BIG and BBC turn the North East a brighter shade of green

Area:

North East England

Programme:

Breathing Places

Release date:

9 10 2006

Green fingered people in the North East of England, inspired by the BBC–led Breathing Places campaign have been gearing up to plough their slice of the £1 million in Lottery funding into creating their own wildlife-friendly green havens.

BIG announced £1 million for the first phase of its Breathing Places grants programme in the summer and today five local community groups in the North East of England have been awarded funding of up to £10,000 to transform and develop Breathing Places: these are green spaces or areas that are being created into an oasis for people and wildlife.

Today also sees the launch of the second phase of the Lottery-funded Breathing Places grant scheme – at the start of the second week of BBC Two’s live Autumnwatch with Bill Oddie and Kate Humble (Monday 9 October). A further £4 million will be made available for projects that make a lasting improvement to the local environment by creating new Breathing Places, as well as supporting the development of existing ones. In this phase a much wider range of organisations can access funding including schools, local health bodies, parish councils and voluntary and community groups.

Autumnwatch host Bill Oddie said: “From little acorns mighty oaks will grow…and this new money is fantastic news. It’s great for people right across the UK who want their very own Breathing Places in their very own local patch, and now know they’ll have access to money to keep them going. It takes years for oaks to develop – bit like me really! – and in my experience the best projects are the ones that have the time and money to just get better and better.”

Big Lottery Fund Head of the North East Region, James Turner, said: “This exciting grants programme will make a difference and add real value to the quality of lives in communities across the North East of England. The money awarded today will allow people to create and care for green places wherever they live; everywhere from urban spaces to neighbourhood parks.”

Bede’s World, South Tyneside, will launch its Anglo-Saxons Go Wild! Project in spring 2007 using an award of £10,000. Events will include bug hunts and seed planting and there will also be a free CD Rom for schools and a wildlife trail for families to enjoy. The action will take place on the 11 acre Anglo-Saxon farm, Medieval herb garden, Georgian tea garden and other local green spaces.

Director of Bede's World Keith Merrin said: "Many thousands of people already enjoy Bede's World as an experience which allows them to step back in history.  This project will help people to understand the wildlife and natural places that are also to be found in and around the site."

Down in Middlesborough, The Friends of Fairy Dell will use £9,361 to provide hands-on opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to get involved with growing wild flowers in Fairy Dell. The group, which was set up to promote the valley as an area of natural beauty, hope to involve schools and community groups in planting and propagating the area.

Mary Turner, Friends of Fairy Dell member, said: “We are all thrilled to receive the grant from Breathing Places. Fairy Dell is a beautiful valley, which is rich in wildlife, and surrounds a beck which runs through busy housing estates yet retains a sense of rural tranquility. Our project ‘Fairy Dell Flowerscape’ will enhance the biodiversity of Fairy Dell, which is already a site of Local Nature Conservation importance.’

According to Liz Cleaver, Controller of BBC Learning and Interactive: “The Breathing Places campaign is now firmly established – and these new grants will give schools, community groups and many more people the chance to be part of this ambitious project. With its leading environmental partners, Breathing Places gives everyone the support they need to create local havens for both people and wildlife.”

More information about Breathing Places can be found in the Apply section of this website and at www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces.

Full list of awards in the North East region

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888     
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030                           
Textphone:  0845 6021 659

Gail McKenzie
Breathing Places BBC Publicist
0117 373 7710 / 07919 593131
gail@sis.me.uk

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