It is great news for the environment as 69 projects (totalling £625K) are set to receive funding from the WCC Green Shoots Community Climate Change Fund.
Warwickshire County Council is very pleased to announce the fantastic climate change mitigation and adaptation projects that will be receiving money from the £1 million fund. This announcement follows the evaluation of the 109 applications which have been received to the fund since it launched in February 2021.
The 69 successful schemes cover a wide array of initiatives to address climate change including:
- Rewilding schemes to restore areas of forestry lost over time;
- Creating a biodiversity space to engage, inspire and encourage local residents to support biodiversity corridors across the area;
- Installing renewable energy technology, such as solar panels on community venues to reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions;
- A project to launch the first repair cafe in Kenilworth, which joins cafes in Leamington, Rugby, Southam and Alcester, providing an opportunity for householders to get their broken items repaired while learning how to do it themselves in the future; and
- Transport projects enabling and promoting cycling and walking.
Cllr Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and the Environment, said: “The Warwickshire Green Shoots Fund is an important step forward in our response to the Climate Change Emergency that the Council declared in 2019. The £1million fund that we have made available is one of the largest offered by any local authority and the fact that we have already been able to allocate over £600K in funding to projects across Warwickshire is a shining example of how committed our communities are to playing their role in facing the climate change emergency through direct strategic action.
“Climate change affects us all and that effect will be felt more profoundly across the next decade unless we take decisive and collective action to reduce our carbon emissions, help our environment adapt to the changes we know will happen, and all live more sustainable lives. It is this that was at the heart of our Green Shoots Fund and also our commitment to joining the UK 100 Pledge on carbon reduction, which was made in June of this year.
“There is already a lot of fantastic work going on across Warwickshire to help reduce carbon footprints and minimise the effects that we all have on our fast-changing climate. Thanks to the Green Shoots Fund, there are now 69 more projects and initiatives that will each contribute to making a difference and to making Warwickshire sustainable now and for future generations.
“On behalf of all of Warwickshire, I would like to thank all the community and voluntary groups that have taken the time to apply for funding and congratulate those who have been successful. I am looking forward to seeing all these fantastic ideas realised thanks to Green Shoots Funding.”
A full list of projects that are set to receive Green Shoots Community Climate Change funding can be found below:
High-Value Projects – Up to £25k
Active Travel
- Path Creation Freemantle Play Area/Cornwallis Open Space – Rugby Borough Council
- Cycle Buddies – Clean Air Warwick
Ecology
- The Kenilworth Centre Community Garden – The Kenilworth Centre Community Garden & The Talisman Project
- Heat reduction and resilience herb garden – Transition Town Rugby
- Green Shoots Across Dunsmore – Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
- St John's Community Garden Project – St John's Parochial Church Council (St John the Baptist Church, Tachbrook Street)
- Warwickshire Living Walls – Forest of Hearts
- Bilton Infant School Sensory Garden – Friends of Bilton Infant School
- Re-Treeing Ansley Parish – Ansley Parish Community Voluntary Group
- The Children's Forest at Leasowe Farm – Achieving Results in Communities CIC
- Community Wildflower Garden – Shuttington Parish Council
- Recreation Ground Improvement – Bubbenhall Parish Council
- Action Station - Stratford Biodiversity Education Project – Graduate Planet CIC
- Rain water harvest – Cubbington Parish Council
Electric Vehicles
- EV Charging Points – Napton Environmental Action Team (NEAT)
- EV charging/ heating / cooling – Kineton Sports and Social Club
Property, insulation and heating
- Energy efficiency – Bedworth, Rugby And Nuneaton Citizens Advice Bureau
