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First year of grant scheme sees £1.7 million allocated to improve people’s access to the natural environment.

Natural England’s Access to Nature grant scheme has been inundated with applications since it was launched in autumn 2007 by Alan Titchmarsh.

Access to Nature aims to encourage people to appreciate England’s countryside particularly those who face social exclusion or people who currently have little or no contact with the natural environment – perhaps because they have had few chances to get out and enjoy green spaces or because they lack the confidence to do so.

The overwhelming response to this £25 million scheme, which is funded through the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme, shows that communities are hugely interested in creating new initiatives to give local people better access to nature.

Dr. Helen Phillips, Chief Executive of Natural England, said: “Modern life can mean losing regular contact with nature, and we must find a way of putting people back in touch with the natural environment. Being outside is good for people’s health and wellbeing, as well as being an enjoyable way to get to know England better and have fun by learning new skills. If we can inspire people to value the world around them today, we have a better chance of passing on a connection with nature to future generations.”

Natural England is aiming for 1.7 million people from urban, rural and coastal communities to have benefited from this grant programme that gives them the opportunity to experience and enjoy the natural environment through a variety of funded projects.

Pete Johnstone, Access to Nature Manager at Natural England, said: “Within the first six months of this three-year grant scheme being launched, applications exceeded the total funding available. The incredibly high level of community interest in Access to Nature shows that there is a real desire out there for people wanting to explore the countryside. We are delighted with this result.”

Grants are being awarded to projects that:

• Engage people in recreation outdoors, such as the support of natural play and experimental learning programmes aimed at engaging young children and teenagers with the natural environment.
• Develop environmental education programmes to add value to out-of-school learning linked to natural places.
• Support lifelong learning programmes and the development of apprenticeship schemes such as traditional countryside skills, volunteer rangers and field skills such as species identification.
• Initiate outreach work where there is potential to ‘build bridges’ between communities (e.g. schools, housing estates, youth clubs etc) and the natural environment.
• Encourage people to become volunteers undertaking conservation and site management activities so that people can get involved in developing community and social skills; such as creating otter holts and species surveys, leading guided walks or undertaking training related to these activities.

Applications received by Access to Nature undergo two stages of assessment to ensure that the money is given to the most deserving and well organised projects.

To date, more than £1.7 million has been allocated to five projects.

Recipients of the grant funding so far are:

1. Engage run by Community Service Volunteers
Grant value: £225,140.

Only 18 % of visits to country parks in Birmingham are made by people from black or ethnic minorities, a much lower proportion than they represent in the overall population of the city. The project will establish ranger clubs in primary schools and work with community groups. Visits to the wider countryside will be organised where children will be able to learn about the work of countryside rangers and undertake activities like guided walks/pond dipping.

Over 5,000 people will benefit from this project over three years.

2. Geltsdale Community Outreach Project run by RSPB, Northern England
Grant value: £99,999

Northern England’s uplands are magnificent but are often undervalued by people living in close proximity. This project aims to encourage more people from all backgrounds to enjoy, understand and appreciate the fantastic landscape and wildlife of North Cumbria.

The project will engage with young people through school and community groups. Activity sessions will be established in schools, followed by visits to the reserve involving activities such as wildlife identification, tree planting.

Nearly 3,000 people will benefit from the project over three years.

3. Woodland Communities Project run by the Woodland Trust, Warrington and Runcorn
Grant value: £213,506

A series of urban woodlands in Warrington and Runcorn straddle one of the most deprived wards in England. The woods are undervalued by local residents and have become a hub of antisocial activities and a dumping ground for rubbish.

The aim of the project is to restore the woodlands to serve as outdoor community centres, providing a focus for family leisure and wellbeing. The project will instigate a wide range of community events in the woodlands, set up woodland discovery sessions for local schools and organise conservation work parties, helping to make the sites become an asset to the area rather than a blight.

Approximately 1,800 people will be directly involved over three years, with many more in the local community benefiting.

4. Wild About Plants – get confident with England’s nature run by Plantlife
Grant value: £327,314

Studies show that many people who are keen to become more involved in nature, don’t do so because of lack of knowledge and confidence about how to get to natural places and what to do when they get there. They find maps, guidebooks and scientific botanical language daunting.

Wild about Plants aims to provide information and resources for people not currently familiar with wild flowers to encourage and enable them to enjoy plants in natural places. This will include activity packs and games for children and an interactive website in which users can recommend their favourite natural place and use downloadable materials to take part in activities.

The project aims to benefit 25,000 people over five years.

5. Mosaic: building ethnic minority capacity for engagement with National Parks run by the Campaign for National Parks
Grant value: £932,314

People from black and ethnic minority (BME) communities make far fewer visits to National Parks than other sections of society. While they represent 9% of the population they make up only about 1% of visitors to the nation’s most iconic areas of natural landscape.

This national flagship project will develop Community Champions for National Parks within black and ethnic minority groups in 20 cities. The project will provide training to enable local Champions to organise visits to National Parks, promote the National Parks in their communities and establish cultural events and other activities to develop an interest in natural environments. The project will also help Champions form local groups and will enable members of BME communities to join advisory groups and influence how the National Parks are run.

The three-year project will involve some 5,300 people directly, including 4,000 from black and ethnic minority groups, with many more in the local communities benefiting.

Notes for editors:

1. Access to Nature is managed by Natural England on behalf of a consortium of twelve national environmental organisations comprising BTCV, British Waterways, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Greenspace, Groundwork UK, Land Restoration Trust, The National Trust, Natural England, RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts and the Woodland Trust.

Access to Nature builds on its experience and hard work and Natural England will be using the consortium’s skills and knowledge throughout the scheme’s duration.

2. For more information on Access to Nature or for interviews, contact Natural England’s press office on: 0845 603 9953, press@naturalengland.org.uk, out of hours 07970 098 005.

Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. It conserves and enhances the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. www.naturalengland.org.uk

3. The Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme was launched in November 2005 to help communities enjoy and improve their local environments. The programme is funding a range of activities from local food schemes and farmers markets, to education projects teaching people about the environment. Natural England was appointed as a Changing Spaces award partner responsible for distributing £25m for its Access to Nature scheme.

The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888 Out of hours: 07867 500 572
Public enquiries line: 08454 102030, Textphone: 08456 021 659

Full details of the work of the Big Lottery Fund, its programmes and awards are available on the website.

4. Grant recipient contacts:

Engage: Community Service Volunteers
Contact: Zohra Mahmood, CSV Environment, Birmingham,
0121 328 3400 3222008, zohra@csvenvironment.org.uk

Geltsdale Community Outreach Project: RSPB, Northern England
Contact: Julia del Nevo, RSPB
0191 2334313, julia.delnevo@rspb.org.uk

Woodland Communities Project: Woodland Trust, Warrington and Runcorn
Contact: Debbie Nicholls, Woodland Trust Head Office
01476 581121, debbienicholls@woodlandtrust.org.uk

Wild About Plants – get confident with England’s nature: Plantlife
Contact: Trudy Gough, Development Manager, Plantlife, Salisbury
01722 342730, trudy.gough@plantlife.org.uk

Mosaic: Building ethnic minority capacity for engagement with National Parks run by the Campaign for National Parks
Contact: Nina Arwitz, Acting Deputy Chief Executive, Campaign for National Parks
020 7924 4077, nina@cnp.org.uk