NuGen has splashed the cash by giving grants to a range of Cumbrian projects. 

NuGen has identified 17 community projects that will receive Green Grants worth £37,000 to help them improve the local environment and promote sustainability.

The Green Grants scheme, launched in October last year, invited community projects close to the Moorside Site to apply for funding up to £5k to help improve and enhance the local environment resulting in long term benefits to the local communities.

NuGen’s CEO, Tom Samson, Mayor of Copeland, Mike Starkie, and John Berry from the University of Cumbria were part of a panel which selected the successful schemes from a list of 64 applicants. 

The projects which will benefit from Green Grants funding include beach cleaning, creating wildlife habitats, educating school children about the environment and recycling and transforming areas of waste ground for the use of the community. (A full list of the successful applicants is available below.)

Mike Starkie, Mayor of Copeland, welcomed the chance to be involved in selecting the groups which will receive Green Grants. “There is a very strong community spirit across Copeland, and that has been shown in the very strong applications from the widest range of community projects applying for the Green Grants funding.

“I believe this highlights the real strength and determination across Copeland at grassroots level to improve our borough. The quality and variety of projects made it very difficult to select the final successful schemes, and I believe they will make a real, sustainable difference to people in their communities and create a lasting legacy.”

Here is the full list of grant awards...


Small grants

Gosforth and District Agricultural Show

Providing education and bird nesting sites at the show by creating 40 bird boxes.

Lamplugh Parish Land Management Group

Creating a small woodland, open wildflower area and a gentle beck for the community to enjoy.

Waberthwaite C E Primary School

Introducing recycling to the school and green teaching.

Beckermet Cubs

Purchase of reusable beach clean materials to enable beach cleans.

1st Whitehaven (St Nicholas) Guides

Enhancing the green space next to the guide hut.

The Phoenix Youth Project

Rewards for actions’ aims to break down inter-generational mistrust by young people.

Medium

St Bees Parish Council

To convert a derelict, disregarded bare bank of ground into an attractive wooded feature.

Friends of Millom Station

To transform the stations forecourt into a natural woodland.

Beckermet C E Primary School

Refurbishment of the schools “Secret Garden”.

Moresby Primary School

To allow the school to progress the next stage of their sand hut project by creating a learning and social space garden project for pupils.

Large

Gosforth Primary School

The project includes introducing species of trees, shrubs and encouraging wildlife to an identified site by engaging in building animal homes, ponds and nesting areas.

Thornhill Primary School

Development of a woodland area within the school grounds; the Thornhill Green Hub.

West Cumbria Rivers Trust

To re-establish a thriving population of freshwater pearl mussels on the River Irt.

Florence Arts Centre

To reclaim and maintain an area of waste ground at the rear of Florence Arts Centre for the benefit of the local community.

Millom School

To create an ecological legacy including: cottage garden project, wildlife pond with an outdoor classroom, tree planting and an environmental sciences centre.

Howgate Locality Group

To transform the foreshore at Parton by improving the area currently used as a dumping area.

Eskdale Mill and Heritage Trust

To undertake a programme of environmental improvements around the grounds of the historic Mill and Millers house in Boot, Eskdale.