Grow Back Greener Fund 2022

The Grow Back Greener Fund is one of three funds which will open in 2022, as part of a package of measures to enhance green and blue spaces, and climate resilience. If your project is large scale or focussed on Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation, you may want to wait and apply to one of those schemes. Full details of what the Grow Back Greener Fund will support can be found in section 1.3. See section 3.1 on how to contact us to discuss your project ideas.

Later this year, applications will reopen for the Green and Resilient Spaces Fund to support large-scale, innovative projects that transform green and blue spaces and the wider public realm to enhance climate resilience.

Applications will also reopen for the second round of the Rewild London Fund that will support owners and managers of Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) to improve these key sites and ensure that the network is resilient in the face of the climate and ecological emergencies.

Find out more about all our green space funds.

The Building Stronger Communities Fund can also support greening projects by voluntary and community organisations. Find out more.

The Grow Back Greener Fund is one of three funds which will open in 2022, as part of a package of measures to enhance green and blue spaces, and climate resilience. If your project is large scale or focussed on Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation, you may want to wait and apply to one of those schemes. Full details of what the Grow Back Greener Fund will support can be found in section 1.3. See section 3.1 on how to contact us to discuss your project ideas.

Later this year, applications will reopen for the Green and Resilient Spaces Fund to support large-scale, innovative projects that transform green and blue spaces and the wider public realm to enhance climate resilience.

Applications will also reopen for the second round of the Rewild London Fund that will support owners and managers of Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) to improve these key sites and ensure that the network is resilient in the face of the climate and ecological emergencies.

Find out more about all our green space funds.

The Building Stronger Communities Fund can also support greening projects by voluntary and community organisations. Find out more.

The Grow Back Greener Fund will support a wide range of projects to help make London greener, fairer, healthier and more climate resilient. These projects should take place in, and enhance, publicly accessible spaces including parks, community gardens, housing estates, streets, school playgrounds, waterways and nature reserves. They should mainly be focused on making physical improvements to the space. We will prioritise projects that:

• create new green spaces, and improve the quality of and access to existing green space where Londoners live further than a 10-minute walk from green space
• plant trees in areas of low canopy cover
• are in areas of the city at high climate risk, especially where these are also areas of deprivation
• work with, or preferably are led by, Londoners who are less likely to access green space; this includes Black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners, lower-income Londoners, LGBTQ+ Londoners, Deaf Londoners or those with a disability and those aged 65 and over
• include opportunities for Londoners to access training or develop new green skills.

The 2022 Grow Back Greener Fund will offer grants under two themes: green spaces and waterways and tree planting. While these two themes are not mutually exclusive, you should apply to the theme that best aligns with the aims of your project. If you are unsure which theme to apply for, please email [email protected], or call Kamrul Islam on 07540 126706 or Lewis Fieldson on 07889 756247.

Applications are open to:

• registered charities including charitable incorporated organisations
• formally constituted community groups*
• social and not-for-profit businesses including community interest companies and social enterprises
• community benefit societies
• tenants and residents’ associations, and tenant management organisations
• housing associations
• local authorities, where they are working in collaboration with one or more local community groups, schools or civil society organisations. For applications to the tree planting theme, local authorities may apply on their own. However, collaborative projects are welcomed.
• schools, including academy trusts, parents’ associations and other organisations working on behalf of a school.

Applications should be from a formally constituted organisation that has an organisational bank account and is able to enter into legal contracts. You cannot apply as a private individual.

*If you have a great idea for a greening project but aren’t an incorporated or constituted group, we may be able to offer advice. Please contact Groundwork London to discuss your idea. Please email [email protected], or call Kamrul Islam on 07540 126 706 or Lewis Fieldson on 07889 756247.

The Building Stronger Communities Fund can also support greening projects by voluntary and community organisations that aren’t legally constituted. Find out more.

Funding offers to successful applicants will be made subject to the applicant’s acceptance of a grant agreement that must be signed before the project can start. Payments will be made according to the following schedule:

• 50 per cent upfront, on return of signed funding agreement
• 25 per cent on submission of a satisfactory mid-project monitoring report and proof of expenditure to date
• 25 per cent on completion, subject to submission of a satisfactory final monitoring report and proof of expenditure.

We understand some organisations may have cashflow issues. We are happy to discuss alternative payment schedules for successful projects.

