnership Manager at Grow Wild: “A community project can be anything that ignites the interest of the community with activities that show UK native plants at their best. It’s not just about what you plant, but how you plant. We want groups to think creatively with events, art, music and more.”
Philip added: “The application form is simple and there’s lots of support availablefrom the Grow Wild team. Our funded projects also receive expert guidance and a free web profile to share their achievements and link with similar groups.”
Peter Ainsworth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said: "Grow Wild is all about connecting people with nature, with the places where they live and bringing different generations and communities together in a creative and lasting way.
“Now Grow Wild has reached a really exciting stage, building on itsfunded networks with the chance for local groups across the UK to apply for funding that could transform their neighbourhood. I can’t wait to see these great ideas bloom into exciting projects that we can all be proud of.”
To apply to join the Grow Wild community project network by 2 December 2014, visit growwilduk.com/get-fundingfor guidance and to arrange a discussion with the team.
In the next couple of years, Grow Wild is also creating flagship sites in each UK country, funding 100 youth-led projects and sharing tens of thousands of free seed kits.
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Twitter @GrowWildUK #GrowWild #biglf and Facebook
Issued by the BIG Partnership on behalf of Grow Wild
For more information please contact:
Emmy Borthwick:0141 333 9585
Lucy 0141 333 9585
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888, Out of hours: 07867 500 572, Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030, Textphone: 08456 021 659
Notes to Editors
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG)
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good-cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and awards grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK.
Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £6 billion to communities across the UK.
Full details of the work of the Big Lottery Fund, its programmes and awards are available on the website: .
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class Herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development.
Kew Gardens is also a major international visitor attraction. Its landscaped 132 hectares and RBG Kew’s country estate, Wakehurst Place, attract nearly two million visitors every year. Wakehurst Place is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. RBG Kew and its partners have collected and conserved seed from 10% of the world's wild flowering plant species (c.30, 000 species).