Green funding boost for cafe and wild pond project
Two community projects in West Lothian have been awarded more than £1900 to help improve their green credentials.
Both 1st Step Café and the Beechbrae Wild Pond project have received £1973 in total from the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) Community Project Fund to improve their local greenspace.
The £40,000 Community Project Fund – supported by £30,000 funding from the Greggs Foundation and £10,000 from Central Scotland Green Network Trust (CSGNT) – is providing one-off grants of up to £1000 to support small-scale greenspace initiatives and to foster community engagement in maintaining and enhancing the local environment.
The fund aims to increase community use of local greenspace, particularly within disadvantaged communities, in order to positively impact on the quality of life for local residents.
The 1st Step Café has been awarded £973 funding to help create a garden at the Linlithgow café, run by volunteers affected by addiction. The garden would be used to produce food, while also creating a social space to promote recovery.
Meanwhile, Beechbrae SCIO has been awarded £1000 funding for their Beechbrae Wild Pond project. Funding will go towards timber and labour to build a platform which will make Beechbrae Wild Pond more accessible for the community.
Keith Geddes, chair of the Central Scotland Green Network Trust, said: “The CSGN Community Project Fund aims to support local groups in delivering the CSGN vision on the ground.
“The standard of applications to this year’s fund was fantastic and we have awarded the grants to a wide range of greenspace activities right across the central belt, from projects that aim to educate future generations on driving sustainability to those looking to restore working lives, build confidence and teach new skills.
“Small-scale local initiatives like the community garden at 1st Step Café are instrumental in achieving our goal of creating a high-quality green network across central Scotland to improve the quality of life for local communities.”
Some 48 grassroots projects throughout the CSGN area have received £40,000 funding through the programme, ranging from conservation and educational schemes, such as developing a learning space for children to expand their knowledge of the eco-system, community greenspace for local groups to tend, and biodiversity activities such as community engagement projects to promote a tidier environment for locals to live in. For further information about the CSGN Community Project Fund, visit www.centralscotlandgreennetwork. org.