The Grow Back Greener Fund can support a range of costs as long as these are contributing to the delivery of the project, and to the core aims of improving London’s green spaces and enhancing climate resilience. Costs should mainly be spent on making physical improvements to a space.

The application and delivery timeline are outlined in Section 3.2. below. Applications will be managed by Groundwork London, who will be happy to answer any questions you have about the application process, or about your project.

If this application process is not accessible to you and you require support to complete your application, please contact Groundwork London by phone or email using the details below to discuss your needs. You may require support if, for example, English isn’t your first language and you require English language support or if you are Deaf and require a BSL interpreter to attend an information webinar.

Please email [email protected], or call Kamrul Islam on 07540 126 706 or Lewis Fieldson on 07889 756247.

We will be holding optional applicant information webinars on the following dates. Some of these may happen both in person, circumstances allowing, and virtually. The same content will be covered at each session:

• Thursday 11 August 2022, 5:30pm – 7:00pm: register for the session
• Friday 12 August 2022, 10:00am – 11:30am: register for the session
• Tuesday 13 September 2022, 1:30pm – 3:00pm: register for the session

This will be an opportunity to hear more about the aims of the fund, the application process and assessment criteria. It will give you a chance to ask questions and receive advice on completing your application.

Section 4 of this guide provides more detail on completing the application form and the assessment criteria.

If your grant application is successful and you are awarded funding, Groundwork London will be your first point of contact during your project delivery period. You will be assigned a grants officer who will be able to help you with queries, discuss any changes to your project, and help with the required monitoring and reporting.

Groundwork London will host a programme of induction session once funding has been awarded, to help successful applicants understand the requirements of the programme and answer any initial questions. This will also be an opportunity to meet other grantees and share ideas.

Groundwork London will also offer several training sessions during the course of the delivery period, tailored to the needs of grantees.

The application form for the Grow Back Greener Fund is split into five sections, which will be used to assess your project’s suitability for the fund. A copy of the application form can be found in Appendix A. Before accessing the form online, you will be asked a series of gateway questions. These questions are designed to check whether your project proposal is eligible for the fund. They are not scored, but all projects must meet the basic eligibility criteria.

The application form sections are:

• Section 1: About your organisation – these questions are designed to check whether your organisation is eligible for the fund, and to enable due diligence checks to be carried out. They are not scored, but all organisations must meet the eligibility criteria.
• Section 2: About your project – these questions provide an overview of your project, the activities that will take place and the outputs you aim to deliver. They are not scored, but will be used to check that your project meets the core aims of the fund.
• Section 3: Meeting the aims of the fund – these questions form 60 per cent of the assessment of your project (15 per cent for each question). They allow you to go into more detail about what your project will achieve, and enable us to assess how well your project meets the aims of the fund. Further details of the assessment criteria are outlined below.
• Section 4: Delivering your project – these questions form 20 per cent of the assessment of your project. They allow you to demonstrate how your project will be delivered successfully on time and within budget, and safely.
• Section 5: Project budget – this question forms 20 per cent of the assessment of your project. It allows you to demonstrate that you have thought about the costs of your project, and that it delivers good value for money.

Your application will be assessed against the criteria outlined below.

Section 3: meeting the aims of the fund

These questions form 60 per cent of the assessment of your project (15 per cent for each question). They allow you to go into more detail about what your project will achieve and enable us to assess how well your project meets the aims and priorities of the fund.

1. How will your project enhance green space and/ or waterways or plant trees to enhance London's resilience to the impacts of climate change?

Your answer to this question should focus on what your project will do – how your project will improve and transform a particular site.

If you are applying to the green spaces and waterways theme, your project should either:

• create new green space, for example by depaving (removing hard surfacing); or
• enhance an existing green space (such as a park, nature reserve, woodland, community garden, housing estate green space or other accessible public space; or
• create, enhance or restore waterways and wetlands (including rivers, ponds and canals); or
• improve Londoners' access to an existing green space; or
• use green and blue infrastructure (nature-based solutions) to enhance London’s resilience to climate change by providing one of more of the following benefits:
  
  • reducing flood risk
  • improving water quality
  • cooling the urban environment
  • providing shade
  • addressing water scarcity.

Your answer to this question should describe clearly how your project will do one or more of these things and deliver environmental benefits.

