WIREDGOV

Putting a spring into the steps of local people and communities are 634 projects across England who today are sharing over £18.4 million from the Big Lottery Fund. Gardening and beekeeping will be used as therapeutic tools to tackle social isolation in Blackpool and a community kitchen in Deal will bring together people through cookery champions who will pass on their skills to others.

Blackpool’s Urban Organic (UK) CIC is awarded £248,534 for a project to use gardening and beekeeping as therapeutic tools to tackle isolation, poor diet and act as a sensory stimulation for people who have sight, hearing and mental health problems.

The garden will be used as a hub to invite groups to attend as well as acting as a base for outreach activities, such as weekly gardening, beekeeping and environmental awareness sessions for pupils from local schools.

Their Growing for Life shop will be taken out and about as a pop-up shop giving people customer service and retail skills selling items such as bug boxes, hanging baskets and Christmas wreaths. Urban Organic will work closely with the local Princess Alexandra Home for the Blind providing freshly harvested fruit, vegetables and herbs to make nourishing meals for residents and visitors. The project will provide activity sessions to enable residents and young carers to work together on the construction of paths, raised beds and other landscape structures.

Receiving £172,106 is Cinque Ports Community Kitchen CIC in Deal, Dover which will support people to lead a healthier life and meet new people. The activities will be aimed primarily at people on low incomes, the unemployed or disabled people and their carers. Cookery champions will be trained to run their own classes and share their new skills in their local community.  Classes will include cooking on a tight budget, using fresh ingredients and making the most of leftovers.

People living in and around The Bridge Community Garden in Brighton will benefit from a project by Nurture Through Nature which will teach food growing skills at the Bridge Centre Kitchen. Local people will be able to take part in training, volunteering and horticultural skills to improve their mental and physical health. The project receives £2,600.

Saxon Hall in Hereford will use £9,162 to create a new sensory community garden to help local people improve their mental health in a secure outside space. Whilst children with complex learning skills and their families will get to reap the benefits of a sensory garden atBaskerville School in Birmingham. They will use a £9,996 grant to create a safe space where children can develop their physical and emotional health.

Lyn Cole, Big Lottery Fund England grant making director said: “Spring is definitely in the air with plenty of projects enabling people to get outside, get healthy and meet new people locally. It’s wonderful when we get to hear the stories of how through these projects people have overcome barriers, learned new skills and improved their lives.”

Today’s awards have been made through the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All and Reaching Communities programmes. Awards for All provides grants between £300 and £10,000 to voluntary and community organisations and Reaching Communities larger grants of £10,000 and above.

View a full list of the 634 projects

Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Twitter: @biglotteryfund #BigLottery

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund

For funding and general enquiries call:

BIG Advice Line: 0345 4 10 20 30

For press enquiries call:

Press Office: 020 7211 1888

Out of hours media contact: 07867 500572

Notes to Editors:

• The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery for good causes and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
• Since June 2004 we have awarded over £8 billion to projects that make a difference to people and communities in need, from early years intervention to commemorative travel funding for World War Two veterans.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £33 billion has been raised and more than 450,000 grants awarded.