NEWS: Bupa Foundation and Groundwork launch second round of Green Community Grants
Groundwork and the Bupa Foundation announce a new round of funding to make a positive difference to the health of local communities following the success of the first round of the programme which launched in 2023.
The scheme, which is open to schools, registered charities and not-for-profit organisations, will award grants of up to £2,000 for practical projects which help with both people and planet health.
Priority will be given to projects which focus on the regeneration of green spaces in cities for community use, such as; tree planting to improve air quality and biodiversity, the creation of an outdoor classroom or ‘forest school’, or establishing a community allotment or garden.
Bupa Foundation Green Community Grants is part of Bupa’s Healthy Cities campaign, which encourages people to adopt healthy, long-term habits in their daily lives while preserving and regenerating green spaces.
Successful applicants in the previous round included 163 schools who received funding for outdoor classrooms, forest schools, sensory gardens and similar projects; and 76 community groups, charities and food banks who used the grants for community allotments, parks and green space improvements.
The deadline for applications is Sunday 30 June 2024.
We know that health and wellbeing are strongly linked to the condition of our environment, and we also understand the transformational impact that spending time in or near to nature can have. The first year of the Bupa Foundation Green Community Grants demonstrated just how much difference can be made by schools and community groups when they are provided opportunities to improve their natural and green spaces, ensuring they are more accessible to those who need them most and helping to reduce health inequalities by combatting pollution and providing places for people to be active, connected and to learn new skills. We’re pleased to be working with Bupa Foundation for a second year to provide more opportunities like these.
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive
People’s health and planet health are inextricably linked, which is why we started our ‘Healthy Cities’ campaign. It’s essential that we bring equal access to quality green space, especially to people who live in cities so that everyone can get the wellbeing benefits of spending more time in nature. Our Green Community Grants programme is there to help schools and community groups put their ideas into action. It’s been an absolute pleasure to see the hundreds of projects we funded in 2023 come to life, and we’d like to thank everyone involved on the ground who made these projects happen. We’re really pleased to expand the programme in 2024 with a further £550,000 in grants. This will mean we’ll have donated over £1m in less than two years, helping to building healthier, greener communities.
Anna Russell, Director of the Bupa Foundation
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: www.groundwork.org.uk