If you are applying to the tree planting theme, your project should either:

• plant trees in areas of low canopy cover; or
• use tree planting or management to enhance London's resilience to climate change by providing one or more of the following benefits:
  
  • reducing flood risk
  • cooling the urban environment
  • providing shade

We encourage you to use our tree cover and climate risk maps and tools, and technical guidance highlighted in section five, to inform your project design. You may wish to provide a sketch design or planting plan, or relevant maps of local environmental issues to support your application. Further advice for community organisations on communicating your project visually can be found here.

2. How will your project support the priorities of the fund, and respond to local needs, by targeting a location(s) that has either poor access to green space, high climate risk and/or low tree canopy cover?

Your answer to this question should focus on why your project is needed – why the location of your project should be a priority for improvement.

If you are applying to the green spaces and waterways theme, this could be a location that is currently lacking green space. The Mayor has made it a priority for no Londoner to live more than a 10-minute walk from a green space. As such, we particularly welcome applications that create new green spaces in areas where Londoners currently live more a 10-minute walk (800 metres) from an accessible green space of at least 0.02 hectares.

You should use the GLA’s London 10-Minute Walk Map to identify whether your project will take place in one these hexes or in a neighbouring hex. Please identify the level of need at your location (a score of 1 represents the highest need) and refer to this in your response. Further details of how to use this new map are provided in Appendix C.

If your project does not fall within one of these areas, please explain why the location of your project should be a priority for improvement. This could be a location where existing green spaces are poor-quality or inaccessible, or where many residents lack access to gardens. You may also wish to outline any local needs or desire to use the space that have become particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another priority of the fund is to enhance London’s climate resilience. You should use the GLA’s London Climate Risk Mapping to identify the levels of climate risk at your project location. Further details of how to use this map are provided in Appendix C.

If your project falls within an area with a high climate risk score, you should also refer to this in your response to this question. You should explain how the location of your project is particularly exposed to risks from climate change, such as flooding and heatwaves, and consider how your project will address these risks and enhance this location’s climate resilience, for example installing sustainable urban drainage in areas of high flood risk or depaving and planting trees in areas of high heat risk.

Climate vulnerability relates to people’s exposure to climate impacts like flooding and heatwaves, but also personal and social factors that affect their ability to cope with and respond to the impacts of climate change, including extreme events. Your answer should also consider how your project can support more vulnerable Londoners.

If you are applying to the tree planting theme, your answer should explain why the location of your project is a priority for tree planting.

You should use the GLA’s London Tree Canopy Cover Map to identify the areas of the city that have low tree cover and could be targeted for tree planting.

You should also use the GLA’s London Climate Risk Mapping to identify the levels of climate risk at your project location. We will prioritise projects in areas of high climate risk. You should explain how the location of your project is particularly exposed to the risk of heatwaves and/or flooding, and consider how your tree planting project will address these risks and enhance this location’s climate resilience.

3. How will your project provide opportunities for Londoners, especially people who are less likely to access green space, to play an active part in making London greener and to develop new skills, including through volunteering, apprenticeships and creating new job roles?

Your answer to this question should focus on how people will take part in your project, and who will be involved.

Your project should involve Londoners in making the city greener. It should provide people with opportunities and support to actively take part in the project, to volunteer and to develop new skills.

We will prioritise projects that support people to develop new skills, which could be through:

• volunteering opportunities with new and/or established volunteers
• training or education sessions, including structured programmes leading to qualifications
• apprenticeships
• creating new job roles
• projects being co-designed and led by local communities and residents.

We want to support projects that work with local communities, and will prioritise projects that are led by, or will work with, Londoners who are less likely to access green space, including Black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners, lower-income Londoners, LGBTQ+ Londoners, Deaf Londoners or those with a disability and those aged 65 and over.

In your answer you should make specific reference to how these Londoners will be actively involved in and/ or benefit from your project, the barriers that they face in accessing green space, and how your project will help overcome these barriers.

You should outline who will lead the project, and how local people will be involved, through co-design, volunteering, training or other participation, as well as the benefits people will gain from participating. You could include details of community consultation you have carried out already, or evidence of support from local people. We are keen to hear from user-led and grassroots groups.

4. How will you ensure that your project leaves a positive legacy, including any ongoing plans for maintaining the space, or sustaining community engagement?

