The Action Earth campaign, run by national charity Volunteering Matters, has officially launched its 2020 grant giving scheme, encouraging volunteers to get involved in planting activities and habitat builds designed to enrich local nature and help tackle the current climate emergency.
The campaign, which is funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, offers easy to access grants of up to £500 for environmental activities across Scotland.
Volunteering Matters Action Earth grants are available to any group of volunteers carrying out practical environmental improvements or wildlife habitat creation in their local green spaces. Previous projects have included wildflower meadow and pond creation, woodland renovations, shared foraging projects and the establishment of new community gardens or food growing areas.
Projects should offer a safe volunteering experience and will have to adhere to Scottish Government guidance and safe practice around Covid-19. Groups should only apply once they are certain that activities can be supervised and carried out safely within current and developing recommendations.
Volunteering Matters Action Earth is especially keen to hear from projects whose work benefits disadvantaged communities especially in urban areas or in places with reduced local amenity. Last year, 167 projects benefited from Action Earth grant funding, and 7,240 volunteers were involved in improving biodiversity in their community.
Volunteering Matters Action Earth also offers enhanced £500 grants to projects which significantly benefit people with defined health needs. This could include people with learning or physical disabilities, dementia, mental health issues or other medical conditions.
SNH Chief Executive Francesca Osowska said: “We all benefit from nature in so many ways – and we all have an important role to play to create a nature-rich future for Scotland.
“Action Earth projects and volunteers are leading the way with their fantastic work to improve local biodiversity in communities across the country.
“We look forward to continuing to support this crucial work to improve the state of our nature, which we know is vital to help solve the climate emergency we all face.”
For those looking for inspiration for their projects, the Volunteering Matters Action Earth website has instructions on how to build bird boxes, bat boxes, frog hibernacula, hedgehog boxes and bee/insect homes.
More information is available and applications can be made NOW at the Volunteering Matters Action Earth website:
volunteeringmatters.org.uk/project/action-earth
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