Froglife is delighted to announce it has bagged £12,000 from a Tesco funding scheme.
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch the second round of its Bags of Help funding initiative, which sees grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to local outdoor community projects.
Millions of shoppers voted in stores up and down the country. And it can now be revealed Froglife has been awarded £12,000.
Work will now begin on bringing the project to life.
The grant will pay for the creation of a network of ponds and ditches that will provide ideal habitat for frogs, toads, newts as well as a wealth of other wildlife, including; water voles, dragonflies, aquatic invertebrates and wetland birds.
As well as the habitat improvements works, the grant will pay for a programme of amphibian walks and workshops that will introduce a whole new audience to finding and understanding these wonderful creatures. There will also be ‘memory benches’ that will have frog, toad and amphibians carved into them, where visitors to the nature reserve can sit and watch all the comings and goings of all the wildlife.
James McAdie, Project Manager for Froglife’s HLF-funded River Nene Dragon Finder project said; “We are delighted to have secured this generous grant from the Tesco Bags of Help team – Groundwork UK. These funds coupled with the enthusiasm of the local volunteers will ensure that this fantastic nature reserve and all of its wildlife benefits tremendously. The habitat creations and restorations coupled with the public engagement activities will enhance an area already rich in wildlife and biodiversity. Froglife is excited to see the results that this generous amount will have on the native amphibians, reptiles and wildlife.”
Lindsey Crompton, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “Bags of Help has been a fantastic success.
“We been overwhelmed by the response of our customers and it’s been great to give people a say on how the money will be spent in their community. We can’t wait to see the projects come to life.”
Voting ran in stores from 31 October to 13 November – with customers choosing which local project they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the check-out in store.
Tesco estimates that around six million votes were cast in stores up and down the UK.
Since launching in 2015, Bags of Help has awarded more than £24m across 2,421 local projects.
And from 1 December, customers will be able to vote for local groups all year round, every time they shop and grants will be awarded monthly – meaning that thousands more projects will benefit from the scheme.
Funding will now be awarded to groups who are seeking to use and develop outdoor spaces in ways that will benefit their local community, and money will be available in smaller amounts, making it more accessible.
Customers will get the chance to vote for three different groups each month. At the end of each month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.
Groundwork’s national chief executive, Graham Duxbury, said:
“It’s just the beginning for Bags of Help and we’re really excited about the future. The scheme will be permanently open for applications, and as grants can now be used for not just the development of, but also for the use of local outdoor spaces, we expect even more groups will now have the chance to benefit.
“It’s projects like these that really help to capture the public’s imagination by illustrating what can be achieved when communities are given the support and the encouragement they need to create better places where they live.”
Anyone can nominate a local project and local organisations can apply. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp
