National Forest gives cash boost to six initiatives
GRANTS ARE AWARDED TO SCHEMES THAT FOSTER DEEP CONNECTION WITH NATURE
THE National Forest has announced the recipients of its latest round of grants.
Designed to bolster the health and wellbeing of residents and communities while enhancing their engagement with the National Forest, these grants support initiatives that foster a deeper connection with nature.
Launched in 2021, the grants this year focus on promoting mental and physical wellness through nature, with six organisations chosen.
The selected projects, to be implemented and delivered over the next 12 months, are:
Burton and South Derbyshire College will develop an inspiring library of content for its newly installed immersive suites, based on the stories of the National Forest.
Working with professionals, students will learn new skills including interview techniques, recording and audio-production, filming for 360 video and working with drones.
Other skills in working with virtual reality, interactive mapping and understanding immersive software will also be developed.
Local people will be able to access the immersive suites on open days and during other events, and local school children will utilise them on visit days to the college.
Buzzing Roots CIC will deliver Wilderness Wonderfest at Beacon Hill Country Park to introduce nature to families who might not normally have easy access to the outdoors.
Activities will include the creation of willow art installations, bird focused educational workshops, moth workshops, and insect making workshops.
Buzzing Roots will work with the park rangers to deliver this event, and subsidised travel will be available from Loughborough or Leicester.
Groundwork Five Counties will deliver an eight-week programme for pre-school age children and their families within deprived areas of Swadlincote.
Activities to be included in the sessions are den building, junk modelling, creating bug hotels and a selection of creative activities to support the children’s development, as well as building a relationship with the natural world.
Rising Together CIC will extend their Trailblazer programme to provide an inclusive and welcoming environment to South Asian women from Leicester to help them explore the National Forest.
Using a monthly programme of activities, Rising Together will support women’s personal growth through a range of themed wellbeing walks.
Wild Minds CIC will target men within Burton upon Trent to engage in nature-based wellbeing activities.
Utilising the Washlands, a series of regular, subsidised sessions for individuals and their families will be delivered that introduce participants to local nature and will give them an understanding of the ways that they can use these spaces.
Wildly Immersive Wellness will deliver community engagement sessions across the National Forest to help reduce social isolation, and enhance overall wellbeing.
The activities within Wildly will be delivered in several ways, including workshops, events and half-day retreats at different sites.