Latest News & Blogs
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NEWS – Green Spaces Fund Now Open!
Community groups across Greater Manchester can now apply for grants of between £2,000 and £40,000 through the Greater Manchester Environment Trust’s Green Spaces Fund. The 2026 funding round is officially open and will support projects that create or improve accessible, nature-rich green spaces in local communities. Since launching in 2022, the fund has invested more…
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BLOG – Building Skills for a More Resilient Future
Groundwork’s landscaping team have traditionally undertaken work such as flagging, fencing and other landscaping services. However, as the challenges facing our natural and built environment continue to evolve, so too must the skills and knowledge needed to care for and improve these spaces. Recognising the growing need for landscapes that are richer in biodiversity, more…
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BLOG – Bright Futures – Meet our new Green Doctor Energy Advisors
Opening doors into the green economy There is currently a significant green-skills shortage across the UK – with the demand for roles significantly out-weighing capacity. The need for jobs in roles such as energy advice and retrofit has never been more needed. As an experienced training provider working within a community setting, Groundwork plays an…
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NEWS – Angela Rayner MP visits Groundwork in Ashton
Angela Rayner MP visited Groundwork Greater Manchester’s office in Ashton-under-Lyne on the 2nd of April 2026, meeting staff, residents and young people to learn more about our work supporting communities across her constituency in Tameside. During the visit, she attended Groundwork’s St Peter’s Job Club, an initiative designed to help local residents build skills, confidence…
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BLOG – Introducing Ben Gilchrist, Director of Communities & Neighbourhoods at Groundwork Greater Manchester
This week Groundwork Greater Manchester welcome Ben Gilchrist into the role of Director of Communities & Neighbourhoods, taking over from Michaela Howell, who leaves the trust and enters retirement. Ben will be overseeing the delivery of support and services within the directorate including community and youth services; fuel poverty, energy and homes projects; and urban…
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BLOG – Live Well Spring Festival & Eid Celebrations at Stoneyfield Park, Rochdale
On Saturday 21st March 2026, to celebrate Eid and as part of the Live Well spring festival, local volunteers, supported by the Groundwork team, hosted a community celebration day at Stoneyfield Park in Rochdale. The event was a huge success, welcoming an estimated 200 people throughout the day, bringing together a vibrant mix of ages…
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BLOG – Keeping Retrofit Momentum Alive in Greater Manchester
Over the past few years, significant investment has helped drive retrofit engagement across Greater Manchester. The hard-to-reach communities Groundwork have engaged showed a real interest in learning new ways to keep their homes warm and trust was re-built for government backed schemes. For many households, these programmes led to great success, with low-carbon measures installed…
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NEWS – Community Power in Brinnington, 18th March 2026
On Wednesday 18th March 2026 Groundwork hosted an event at St Luke’s Church in Brinnington called ‘Community Power: Legacy, Learning and Leading Change in Brinnington.’ The event brough together residents, charity partners and public sector partners including Stockport council to celebrate everything that has been achieved in Brinnington through Big Local, and to look ahead…
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BLOG – How we’re redefining Youth Climate Action
For too long, the conversation around climate change has felt like it belongs to someone else. In 2021, when we began trialling youth-led climate projects across Greater Manchester, we noticed a recurring theme. The national narrative, often focused on lifestyle shifts like cycling more or eating less meat, didn’t always resonate with the young people…
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BLOG – People-Centred Retrofit Support
Our people-centred, data-informed retrofit support model is proving highly effective in reaching and supporting the most vulnerable households in Greater Manchester. Groundwork bridges the gap between complex national programmes and local communities, ensuring successful, high-quality installations. In this blog, Phil Treaton, Strategic Lead for Fuel Poverty, Retrofit & Homes, breaks down our approach, what we…
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BLOG – Backing Brinnington: a model of resident-led change
Ahead of ‘Community Power: Legacy, learning and leading change in Brinnington’ event on Wednesday 18th March 2026, Michaela Howell, Head of Communities & Neighbourhoods at Groundwork Greater Manchester reflects on 10 years working alongside the Brinnington community. Sustainable change in Brinnington has not come from new services and programmes; it has come from finding, connecting,…
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BLOG – Why Biodiversity Matters
What does biodiversity mean? Biodiversity is simply the variety of life around us – plants, animals, fungi, even tiny microorganisms – and the ecosystems they help create. Right now, the UK has one of the lowest biodiversity levels in Europe. But there’s good news: restoring our woodlands, wetlands, heaths and wild grasslands could help capture…