Communities in Wales come together for our planet thanks to National Lottery funding.

The National Lottery Community Fund is today announcing over £300,000 to help Welsh communities to act on the nature and climate emergency.

One of the groups to receive National Lottery funding is Artis Community which receives £10,000 to develop a library of things and a monthly repair café in Pontypridd. It will create opportunities for volunteering, training and workshops focusing on environmental sustainability and reducing our impact on the planet.

Hannah Hitchins, Company Manager of Artis Community, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players for our Together for our Planet award. The library of things and monthly repair café will help our community to reduce how much they need to buy new, and therefore reduce the amount of waste that may have otherwise been sent to landfill.

It will encourage sharing and empower people to take positive, practical action within their communities. We’re really excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to get people involved.”

With an award of £9,920, Denbigh Men’s Shed will deliver the Green Shedicine Project, a series of training and activities for the local community to explore and develop practical solutions and skills to help tackle the climate emergency. One element of the project will be helping people to eat a more planet-friendly diet by providing training on growing produce.

It will also empower members and volunteers to protect, preserve and enhance the local flora and fauna through developing and managing wild spaces. The project will encourage native species of wildflower and help the community to build bug and bee hotels and hedgehog boxes from reclaimed materials to help protect wildlife and pollinators.

Denbigh Men’s Sheds will also provide a training hub for the local community to help people develop practical skills, such as upcycling, re-purposing and repairing items that will help them to reduce their impact on the planet.

Nathan Sarea, Project Director for Denbigh Men’s Shed, said: “On behalf of everyone here, I would like to thank everyone who plays The National Lottery for helping us to secure our recent Together for our Planet award. As part of our green Shedicine project funded by the grant we are launching our Incredible Edible Denbigh here from our site to help tackle food poverty.

We are also piloting upcycling sessions with the local Youth Shed, and we are using our extensive site to as an interactive hub for exploring climate change solutions on a local level.”

With an award of £10,000, Manage Money Wales in Porth will expand the opening hours of their Community Sharing Shop, where they collect donations such as clothes, shoes, toys, games, books, school uniforms, sportswear, small furnishings and non-perishable food from the local community. The Community Sharing Shop then gives the items away for free to anyone in the community that needs them.

Jennifer Hare, Chief Executive of Manage Money Wales, said: “Our community, especially during the pandemic, have shown how generous they are. With our grant we will open our storage one day a week so that the local community can donate items they no longer need, and then anyone in the community can come along and take what they need.

Our project will help people save money by getting items they need for free, divert waste from landfill by recycling items and reduce loneliness and isolation by offering a place for people to volunteer or attend to socialise. We want to thank National Lottery players for making this possible.”

In Tredegar, Sirhowy Hill Woodlands Community Hub receives £10,000 to create a community hub around a tree nursery, community garden and develop a woodland school for children. The hub will run workshops to help people gain horticultural skills and knowledge on local natural environment.

Susan Arnold, Secretary and Director of Sirhowy Hill Woodlands Community Hub, said: “We are so happy to have received National Lottery funding for our community hub project. Somewhere where we can sow, grow and learn together, sustainably tackling climate change through producing wholesome local organically grown food, native locally sourced trees and where local youngsters can learn through play and fun to appreciate and value nature hopefully becoming its custodians in the future.”

Llanedi Community Council based in Hendy, Swansea receives £5,900 to build on the existing work of the nature trail. The creation of scrapes and a pond will improve the biodiversity of the area that has been set aside for nature.

Ruth Taylor-Davies, a volunteer of Llanedi Community Council said: “The project is being made possible thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players. The funding will be used to develop new habitats within this fantastic green space, which is at the heart of our community. Owned by the community council and supported by a group of committed volunteers.

The trail has already made strides in improving habitats for wildlife and engaging our community with the nature on its doorstep.”

Thanks to £305,908 raised by National Lottery players, 34 community groups across Wales will take collective action by focussing on the small changes they can make locally. A full list of all of the awards is available to download from this link. A full list of all of the awards is available to download from this link.

Announcing the funding John Rose, Wales Director of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this funding will enable community groups across Wales to take meaningful and ongoing action on climate change. By thinking locally and focusing on what this means for them, they will collectively build on small actions that will contribute to the wider climate action movement.

“I look forward to seeing these projects come to life over the coming months. Not only will they make significant environmental improvements, but they will also help communities to thrive.”

The Together for Our Planet fund aims to support a legacy of ongoing climate action projects in communities across the UK. The Fund, which offered grants of up to £10,000, has now closed.

Since 2016, The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded £397 million through more than 6,000 grants which involve environmental action, including action on waste and consumption, energy, transport, food and the natural environment.

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes funding on behalf of National Lottery players who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK**.

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