Community businesses receive funding to grow green
Seven Devonport and Stonehouse community businesses have been awarded a share of €50,000 to help restore nature and connect communities with Plymouth’s green spaces, as part of the Green Minds project.
Grant winners will each receive up to €10,000 and will work with project partners, Real Ideas, to deliver their business proposals and bring long term benefits to people and environment.
Award Winners
Stoke Stars, Blockhouse Park
Working with their local community Stoke Stars plan to landscape an outdoor classroom within their local park, which will generate income through the delivery of nature-based activities and events that build skills, support healthier lifestyles and encourage connection with nature.
Cliick, Melbourne Square in Stonehouse
Cliick’s Seeds N Feeds project aims to manage this currently paved area for as a community growing hub, developing a shared neighbourhood space in an area that has few community facilities and greenspaces.
Snapdragons, Victoria Park
Snapdragons are bringing their community together through nature-led education (young and old!); and will landscape a previously neglected area of their local park, alongside renovations of the old bowling club to provide a base for a kindergarten, gardening and other arts/crafts activities.
Be Unique, Stonehouse Creek
Building on their success with their Cattedown gym, Be Unique will create a dynamic fitness space within a nature-rich, newly landscaped area. This will repurpose an existing area of amenity grassland and support healthier lifestyles in an area that often experiences anti-social behaviour.
Food Plymouth, Citywide
The Generous Earth demonstration project is an innovate initiative designed to meet identified needs around urban food growing and healthy soil. Food Plymouth will create demonstrator sites that support localised composting, generating incomes through the supply of healthy soil.
Pollenize, Citywide
Pollenize are a membership based community business and run a number of native-bee apiary sites across Plymouth. They are installing sensors and cameras to reveal the world of bees to a range of audiences by streaming footage/data into busy public areas such as surgeries, leisure and event facilities; and collect data to increase understanding on the foraging behaviour of honey bees.
Stiltskin, Devonport Park
Stiltskin are expanding their Soapbox Theatre within Devonport Park to co-design a nature-rich, community art garden and outdoor storytelling performance area to support more outdoor workshops, theatre and wider community engagement.