Any project must have a clear plan for maintenance, to ensure that the benefits of activities to improve the space are fully realised. In order to support this, up to 20 per cent of any grant can be spent on maintenance beyond the end of the project.

Your answer to this question should detail how any maintenance budget will be spent, who will be responsible for maintaining the new or improved space, and how volunteering or community involvement will be sustained. Maintenance is particularly important for tree planting projects to ensure that any newly planted trees survive and flourish. You must also have a clear plan for how the trees will be maintained in the long-term. A condition of grant funding for projects under the tree planting to cool the city theme will be that trees are maintained for a minimum of three years after planting .This includes weeding and watering. Replacement of losses is at the applicant’s cost.

Your answer should also describe how the space will be used following the end of the project, and the lasting impact it will have on the site and the community.

Section 4: delivering your project

These questions form 20 per cent of the assessment of your project. They allow you to demonstrate how your project will be delivered successfully, on time and within budget, and safely.

1. Project plan

In this section you should set out the key milestones for your project, the timeline for achieving them, and the actions you will need to take. Your project must be completed by December 2023, and the timeline should reflect this. Your answer should demonstrate that you have a well-thought-out project plan, with realistic and achievable timelines. An example of a completed project plan can be found in Appendix B.

2. Risk register

In this section you should outline some of the key risks to your project, and how you will mitigate these risks. You should score each risk according to its likelihood of happening (probability), and how big an impact it would have. The total score (probability x impact) should be assigned a red, amber or green rating. Any red risks may need further mitigation to ensure that they don’t prevent your project from being successfully completed. An example of a completed risk register can be found in Appendix B.

This should include health and safety risks and mitigations. While restrictions introduced to combat the spread of COVID-19 have been lifted, projects should always follow the latest guidance. The most recent COVID-19 updates and information can be found on GOV.UK.

You should consider in your risk register measures that you could introduce to ensure that your project can continue to be delivered safely and in a timely manner, should social distancing and other public health measures be reintroduced in the future. The below resources provide advice on managing volunteers and supporting vulnerable Londoners. The resources listed below are accurate as of June 2022.

This may include:

Managing volunteers:

• NCVO guidance and resources to support charities, voluntary organisations and volunteers.
• TCV guidance on working safely during COVID-19.
• Government guidance on reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19 in the workplace.

Supporting immunosuppressed Londoners:

There remains a small number of Londoners whose immune system means that they are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, despite vaccination. You should consider how you project can be delivered in a way that enables these Londoners to take part safely.

• Government guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk.
• NCVO guidance on supporting volunteers who are at high risk from COVID-19.

Section 5: project budget

This question forms 20 per cent of the assessment of your project. It allows you to demonstrate that you have thought about the costs of your project, and that it delivers good value for money.

Your budget should be as detailed as possible and should follow the guidelines on eligible costs outlined in Section 2.3., above. It’s useful to get at least three quotes for major items and check the costs for smaller items with reputable suppliers. An example of a completed budget can be found in Appendix B.

Once you have submitted your application, it will be assessed according to the following process:

1. Sifting: initial review of all applications for eligibility, including: organisation, delivery timelines, grant amount, project remit. Ineligible applications will be rejected at this stage.
2. Shortlisting: all applications are scored by a minimum of two assessors from the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Groundwork London, according to the criteria outlined above. Applications that score less than an agreed threshold will be rejected at this stage.
3. Grants panel: shortlisted applications are reviewed by the grants panel for a final funding decision. The panel will include officers from the GLA and Groundwork London, as well as independent environment and community experts. The panel will review applications collectively to ensure a breadth of project types and locations, in line with the priorities of the fund.

We expect final funding decision on all applications to be made by November 2022. During the assessment process, we may contact you to clarify points in your application, or to ask for more information.

As we anticipate a high volume of applications, unfortunately we may not be able to fund every good application. The grants panel will prioritise those applications that most closely fit the assessment criteria and will also consider the location and type of projects to support a balanced programme across London, and across the themes of the fund.

Any offer(s) of funding will be made subject to you accepting a grant agreement which must be signed before your project can start.

