Birmingham, UK

Supporting environmental projects

West Midlands Combined Authority has announced that it is allocating further funding for projects to support environmental goals.

As part of the Community Environment Fund, which was set up using £1 million of the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund, investment worth more than £400,000 is being committed to projects that protect nature, reduce waste, and make communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Some of the projects that were successful in their bids for funding include work to transform waterlogged areas due to climate change, new facilities for local people to get involved in nature-based activities, and surveying the quality of the city’s 70,000 street trees. Other bids include:

  • £99,544 for the Active Wellbeing Society in Birmingham to expand projects that help people develop the skills to fix or repurpose broken items, saving them from landfill
  • £99,605 for Birmingham and Black County Wildlife Trust to connect more people to nature, deliver new walking routes, and improve wildlife habitats in Dudley and Sandwell
  • £100,000 for the Canal and River Trust to expand its project to improve the natural environment and work with communities around sections of Birmingham, Walsall and Wolverhampton’s waterways
  • £25,000 to support workshops for children at inner-city schools and youth groups to help them become conscious consumers when it comes to where food comes from.
West Midlands environment quote

Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker said:

“There are many community groups and regional organisations doing fantastic work to protect, enhance and restore the natural environment, and it’s great news that we are able to continue to support them with grants from our Community Environment Fund.

“Being able to access nature has such a positive impact on our health and wellbeing, and it is becoming ever more urgent that we take action to rethink waste by repairing and reusing products more, and taking practical steps to help communities adapt to the effects of climate change.”

The overall underspend from the Commonwealth Games led to £70 million being put into the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund, with this being given to the West Midlands by the government to make sure that the region can continue to feel the benefits of hosting the competition.

Organisations and community groups can still make applications for Community Environment Fund allocations, with this being managed by Heart of England Community Foundation.

 

Image credit: iStock

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