- Replacement for Wixford Village Hall – Wixford Village Hall
- Replacement of 100 year old heating system – All Saints Church, Leek Wootton
Renewable energy
- Green Transformation – Earlswood Village Hall (EVH)
- Greig Hall, Alcester – Alcester Town Council
- Solar PV – St Georges Church
- Reducing the environmental impact through action and education – Harbury Guide and Scout Support (G.A.S.S)
- PV Solar System Energy Storage – Ettington Community Trust / community centre
- Solar PV – Clinton School c/o Jonathan Dove
- Solar PV – Friends of Coten End Primary School PTA
Low energy Streetlighting
- Street Lighting Upgrade – Church Lawford Parish Council
- Upgrade to double glazing – Kingsbury Community and Youth Centre
- Streetlight Upgrade – Wolston Parish Council
- Streetlight Replacement Project – Shilton & Barnacle PC
- Rural Tour Green Tech Project – Sudden Impulse Production Company
- 3G LED Project – Stratford Town Football Club
Training and Awareness
- Community Roots – Team Springboard CIC
- Climate Hub – Stratford Climate Action
Lower Value Projects – Less than £5k
Active Travel
- Climate Emergency: Local Council Action Planning Day – Warwickshire and West Midlands Association of Local Councils (WALC)
- Shipston on Stour Bike Rack –St Edmund's Parish Church,
Ecology
- Raised Vegetable Beds – Provost Williams Primary School PTA
- Tree planting to enhance the character and quality of Priory Park, Warwick – Friends of Priory Park (FOPP)
- Tree Planting and Wildflower Verge Seeding – Welford on Avon Parish Council
- Plant a tree before '23 – Kineton Parish Council
- Community garden and community orchard – Hillmorton and East Rugby Together Community Group (HEaRT)
- Going Green at RLI – Friends Of Race Leys Infant School
- Eco Group-transforming our garden – St Peter & St John's Church Rugby
- Bridge Street Hedgerow – Barford, Sherbourne & Wasperton Joint Parish Council (JPC)
- Native Hedge for Barford Community Orchard – Bar Zero
- Green Shoots of 2021: A Tree Planting Scheme for Weston Under Wetherely – Weston Under Wetherley Parish Council
- Tree planting – Friends of Bluebell Walk (FOBW)
- Campion School Blossom Trees – Paintings Plantation Steering Group
- Park Biodiversity Project – Farnborough Parish Council
- Climate Emergency Green Infrastructure – Luddington Parish Coun
- Weston Under Wetherely Community Orchard Project – Weston Under Wetherley Parish Council
- Telford Junior's Climate Change Action Group – Telford Junior School Parents Association
- Re-Growth of Wildlife Area – Tanworth-in-Arden Parish Council
- Great Balance Pocket Park – George Birch Close, Great Balance and Colledge Close Residents
- Eco Garden Project – Nuneaton Community of Christ Church
Electric Vehicles
- EV / Lighting Upgrade – The Myton Hospices
- Stretton Sustainability Initiative - Community Electric Vehicle Charge Points – Stretton-on-Fosse Parish Council
Property, insulation, lighting and heating
- Village Hall Loft Insulation – Binley Woods
- LED lighting at Radford Semele Primary School: phase 3 – Radford Semele Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
- Adapting for a sustainable future – The Open Door Café
- Fit for the Future – Shotteswell Village Hall
- Canalside - Solar Lighting And Native Hedging – Ruby's Yard CIC
- Upgrade to LED lighting to 71/73 Long St - Arcade for start-up businesses and community use – Atherstone Town Council
- LED lighting for Community Unit/Social Supermarket – Atherstone Town Council
Training and Awareness
- Water Collection to Replace Mains Water – Mount Pleasant Allotment Association
- Climate Change Day for the pupils of Bridgetown Primary School, Stratford upon Avon – Friends of Bridgetown School
- NEAT News – Napton Environmental Action Team (NEAT)
Waste
- Making Meon Vale Sustainable – Meon Vale Residents' Association
- Kenilworth Repair Café – Kenilworth Repair Café
For more information about the scheme, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/greenshootsfund
For more information about how Warwickshire County Council is facing the challenges of the climate change emergency, visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/strategies-policies-legislation/facing-challenge-climate-change-warwickshire
Get the latest news about how Warwickshire County Council and partners are facing the challenge of the climate emergency and how you can get involved: http://eepurl.com/hrk-zf