Several Devonport and Stonehouse community businesses have been awarded a share of €50,000 to help restore nature and connect communities with Plymouth’s green spaces, as part of the Green Minds project.
Grant winners will each receive up to €10,000 and will work with project partners, Real Ideas, to deliver their business proposals and bring long term benefits to people and environment.
Led by Plymouth City Council, Green Minds is a €4million project funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the Urban Innovations Actions programme, that is building a city wide movement to finding innovative solutions to rewilding our urban landscape, bringing people closer to nature, and a better quality of life for us all.
Councillor Sue Dann, Cabinet member for Street Scene and the Environment, said: “I’m really pleased that these well-valued community businesses will receive funding as part of this great scheme.
“It will be fantastic to see what they can achieve in order to bring green space and nature closer to residents in Devonport and Stonehouse.”
This latest financial boost follows other successful schemes such as Empowering Places funded by Power to Change, and the ongoing Future Parks Accelerator, that have both been instrumental in nurturing a growing ecosystem of community businesses across the city. Providing social, environmental, and financial value, these organisations are collectively leading the way in building a fairer economy that is naturally regenerative.
Award winners include Stiltskin’s Soapbox Children’s Theatre in Devonport Park that hope to create a nature rich Community Art Garden to run theatre productions; and Pollenize CIC that will be bringing live video of bees inside high-tech hives to public spaces. A full list of grant winners can be found at https://staging.realideas.org/about-us/our-work/green-minds/ or https://greenmindsplymouth.com/
Snapdragons CIC, one of the grant winners based in Victoria Park, said ‘We’re so excited to have been successful in our Green Minds Bid – this money is a real game changer for us as it allows us to buy in the rest of the soil we need…. and allow us to buy in our polytunnel and sheds… We are so looking forward to reviving the site, improving the biodiversity in the area and bringing communities together through nature.
Pollenize CIC said “We are really proud to have been awarded funding for our project. We will be lifting the lid on the hive, revealing the world of the honey bee, and making nature more visible.”
Tom Butt from Real Ideas said ‘A new wave of businesses are emerging in Plymouth that are leading the way to build back better, regenerating our environment and communities. Not content with the ‘old normal’, these social entrepreneurs are caring for and restoring nature for us all, whilst providing livelihoods and economically benefiting the city. We are excited to work with them at Real Ideas’
If you want to know more about the grant winners or to get involved in building a green movement in Plymouth then please get in touch at www.realideas.org / https://staging.realideas.org/about-us/our-work/green-minds/ or attend our upcoming webinar ‘Eco Biz – Meeting Plymouth’s Green Minds’ https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2532500044384443407