Wirral communities to benefit from ‘green grants’ scheme

They have all successfully bid for funding from the Community Green Grants Programme which is funded through the Liverpool City Region’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocation and managed by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The aim of the funding is to help local groups create more biodiverse environments, provide health and wellbeing benefits and support community action on climate change through volunteering opportunities, as well as improving access to healthy food and strengthening communities by bringing people together.

More than £90,000 has been awarded across the successful 25 bidders, with amounts ranging from £540 to £15,000 to help groups deliver a range of ideas, initiatives and events that will make a difference where they live.

Cllr Liz Grey, chair of Wirral Council's environment, climate emergency and transport committee, said: "We know that the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries and we wanted to see applications to deliver projects that will help support the work we are doing as a council to improve local green space and biodiversity.

"The projects will also support the wellbeing of local communities and create local pride - particularly in areas where these aspects have been diminished."

The grants have been divided into ideas to deliver ‘green and blue infrastructure’ - which includes establishing physical things such as community or urban gardens, wildflower meadows or new ‘green corridors’ - or ‘social value and volunteering’, which can also be new or improved infrastructure, but with an emphasis on encouraging and engaging local people through workshops, events or volunteering opportunities.

Cllr Grey added: “The grant scheme has given local groups a fantastic chance to work together and bring their ideas to life in order to help make Wirral a more biodiverse and attractive place to live and thrive.”

Wirral Council for Voluntary Service (Wirral CVS) were contracted to administer the UKSPF funds for the Green Grants programme. Wirral CVS is a member-led organisation which aims to support voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector organisations in Wirral and used its wealth of knowledge in voluntary sector to work with Wirral Council to award the grants.

A full list of the recipients is below: 

• Brackenwood Infant School in Bebington has received £1,000 towards improvement project of public green space at the end of Holmway involving the school and the local community. Have already removed waste and cleaned the area. Now looking to add planters, hanging baskets, and trees.
• Poll Hill Community Orchard in Heswall - £900 towards a resident-led project to develop a small community orchard with local heritage varieties of fruit trees. Includes information board, planting, bug hotels and seed exchange amongst others.
• Wallasey Community Anglers have been awarded £1,500 for a project cleaning the Central Park's Fishing Lake and Captains Pit. Use of eco-friendly dye and nutrients to make a more biodiverse and healthier ecosystem. 
• Hoylake Willows have been given £539.97 to help their project to develop a rewilding area and wildlife garden in Sandringham Field which will provide biodiversity benefits whilst improving the green space for local residents.
• Friends of Sandlea Gardens in West Kirby have received £1,000 for a project to plant bulbs and plants to provide seasonal interest and colour throughout the year. The plants chosen will flower again each year.
• Manor Lane Allotments in Rock Ferry have been given £1,000 towards developing a community plot on the allotment, raised beds, a toilet facility and meeting space to improve the allotment and increase accessibility for disabled members.
• Bromborough Village Community Association has received £1,500 to buy resources for organising litter picks and weed control, deliver planting and creating an insect highway.
• Love Bebington CIC has been given £1,150 to provide a planting pollinator friendly flowerbed as part of the reopening of a community crazy golf course. 
• St Luke's Methodist Church in Hoylake has received £1,200 to buy equipment for children and families attending St Luke's Forest Church so they can maintain the growing and green space of the Church. 
• Moreton Football Club has been given £2,500 to undertake improvements to a multisport pitch at Lingham parks, as well as create a 5v5 pitch.
• Friends of Roman Road Sandhills in Meols have been awarded £1,000 for a project to clear an area of fixed sand dunes and wooded dunes of invasive scrub and invasive suckering trees, and replace with local and ecologically beneficial local plants and vegetation.
• Bidston Golf Club has received £1,000 to buy PPE and equipment for eco-schools to deliver biodiversity improvements around the perimeter of the golf course, which is used as public green space by dog walkers and local residents. 
• Wirral Wombles have received £600 to buy litter picking equipment for volunteers and delivering events to improve Wirral urban and green space across the borough. 
• Wirral Joint Services Club has received £1,000 to help build a peace garden for veterans.
• Bidston-based Positivitree has received £4,500 to develop a community allotment that they have been gifted for use by their volunteers and service users.
• New Brighton in Bloom has received £3,000 to create a green and floral planting across a range of sites: 1) ) a public garden, 2) 21 pots across New Brighton, and 3) develop a garden around the RNLI boat.
• Friends of New Brighton Marine Lake will use their £3,000 to help rehabilitate the marine lake by studying the salinity and oxygen levels and improve water quality, thereby enhancing biodiversity and open water swimming. It will also be used to buy a boat and PPE to support this.
• Friends of Ashton Park in West Kirby will use their £5,000 to maintain the park, litter picks, planting flower beds, cleaning and painting furniture.
• Wirral Environmental Network will use their £1,690 to run composting solution demos, food growing and healthy affordable food workshops.
• Park Roots CIC will use their £3,510 for gardening and healthy food workshops and buy seeds, gardening tools and rainwater collection butts.
• BEE Wirral CIC in Birkenhead has received £15,000 to build a network of green and blue infrastructure corridors to be developed in coordination with volunteers, ecotherapy hub for volunteers, developing a wellbeing recipe book, and delivering wellbeing sessions.
• Callister Trust from Oxton will receive £11,200 for a project to internally decorate and finish their pavilion, enabling them to put on volunteer workshops for improving green space all year round.
• Develop Thru Sport CIC, in Leasowe, has been given £14,200 to develop an active greenspace by building planters, natural play features and rainwater harvesting. Also fitness classes, community events and cooking sessions.
• Port Sunlight Village TrustGrow will use its £6,825 for a community wellbeing project delivering 12 edible growing workshops, delivering high levels of engagement and new volunteering opportunities.
• St Vincent De Paul's Society in Wallasey will use its £6,000 for a project to transform a derelict site into a community led garden and space to provide volunteering opportunities and wellbeing benefits.