The Action Earth campaign, run by national charity Volunteering Matters, launched its 2018 grant giving scheme at Castlemilk Park in Glasgow last week. The campaign, which is funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, offers easy to access grants of up to £500 for environmental improvements across Scotland.
The first project to be awarded a 2018 Volunteering Matters Action Earth grant is ‘Bat Roost Boost in Castlemilk Park’, a joint project between Cassiltoun Housing Association and volunteers with learning disabilities from the ‘Help Yourself Grow’ project run by Fair Deal in South Glasgow (above). They will be constructing and siting 20 bat boxes, planting up special beds of insect-friendly plants to help feed the bats and conducting educational walks and recording events with trained experts.
Volunteering Matters Action Earth grants are available for any group of volunteers in Scotland carrying out practical environmental improvementsand wildlife habitat creation in their local green spaces from now until November 2018. The campaign is especially keen to hear from projects whose work benefits disadvantaged communities.
Robert Henderson, Volunteering Matters Action Earth, said: “Last year, 169 projects benefitted from Action Earth grant funding, and over 8,600 volunteers were involved in improving biodiversity in their community. On average each volunteer gave an incredible 19 hours of their time to their project.
“This year we are also offering enhanced grants to projects which significantly benefit people with defined health needs. This could include people with learning or physical disabilities, dementia, mental health conditions or other serious medical conditions. If you do have an idea for a project, get in touch on 0131 622 7766 and we can chat things through.”
Volunteering Matters Action Earth campaign is funded by SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage) and offers easy to access grants of up to £500. These grants help volunteers across Scotland to carry out essential work, especially in urban areas or in places with reduced local amenity. Previous projects have included wildflower meadow and pond creation, woodland renovations, shared foraging projects and the establishment of new community gardens.
Mike Cantlay, chairman of Scottish Natural Heritage, said: “We are delighted to continue our funding for Action Earth. Any group of volunteers can apply for a grant, and we encourage everyone to get involved, get outdoors and have fun. We look forward to hearing more about the green projects that will make a positive difference this year.”
For those looking for inspiration for their projects, the 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 Action Earth website:
https://volunteeringmatters.org.uk/project/action-earth/
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