The GLA has published a series of maps and data to help Londoners understand, explore and improve our capital’s green infrastructure. We encourage you to use these tools to help inform the type of greening activities that your project might include, and to identify locations that are in greatest need. The following tools are particularly relevant to the Grow Back Greener Grants:

• London 10-Minute Walk Map: this map identifies priority areas where Londoners may live more than a 10-minute walk from green space. Appendix C includes more detail on how to use the London 10-Minute Walk Map.
• London Climate Risk Mapping: these maps bring together different datasets to analyse climate exposure and vulnerability across London. They identify the overall climate risk, flood risk and heat risk for different areas, based on both how exposed they are to climate impacts, and where there are high concentrations of vulnerable Londoners. Appendix C includes more details on how to use the London Climate Risk Mapping.
• Tree Canopy Cover Map: this map shows how much of London is covered by trees. It helps to identify areas of the city that have low tree cover and could be targeted for tree planting or natural regeneration. Appendix C includes more detail on how to use the Tree Canopy Cover Map.
• Green Infrastructure Focus Map: this map shows where there is the greatest need for green infrastructure interventions that can tackle local environmental and social challenges. It can help identify where improvements might be best targeted, and what they could focus on.
• Deprivation data: you can find out more about different indices of deprivation through the London Datastore, or the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s interactive map.

If you do not own the site where your project will take place, you must have written permission from the landowner for your project to take place as proposed during the delivery period of December 2022 to December 2023 before submitting an application. Please attach this proof of permission with your application. If the landowner is a local authority, this permission must come from an Officer.

While most projects supported by the Grow Back Greener Fund will not need planning permission, if you are unsure you should contact your local authority who will be able to advise. If your project does need planning permission, you should factor this into your pre-application and delivery timelines.

If you are uncertain of the previous use of your site, contaminated land could be an issue, and you may need to design your project accordingly. You can find out more on the government website, or contact your local authority or the Environment Agency.

You should also consider whether the site of your project is subject to any heritage designations, such as Listed Parks and Gardens, Listed Buildings or Scheduled Monuments. Such designations may affect what you can do on the site. You can find protected heritage sites on the Historic England website.

It is important to follow good practice guidance for tree planting, adopting the principles of “right tree, right place”. You must also have a clear plan for how the trees will be maintained in the long-term.

It is highly recommended that you contact your borough tree officer before planning a tree planting project. They will be able to provide invaluable local knowledge and advice on the suitability of your project. You must always have permission of the landowner, which is often the local authority, before planting trees.

A wide range of useful resources are available to help you identify whether your location is appropriate for tree planting, what type of trees might be suitable, and how to plant and maintain them:

• The Tree Council has a great guide to planting trees of different sizes aimed at community groups
• The Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Manual has advice on selecting the right tree for the right place in urban areas. It describes the benefits of urban trees and also has advice on planting and establishment, and pests and diseases.
• Your choice of trees should consider the expected impacts of climate change. Find out more.
• You should consider the latest advice on pests and diseases when choosing tree species, and avoid trees with high disease risk such as ash and horse chestnut. Information on tree pests and diseases including ash dieback, oak processionary moth, chestnut blight and massaria disease of plane is available on the Forest Research website.
• The Trees and Design Action Group guide on Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure has advice on the benefits and characteristics of over 280 species. Their Trees in the Hard Landscape report has further advice on incorporating trees into the public realm.
• You should consider the potential allergy impacts of different tree species, especially when planting in areas used by children such as school playgrounds. Allergy Today and the Royal College of Pathologists have published useful information on this topic.
• The Orchard Project has a series of guides on planting and maintaining orchards.
• Our website has a collection of practical resources with advice on planting and maintaining trees.

Before starting your project, it is important to understand any existing wildlife and habitats present on your site.

If your project is taking place in an existing green space you can use GiGL’s Discover London Map, which identifies public open spaces and states whether they are designated as a Wildlife Site (also known as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation). It also highlights key details of the habitats and wildlife found at each site. GiGL can also make more detailed local information available to community groups on request. If your project is taking place on local authority owned land, your borough ecologist should be able to provide further advice.

For any project taking place on a Wildlife Site, you should obtain advice from a suitably qualified expert (this could be your borough ecologist, an officer from a wildlife charity or another local expert). We will ask you for evidence of this advice. For larger projects, you may wish to carry out or commission an ecological survey.

