Live Here Love Here: Platinum Jubilee Pollinator Garden Award

Overview

The Platinum Jubilee Pollinator Garden Award is providing a one-off opportunity for the creation of a bespoke pollinator garden to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Funding of £100,000 will be awarded to one group or partnership to build a bespoke garden for people and pollinators, creating a positive legacy for future generations. The grant will cover 95% of the cost to establish, enhance or develop a community pollinator garden.

A Pollinator Garden is a shared space with plants, habitat, wildflowers, flowers, shrubs and trees that benefit native wildlife on land in the ownership or leased by a community-based group. The garden must have elements that provide food and shelter for pollinators, but the project does not have to be exclusively for this reason. The garden should be inclusive and accessible and it should provide a healthy pit stop for pollinators and humans alike. The scheme will also provide suitable infrastructure for people to enjoy the space including the provision of seats, picnic tables, paths and fencing.

The Platinum Jubilee Pollinator Garden Award will support one community group or partnership to:

Create a bespoke Pollinator Garden as a legacy of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee
Transform an underused space into a vibrant and valued community space by adding habitats and increasing access to visitors.
Increase the biodiversity value of an area by planting for pollinators.
Improve the health and wellbeing of a community and aid biodiversity recovery by helping to improve and/or maintain the quality of a community space.
Increase civic pride and improve the quality of local environment through the creation of a quality shared space
Improve access to wildlife by improving infrastructure, installing bespoke features and creating or improving habitats.

Value of Award

The Platinum Jubilee Pollinator Garden Award will provide one grant of £100,000 for the creation of an outdoor community space to benefit people and pollinators. The grant will cover 95% of costs with evidence of the 5% match funding to be evidenced at the application stage.

What type of project will be funded?

The garden must have elements that provide food and shelter for pollinators, but the project does not have to be exclusively for this reason. The garden should be inclusive and accessible and it should provide a healthy pit stop for pollinators and humans alike.

Proposed projects must meet three or more of the following objectives:

(a) Enhance the environmental management and quality of a local area by planting a variety of plants for pollinators.

(b) Benefiting the wider community and environment.

(d) Creating a positive legacy within the community.

(e) Increasing civic pride through a programme of community engagement.

(f) Improve the health and wellbeing of communities and biodiversity whilst helping to improve and/or maintain community spaces

(g) Enriching the biodiversity value of an area by increasing the variety of native species of a site

At the application stage, applicants must demonstrate:

How the garden will be maintained for 5 years following installation.
Community support for the project.
How the project will engage the community
The amount of funding requested for capital items is proportionate to the benefit to pollinators.

And provide evidence of:

Landowner permission including continued use of the site for a minimum of 5 years.
Availability of 5% contribution to overall project costs
Site plan containing the design and timetable of planned works.

Examples of eligible projects:

Construction of a new community garden in a shared space.
Establishing a quality space for community food growing activities.
Creation of new woodlands by planting native tree species or orchards with paths and facilities for visitors.
Improving or developing an existing outdoor community space.
Transforming a contested space into a shared area for the community.

This list is not exhaustive, please contact us to discuss your project ideas. Projects will be assessed by a panel of judges made up of representatives from Live Here Love Here, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, DAERA and experienced independent judges.

Projects will be assessed in the following areas: (1) meeting objectives (2) community support (3) community benefit (4) long term impact on people and pollinators (5) maintenance plans (6) value for money and leverage

Eligibility

The Award is open to community groups and not for profit organisations managing greenspaces in urban and rural areas. Partnerships and collaborative applications are encouraged.

Examples of who can apply:

Voluntary, community groups and NGOs
‘Friends Of’ groups
Youth groups, sports clubs, churches
Not for Profit Organisations managing community spaces
Partnerships working with the wider community are welcomed
Cross community initiatives are encouraged to apply.

Cross community initiatives and collaborative applications between two or more of the above categories are highly encouraged

Please note this opportunity is not open to schools or businesses; community groups must be constituted. A group can make only one application and groups who have applied previously to the Live Here Love Here grant schemes are welcome to apply, however track record of previous grant recipients may be taken into consideration during the judging process.

Site requirements

All permissions and appropriate insurance for projects must be in place when applications are submitted. Evidence of permissions will be required along with a site plan of developments. The site cannot be in private ownership and your group must have permission to use the site for a minimum of 5 years. Details of maintenance plans are also needed at the application stage.

Your project must start within one month of receipt of a Letter of Offer. Live Here Love Here reserves the right to withdraw the offer if your project does not start within this timeframe or if there is unacceptable progress with your project.

Live Here Love Here will support the delivery of the project by assigning a team member to liaise with the project delivery partner, offering practical support and advice and guidance through procurement and the grant claim process. This will include regular site visits to monitor project progress, expenditure and completion.

In accepting a grant, you agree to facilitate this support and provide all information requested in a timely manner. They may also seek your help in developing publicity materials to assist in promoting future grants.

All financial expenditure must take place by 31st August and grant claims submitted online by noon on 9th
September 2022. Any receipts/invoices forwarded after this date will not be reimbursed.

Ensuring Value for Money

No quotes are required for individual items under £500
Two written quotes for items £500 to £5,000
Tender process is required for individual items or services £5000 and over

Receipts/invoices and proof of expenditure must be submitted with ALL claims for ALL items purchased. Failure to comply may result in grant funding being withheld or withdrawn.

Track grant Notes