THREE community-led projects are to receive up to £20,000 from a £10m pot to plant trees in the community.
Future Woodlands Scotland (FWS), a charity aiming to conserve woodland in Scotland, has chosen three projects that will benefit from its new Urban Forestry Programme.
With a pot of £10m the Urban Forestry Programme will fund the planting of trees in urban environments across Scotland.
Two of the first three projects to be supported by the programme are in Edinburgh, with The Friends of Inch Park and Norton Park SCIO being selected.
The two community projects will benefit from the funding of up to £20,000 which will assist them in amplifying the green space in Edinburgh’s Norton Park and Inch Park.
The friends of Inch Park are a community orchard and planting project with an arts-based engagement programme that will improve canopy cover and raise awareness of nurturing trees.
Norton Park SCIO are a small-scale tree planting and green space improvement project to increase tree visibility and enhance access to greenspaces for local people and the wider community.
A total of 33 applications were submitted across two funding levels ranging from £2,000 to £20,000 and from £20,000 to £100,000.
Both Edinburgh projects selected are set to receive funding somewhere in the £2,000 to £20,000 range.
The FWS project was co-founded by BP, who will work to support the project throughout.
Shireen Chambers, CEO of FWS said: “By funding these three urban greening projects, we are investing in sustainable solutions that will not only benefit the environment by creating leafier neighbourhoods but also improve the wellbeing of local communities and encourage people to spend more time outdoors, interacting with their communities.
“Our goal is for everyone to benefit from trees, whether through learning about them, actively engaging in their care or simply spending time among them.
“We are proud to lead this important initiative with the backing of our founding partner BP and we look forward to seeing how these projects develop and reporting positive outcomes over the coming years.”