A number of resources are available to help you identify how best to create space for wildlife, and to manage sites appropriately:

• the Wildlife Trusts has simple guides to helping wildlife in gardens
• London Wildlife Trust offers resources and advice on wildlife in London
• the GLA website has simple actions for helping pollinators
• London Borough of Southwark has produced guidance on creating habitat in urban parks and open spaces
• the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has advice on gardening for wildlife
• Rewild My Street has resources on repurposing urban streets for wildlife.

If you are planning a project on London’s waterways, where relevant you should consult:

• Thames21, which works with communities to improve London’s rivers and canals for people and wildlife
• the Canal & River Trust, which cares for 2,000 miles of historic inland waterways across England and Wales
• the Environment Agency, which is responsible for water quality and resources, and a takes a strategic overview of flood management
• the relevant Local Lead Flood Authority (your London borough) which has responsibility for managing the risk of flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. Search your borough’s website for flooding to find the contact.

Other guidance includes:

• the Freshwater Habitats Trust’s pond creation toolkit
• the Zoological Society of London’s urban wetland design guide.

Climate change will result in warmer, wetter winters in London, and more frequent and intense rainstorms. This will increase the risk of the drainage system being overwhelmed, leading to surface-water flooding.

A simple way of reducing surface-water flood risk is by depaving – turning grey areas of impermeable surfacing, like concrete and tarmac, into green with a wider variety of suitable plants to intercept and slow down the flow of water. Our Grey to Green guide outlines how to include depaving in your community project, no matter how small the space.

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) manage surface-water runoff by capturing, using, absorbing, storing and transporting rainfall in a way that mimics nature. SuDs slow the flow and reduce the amount of rainfall that drains into streams and rivers and also sewers. There are several resources available with guidance on installing SuDS in a range of settings:

• the GLA’s overview of Sustainable Drainage in London and SuDS case studies
• the GLA’s SuDS sector guidance explaining how SuDS can be used in different settings, including schools, social housing and green spaces
• Transport for London’s SuDS in London guide
• the UK Rain Garden Guide
• the SusDrain library of SuDS resources.

While reducing emissions at source is the most effective way of improving air pollution, well-designed urban greening, such as hedges and trees planted in the right place, can reduce people’s exposure to air pollution. At a local scale, vegetation can have the greatest impact on air quality by acting as a barrier that helps to disperse polluted air, rather than by absorbing pollution. While there is no “one size fits all” intervention, vegetation that forms a barrier between a pollution source (such as a busy road) and a place where people gather (such as a park or playground) is likely to be most effective.

The following resources have advice on using greening measures to help protect people from air pollution:

• the Mayor of London’s guide to using Green Infrastructure to Protect People from Air Pollution, based on the latest scientific evidence
• the Trees and Design Action Group’s First Steps in Urban Air Quality
• guidance on Implementing Green Infrastructure for Air Pollution Abatement from the University of Surrey, including recommended tree and shrub species.

If you are planning a project to make your school playground greener, there are several organisations that can offer specialist advice, support and guidance:

• Trees for Cities can offer support through their Edible Playgrounds and Planting Healthy Air in Schools programmes
• Groundwork London can help schools design unique spaces and bring in additional funding – they have also published a toolkit on green infrastructure and air quality
• Learning through Landscapes offers a range of resources and advice on outdoor learning and greening school grounds, as well as Local School Nature Grants that provide outdoor-learning training and £500 of equipment
• the Mayor of London has published guidance on:
  
  • how schools and early-years settings can adapt to climate change
  • reimagining rainwater in schools
  • measures to improve air quality in schools
• the Woodland Trust offers free trees for schools and community groups, as well as a set of resources to help schools with tree planting projects
• the Tree Council offers free Orchards for Schools tree packs, and a Branching Out Fund to support school tree planting projects.
• the RHS Campaign for School Gardening has resources on a range of topics
• Buglife has a range of resources for schools to support learning about and improving school grounds for pollinators.

My Community compiles tools and resources from a range of organisations on how to make your community an even better place to live, including:

• a range of resources on parks and green spaces
• top tips for community engagement
• how to listen to your community
• how to set up and choose the right structure for your community group.

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) have published resources that outline environmental volunteering modules, which can be used to deliver informal and formal learning, masterclasses and “train the trainer” materials.

Parks Community UK provides a ‘one-stop shop’ of information for friends-of-parks groups, to help them feel better equipped and more confident in their active involvement with their local park.