What is the Local Places for Nature?
The Local Places for Nature is a capital grant scheme intended to enable areas of highest deprivation, peri-urban/urban communities, and/or those with least access to nature in Wales to restore and enhance nature on your doorstep. A £5 million capital fund to establish the LPfN programme was subsequently announced in the draft budget on the 12 December 2019. The programme also utilised additional funding in the year, and the budget was raised to £6.9m.
This funding is primarily for:
- projects located or servicing the needs of communities in the 50% most deprived areas OR
- community food growing projects anywhere in Wales OR
- organisations/groups representing a diverse ethnic community from any part of Wales
If the project area falls within the 50% LEAST deprived of areas, you may still be able to apply for funding. Particularly, if your project will increase the involvement of a wider range of people in natural heritage, and/or if those affected by the project have a specific need. The funding is distributed to communities through partners including Keep Wales Tidy and National Lottery Heritage Fund. Partners supply grants to community groups of all sizes looking to create places for nature across Wales, in areas where people live, work and access public services.
The projects are intended to meet the First Minister’s commitment to ‘modest measures’, things that make an impact locally, which are:
- Increase wildflower planting.
- Increase pollinators.
- Increase meadow areas on sloping land.
- Reduce the use of pesticides.
- Change mowing practices to encourage wildflowers and improve biodiversity.
- Improve public access to drinking water.
- Increase local tree planting, including street trees, orchards, and small woodlands including tiny forests.
- Increase community food-growing opportunities including the provision of allotments.
