Can you help improve peoples access to nature in Leeds with extra funding?

Dear Environment Forum Member,

Can you help improve peoples access to nature in Leeds with extra funding?

I am going to apply to Natural England's 'Access to Nature' funding to continue the work of the forum on natural environment, wildlife, green infrastructure and biodiversity issues to ensure your group has the opportunity to influence strategic decision making in Leeds. Working together we have a good chance of accessing this money to support your natural environment projects to undertake new activity to improve greenspaces and ensure people benefit from them.

If you think you can help deliver one or more of the aims below and you need a relatively small amount of funding to deliver a new project, piece of work, or activity please express your interest to get involved and I will see if I can link your project with my application.

Please let me know which of the following aims of the funding you are interested in delivering:

• A greater number and diversity of people benefiting from the natural environment.
• More people learning about the natural environment and gaining new skills.
• More people able to enjoy the natural environment as a result of improvements in access to natural places and more connections between sites.
• More wildlife-rich natural places that are sustainably managed and meet the needs of local communities.
• An increased sense of community ownership of local natural places, by the creation of strong partnerships between communities, voluntary organisations, local authorities and statutory bodies.

My application will be strengthened if I can demonstrate we will deliver on the ground improvements and community focused local projects to engage people in enjoying nature. Your projects will be strengthened by joining a city-wide network of groups all working to improve access to nature in Leeds. Securing this funding will help me continue in my role to help build partnerships between community and voluntary groups and our Leeds Initiative partners so that the voluntary and community sector work together to influence strategic decision making in the city and, with increased support, deliver an improved environment that everyone in Leeds can benefit from.

If you know of any groups who may be interested please forward this information on.

At the ‘Keeping an Eye on Leeds’ meeting on Tuesday 6^th May 19:00-21:00 at Leeds Civic Hall we will discuss what individual groups will be delivering and what the overall aims of the partnership bid will be. Please inform me if you want to get involved but are unable to attend.

PLEASE NOTE: For more on what types of activity or projects will be funded see:

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/leisure/grants-funding/outcomes.htm

For more general information see:
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/leisure/grants-funding/default.htm

The size of grants is between £50,000 and £500,000 so will not be suitable for most groups in the forum to bid individually.

Please contact me to get an expression of interest form which provides detail on the type of work that is likely to be funded. Please complete and return the expression of interest form by 28^th April or inform me before 24^th April if you are developing your proposal but won’t be able to return the form to me by 28^th April.

Please contact Jon to Recieve:

1) Agenda for ‘Keeping an Eye on Leeds’ meeting on 6^th May where we will discuss our application, please let me know if you are unable to attend.

2) Expression of interest form. Please complete and return the attached form by 28^th April or let me know if you need more time to work on your proposal.

I look forward to hearing your ideas for what you want to deliver. Contact me on 0113 277 2227 or jon.holland@leedsvoice.org.uk if you have any questions or want to talk about what your group plans to deliver.