NEWS: Groundwork and Bupa Foundation invest £500,000 in community projects across UK and Ireland
Communities across the UK and Ireland have benefitted from a £500,000 funding injection to revitalise green spaces and create happier and healthier places and spaces in towns and cities.
The Green Community Grants programme, a partnership between community charity Groundwork and the Bupa Foundation, supported 287 impactful projects in 2024 – including the creation of forest schools, community allotments and sensory gardens that has improved over 270 existing spaces and benefited 186,000 people.
Detail of the success of the programme has been released in the latest programme impact report.
Creggan Country Park in Derry, Northern Ireland were awarded £2,000 to make wellbeing and food growing improvements to their community green space.
Educating people about ways that they can help themselves improve their overall wellbeing, while at the same time supporting their planet, is something we continually strive for. Without such support, we would not be able to continue with our education and community outreach programmes. This funding allowed us to make the space more accessible, welcoming and more importantly has aided in increasing our biodiversity by planting native tree species.
Fiona McCann, Environmental Officer at Creggan Country Park
I’m really pleased that so many of the projects funded through the Bupa Foundation Green Community Grants programme are focused on giving people the encouragement and practical support they need to access nature close to home. We know how valuable this is in terms of supporting health and wellbeing but also in forming positive environmental habits that will last a lifetime.
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive
At the Bupa Foundation, we believe healthy people need a healthy planet, and that begins in the communities where we live. We’re proud to support local groups who are transforming green spaces into places that bring people together, boost wellbeing, and support healthier lives. With another £500,000 committed for 2025, we’re excited to help even more communities grow healthier, greener futures.
Stuart Brown, Chair of the Bupa Foundation
Since 2023, the Bupa Foundation has invested more than £1 million in Green Community Grants, available across the UK and Ireland, as part of Bupa’s #HealthyCities initiative to make deep impact in local communities – empowering schools and community groups to put their green ideas into action and making places and spaces greener.
A further £500,000 will be awarded in 2025 through a third year of the Green Community Grants programme for projects focused on the regeneration of green spaces in cities for community use. Applications are open now and will close on Monday 30 June.
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact: media@groundwork.org.uk
About Groundwork
Groundwork is a federation of charities with a collective mission to take practical action to create a fair and green future in which people, places, and nature thrive. We support communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience in order to tackle hardship, achieve a just transition to net-zero and help nature recover in a way that reduces inequality and leads to healthier, happier lives for all: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/about-groundwork/ourstrategy/
About Bupa Foundation
Bupa Foundation’s purpose is to help people live longer, healthier, happier lives and make a better world. We help create healthier communities by funding practical projects that improve both people and planet health: www.bupafoundation.org
