GROW WILD FUNDING TO HELP INSERT AREA COMMUNITIES BLOOM
Organisations and community groups in INSERT AREA are invited to apply for growing awards ofbetween £500 and £5000 from Grow Wild to create exciting, transformational wild flower sites in their local area.
Grow Wild is a £10.5m nationwide initiative to inspire people and communities to come together to sow, grow and support UK native wild flowers, led by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and backed by the Big Lottery Fund. In Scotland, Grow Wild is working in partnership with greenspace scotland and Youth Scotland to provide funding to community and youth groups.
The Grow Wild community sites programme has more than half a million pounds available over the next three years for local groups and organisations throughout the UK who put forward the most exciting and inspirational ideas to give neglected and uncared-for spaces a new lease of life for everyone to enjoy. Grow Wild is particularly interested in projects that involve young people and explore new and innovative ways of using wild flowers to revitalise their local area.
Grow Wild pilot projects have included a wild flower art installation planted within the body of a burnt-out car, an urban wildlife centre that reclaimed unused land for the local community and a community garden at a local hospital.
Claire Harcup, Programme Manager at Grow Wild, said: “We want to hear from community and volunteer groups, including youth groups, who would like Grow Wild to help them realise a vision of transforming an unloved area into a wildlife friendly space that everyone will love featuring UK native wild flowers.
“It could be anything from a garden that celebrates the area’s history and heritage to a project that simply brings unused space back to life for the benefit of local people.”
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, the chance for local groups across the UK to apply for funding that could transform their neighbourhood. I can’t wait to see some of these great ideas bloom into exciting projects that we can all be proud of.”
Following the launch of the Scottish Grow Wild Flagship project at The Waterworks in Barrhead, the community scheme openedon 14 November 2013for applications from groups in Scotland. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 14 January 2014 (Monday 6 January for groups in England, Wales and Northern Ireland). A panel of experts will then decide who will receive the funding, announcing the successful sites in February 2014.
To be eligible for funding, groups must be aiming to plant native wild flowers, native plants or trees with the community, starting in spring 2014. Youth Groups looking for smaller amounts of money (up to £100) can apply to the Young Grow Wild fund.
Visit for more information on Grow Wild community funding.
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Notes to Editors
Issued by the BIG Partnership on behalf of Grow Wild
For more information please contact:
Emmy Borthwick:0141 333 9585
Roanna 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
Grow Wild
Grow Wild is a dynamic £10.5m campaign to bring people and communities together to sow, grow and support UK native wild flowers. Funded by the Big Lottery Fund and led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Grow Wild aims to inspire people to get together to transform unloved urban sites, gardens and windowsills into wildlife-friendly wild flower patches.
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).
greenspace scotland
greenspace scotland is an independent charity and social enterprise. Its goal is that everyone living and working in urban Scotland should have easy access to quality greenspace which meets local needs and improves quality of life.
Grow Wild is one of the ways that greenspace scotland is helping to transform urban spaces into people places.
Youth Scotland
Youth Scotland is the network of youth clubs and groups across Scotland. It is the largest non-uniformed youth organisation in Scotland and delivers quality youth work programmes, information, resources, training and support to community based youth work across Scotland.