Community Grants
Community -created woodland at King's Cliffe
Grants for community groups
The National Lottery Heritage Fund provided generous funds for the Building the Links for Rockingham Forest project. Part of that funding enabled us to provide small grants to community groups who were working to deliver environmental projects.
The scheme was designed to support volunteers and community-led organisations to deliver projects in the Rockingham Forest area. These projects would enhance habitats or help to connect a wide range of people to nature.
Applications closed in September 2023 and we received 11 applications, which totalled more than double the available grant budget. Grants of between £2000 and £6000 were made available to six of the groups and there are details in the boxes below and, elsewhere on this website reports of progress as their projects develop.
We were later able to provide additional small grants totalling about £10,000
to other project groups, including purchasing materials for them or covering transport costs. This was achieved using funding both from the National Heritage Lottery Fund budgets and from the North Northamptonshire Rural Community Fund. Details are lower down this page
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How to make a little money go a long way!
Cottingham Parish Council
Cottingham’s Friends of Green Spaces Group (FroGS) is undertaking a programme of projects to preserve, safeguard and improve several areas owned by the Parish Council. The RFV funding helped transform a third-acre area, part of a pasture land called the Dale, located at the junction of three much-used footpaths, into an accessible space for people to relax, rest, enjoy, meet etc. FroGS supplemented the existing extensive flora, effected some structural change to achieve an internal path, and installed two bench seats. New information boards and nest boxes also promote engagement with this natural haven.
Read more about this project in George West-Robinson's excellent
blog article
Transition King's Cliffe (Wildplaces)
This group's funding went towards installing a tree ID trail in Millennium Wood, and new signage around the King's Cliffe greenspaces for the community and visitors. This included waymarking, and a new information board at ‘Meadow Junction’, the site of the recently demolished bridge that used to cross the King's Cliffe Railway Path. They were also able to expand the community Adder monitoring activities, and improve signage to notify and advise visitors and the community of their vulnerability, and how to behave near them. It enabled a radio-tracking project to establish whether the male Adders were interacting with the much larger Fineshade population. Pictures and more details in Charles Tomalin's blog article.
Our Lady of Walsingham Primary School
The funds were used to help set up a new Forest School area on the school grounds. An area needed to be cleared and a gate installed. In addition, equipment was purchased to support outdoor learning opportunities by creating learning trails, installing a pond and purchasing tools for children to use as they grow produce throughout the year. A woodland management plan is bring produced and staff underwent training in running a Forest School.
(See also this blog article by Sami Scott.)
Gretton Parish Council
Working with Gretton Primary Academy the Parish Council used the grant to help rejuvenate Pick's Playing Field, a peaceful area outside the village where members of the community can enjoy picnics and relaxation. During COVID the field was not in use and fell into disrepair but now the surrounding hedges have been managed and wildlife habitats suitable for Forest School activities have been established. The site is now open to residents of the village and a notice board has information on the history of the field, along with changing information about the habitat, flora and fauna in the location.
Hazel Leys Academy
Staff at the academy keen to become Forest School leaders and the funding was used to develop an area of the site that the children will be able to access. They bought suitable clothing (making access to nature possible year round), tarps to use as shelter, tools including bow saws, palm drills, mallets, loppers and secateurs, a fire kit including a fire bowl and flints and steels, ropes, and books to help identify flora and fauna. Essentially the grant supplied everything they need to set up a Forest School. Two of Hazel Ley's teaching assistants trained to become Level 3 Forest School Leaders.
Weldon Parish Council
At Weldon the funding was used to buy maintenance equipment for use in the Pocket Park and The Leys. These are being re-wilded to form a wildlife corridor through the central part of the village, either side of the banks of the southern arm of the Willowbrook. To maintain the longer grass and bramble areas a brushwood mower and hay rakes were bought for use by the team of volunteers who have been managing the site for the last few years.
Additional small grants for communities
Easton on the Hill
Supporting the Parish Nature Recovery Plan - by providing an assortment of native trees, bird boxes, native spring bulbs, wildflower seeds, hedging plants. Also tools and equipment and even a couple of pairs of waders to support pond work! As well as chainsaw training. Read more about Easton's tree planting here....
Gretton
More support for the Parish Nature Recovery Plan - in particular the development of a community orchard. Equipment and tools including scythes, rakes, wheelbarrow, storage hut. Also first aid training and chainsaw training for volunteers.
King's Wood Nature Reserve
Supporting the Nature Recovery Plan - Tools and equipment for the volunteers of Friend's of King's Wood including rigger gloves, ear defenders, helmets, safety glasses, hay rakes, pruning saws and loppers.
West Glebe Park
The Friends of West Glebe park needed extra tools and a small grant was able to help. This included buying secateurs, loppers and a couple of pairs of wellies too!
Cottingham
More support for the Parish Nature Recovery Plan - site clearance of the churchyard. Read the blog article by George and join us for a guided walk in March to see what's been done.
"It all goes to show that a relatively small amount of money can go a very long way .....
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when in the hands of passionate volunteer community groups!"