Green fingered people in Yorkshire and Humber, inspired by the BBC-led Breathing Places campaign have been gearing up to cash in on their slice of £1 million of Lottery funding and create their own wildlife friendly green havens.
BIG announced £1 million for the first phase of its Breathing Places grants programme in the summer and today 12 local community groups in Yorkshire and Humber have been awarded funding of up to £10,000 to transform and develop Breathing Places: these are green spaces or areas that are being created into an oasis for people and wildlife.
Today also sees the launch of the second phase of the Lottery-funded Breathing Places grant scheme - at the start of the second week of BBC Two's live Autumnwatch with Bill Oddie and Kate Humble (Monday 9 October). A further £4 million will be made available for projects that make a lasting improvement to the local environment by creating new Breathing Places, as well as supporting the development of existing ones. In this phase a much wider range of organisations can access funding including schools, local health bodies, parish councils and voluntary and community groups.
Autumnwatch host Bill Oddie said: "From little acorns mighty oaks will grow...and this new money is fantastic news. It's great for people right across the UK who want their very own Breathing Places in their very own local patch, and now know they'll have access to money to keep them going. It takes years for oaks to develop - bit like me really! - and in my experience the best projects are the ones that have the time and money to just get better and better."
Big Lottery Fund Head of the Yorkshire and Humber Region, Vanessa White, said: "This exciting grants programme will make a difference and add real value to the quality of lives in communities across Yorkshire and the Humber. The money awarded today will allow people all across the region to create and care for green places wherever they live; everywhere from urban spaces to neighbourhood parks."
One of the 12 projects to be awarded a grant today is Wakefield Hospice who will use a £9,000 award for their 'Woodland Walk and Gardens' project. Wakefield Hospice will create a volunteer team to develop and maintain the woodland walk and the gardens in the grounds of the hospice. They will also install nesting boxes, create small mammal breeding places - and explore options for creating a sensory garden.
"Wakefield Hospice is delighted to have been awarded a Breathing Places grant to help improve the woodland area and grounds of the hospice. This will enrich the experience of the hospice for patients, carers and friends alike," said Barrie Cash, a fundraiser for the hospice.
In Sheffield, the Local Enterprise Around Food (LEAF) will use £9,828 to maintain a community allotment in a deprived, urban area. The space is a haven for wildlife but activities will also encourage people to eat healthy foods and grow their own fruit and vegetables. The project will run workshops with schools, other groups and local residents.
Diane Cocker, Horticultural Support Worker, said: "Brilliant news! This is the opportunity to improve and maintain the previously derelict green space that is now LEAF's organic Community Allotments Project.
"The Award will make a significant contribution to the continuation of this valued local project, to the enjoyment and health of all those participating and will protect another Breathing Place where we can escape the hassles of everyday life and get our hands dirty!"
Henshaw's Society for the Blind will develop the sensory garden in its Arts and Craft Centre in Knaresborough using its award of £9,783. Additions will include a bird and bat area, a small mammal area and an insect, moth and butterfly area.
Frank Ward, Henshaw's Director for Yorkshire and the North East, said: "The Centre has sensory gardens with a trail designed to stimulate the different human senses. As part of the lottery-funded project, 'Wildlife Corners' will be created within the woodland garden with the help of local volunteers and designs from local school children.
"This project will help bring the local community around Knaresborough together in creating a wonderful area for wildlife and a fascinating place for people to visit."
Finally, in Selby, Hemingbrough Parish Council, receives £10,000 to further its work on 'Granny Darley's Green' - a neglected area of land that is being turned into a wildlife facility. The group will display information boards for visitors and create a wildlife refuge for the many great crested newts that inhabit the area. In addition, wildlife courses will take place for local children and other members of the community.
Parish councillor Kenneth McCann: "The site is an old brick pond and brick kilns dating back a couple of hundred years and it has fallen into waste land. We are over the moon with this award from the Big Lottery Fund. We can turn this derelict piece of land into something useful and educational."
According to Liz Cleaver, Controller of BBC Learning and Interactive: "The Breathing Places campaign is now firmly established - and these new grants will give schools, community groups and many more people the chance to be part of this ambitious project. With its leading environmental partners, Breathing Places gives everyone the support they need to create local havens for both people and wildlife."
More information about Breathing Places can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces
and http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Applicant Name Project Name Locations Award
Wakefield Hospice. Wakefield Hospice Blyth £9,000
Woodland Walk And Gardens Valley,
Wakefield
Friends of Hagg Wood Hagg Wood York £7,145
Friends of St St Nicholas Fields Local York £8,110
Nicholas Fields Nature Reserve
Vale of York Bootham Wildlife Area York £9,057
Environmental Group
Friends of Oakhill Oakhill Nature Reserve East Riding £7,500
of Yorkshire
Mill Beck Wildlife Mill Beck Wildlife Area East Riding £5,022
Group of Yorkshire
Hemingbrough Parish Granny Darley's Green Selby £10,000
Council
Local Enterprise Community Allotments Sheffield £9,828
Around Food Project
City Of Bradford Bees Urban Wildlife Bradford £9,975
Y.M.C.A. Reserve
Henshaw's Society The Garden of Senses Harrogate £9,783
for Blind People
The Friends of Slaithwaite Spa Kirklees £7,310
Slaithwaite Spa Recreation Ground
Sobriety Project Ltd Towpath Nature Trail East Riding £10,000
of Yorkshire
Big Lottery Fund
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
