£4.6 million has been awarded to local community projects across London to boost the city’s green spaces and climate resilience.
The second round of the Mayor’s £12 million Green Roots Fund is delivering £3.5m to community projects and boroughs through grants ranging from £10,000 to £500,000.
The Green Roots Fund was launched last summer to support communities to transform their local spaces, including parks, community gardens, wetlands and rivers.
The year, £358,600 was awarded to The Tree Council’s Young Tree Champions Living Labs project, which trains teachers and young people skills to grow a healthier, more resilient school environment through tree-planting. This will be focused in areas of social deprivation, where risk from the impacts of climate change are higher.
£80,500 has been awarded to Natural Neighbours in Hackney, which will transform two sites in the borough into habitat-rich wildlife gardens for residents to enjoy and to train ‘Natural Champions’ from the local community to nurture and maintain them.
£30,000 has been awarded to Spitalfields Crypt Trust, which will support people who have experienced homelessness and addiction, teaching them practical gardening skills and empowering them to help revitalise a public garden in Shoreditch.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am delighted to award the second round of funding from my Green Roots Fund to support 33 brilliant organisations and community groups to deliver more green, blue and climate resilient spaces for our city. In addition, communities in areas most affected by rising temperatures will benefit from thousands of new trees.
“Everyone should have access to nature, which is why we’re empowering London’s communities to transform their neighbourhoods through these new blue and green spaces. I urge Londoners to get involved and apply for the next round of funding, closing later this month. Increasing access to nature whilst helping to ensure the city can cope with climate change is a vital part of how we can continue to deliver a greener, healthier and fairer London for everyone.”
The Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Mete Coban, visited William Torbitt School in Redbridge to meet teachers and young people who are part of the Tree Council’s Young Tree Champions Living Labs project, a Green Roots Fund grant recipient. He said: “It was so inspiring to meet the Tree Council’s Young Tree Champions and hear about their work to transform their school into a greener, healthier place to learn—keeping them cool in the face of rising temperatures.
“Alongside planting up to 5,000 new trees where they’re needed most, we’re announcing 33 new Green Roots Fund projects that will empower communities to reintroduce nature and boost their climate resilience.
“The benefits of nature should be for everyone, and - like the Mayor - I am committed to making this a reality for all Londoners.”
