The Junction Foundation and Tees Valley Wildlife Trust celebrates after receiving £469,890 of National Lottery funding

Funding is to help communities in Redcar and Cleveland take Climate Action through Nature

Local charities, The Junction Foundation and Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, are celebrating after being awarded almost £470,000 in National Lottery funding to support their work with children, young people and their families to tackle climate change and connect with nature. The project will run in partnership with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council’s Climate Change and Streetscene Teams. The charities will use the money to empower children, young people and communities to deliver projects to protect and restore natural environments in communities, to educate children, young people and families around climate change and to take part in social action to be part of the solution.

The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will see the All Our Futures – Developing Communities project deliver the following;

• Improving access to natural spaces for families, providing education and reconnection to the natural world. Helping them to develop greater care for the environment, feel empowered, develop peer support networks and improve relationships and wellbeing.

• Help children and young people to contribute to the preservation of nature through eco holidays, school and family activities. Promoting behaviour change and helping to develop skills in nature, as well as contributing to personal and social development.

• Engagement with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to reclaim community spaces, promote biodiversity, and create awareness and value for the climate change agenda. It will support carbon neutral aspirations and create natural spaces that are accessible to communities.

At the same time, the project groups will be able to take part in volunteering opportunities and projects they feel are important to the local area, learn about the natural environment and organize events for other young people.

Beth Major CEO of The Junction, says: “We’re delighted, now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to build on the aspirations of local young people in tackling climate change and protecting nature. All children and young people involved will also have access to opportunities to take action, learn and access natural environments that they wouldn’t have without this funding. We are also very keen for young people to have a real voice in activities for them and the projects direction – if you know any young people that would like to take part in this please do get in touch through our website”

Jeremy Garside, CEO from Tees Valley Wildlife, says: “The Wildlife Trust is excited to be working for the first time with the Junction Foundation thanks to the support of National Lottery players. Climate change is so big and overwhelming that people might not think they can do anything to make a difference, but this new project will empower young people from Redcar and Cleveland to deliver real benefits for biodiversity and the climate. By combining the skills of our organisations we can support young people to face up to this global challenge.

[Chris Moon, Assistant Director – Climate Change at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council], says: “We’re thrilled to be working in partnership with The Junction Foundation and Tees Valley Wildlife Trust on this exciting project. Engaging young people with nature and working with our citizens to improve access to nature within urban spaces is a vital part of supporting communities to adapt and become resilient to the impacts of climate change, in addition to supporting health and wellbeing.”   

 The National Lottery Community Fund recently launched its new strategy, ‘It starts with community’, which will underpin its efforts to distribute at least £4 billion of National Lottery funding by 2030. 

As part of this, the funder has four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year The National Lottery Community Fund was able to distribute over half a billion pounds (£615.4 million) of life-changing funding to communities.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk   

Ends

Contact

[Phil Dolphin, telephone number 01642 756000/ 075349056266 or email: Philip.Dolphin@thejunctionfoundation.com]=

Photo

(Pictured left to right) Chris Moon Assistant Director – Climate Change at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Beth Major – CEO at The Junction Foundation, Jeremy Garside – Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and Lisa Haetzman – Climate Change & Sustainability Officer at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council