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a bee on a flower
Published: 09/08/2021
News
GM to produce city wide biodiversity net gain guidance

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Natural England has commissioned professional services and environmental consultants WSP to produce Guidance on Biodiversity Net Gain – the first city-wide study to take place in the UK.

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A bench in green space overlooking a river
Published: 09/08/2021
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Developing GMs First Natural Capital Investment Plan

On 16 January, 2018, the Greater Manchester Low Carbon Hub’s Natural Capital Group (NCG) hosted their annual conference at the Manchester Museum.

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Delegates at the Green GM Conference
Published: 09/08/2021
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Investing to Green Greater Manchester Conference

With the first Natural Capital Investment Plan being developed for Greater Manchester, this conference will explore how we can promote investment in opportunities that protect and enhance Greater Manchester’s natural capital to support a healthy population and economy.

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A school girl smiling through the centre of a green wreath
Published: 09/08/2021
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Getting in touch with nature helping young people

More than 100 local young people and families have benefitted from an innovative nature-based course, designed to help improve their emotional health and wellbeing and help them reach their full potential.

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people walking in nature
Published: 09/08/2021
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GM Walking Festival 2019

TfGM and the GM Moving team are back with the fifth Greater Manchester Walking Festival this May.

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Wildlife in Greater Manchester
Published: 09/08/2021
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City Nature Challenge 2019

This year, the City Nature Challenge, a worldwide recording event, comes to Greater Manchester.

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Otter sitting within grass
Published: 09/08/2021
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Wilder Future Campaign

The Wildlife Trusts Wilder Future campaign is about building support for new laws that not only protect wildlife but help to put it into recovery.  It is also about people taking individual action where they live, putting wildlife back on the map.

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Countryside image with a lake
Published: 09/08/2021
News
How do we deliver a greener city region?

The purpose of the ‘Place Listening Event’ is to adopt blue-sky thinking to explore innovative solutions for developing a greener city-region across Greater Manchester.

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A town centre during the autumn season
Published: 09/08/2021
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Investing in a greener Greater Manchester

As part of the Mayor’s upcoming Green Summit, a recently held ‘listening event’ for the business community found that Greater Manchester has the potential to be the UK’s leading green city region.

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Countryside image with a lake
Published: 09/08/2021
News
Natural Capital Group Annual Conference 2018

Over 70 delegates attended Greater Manchester’s Natural Capital Annual Conference to discuss the opportunities and benefits around connecting people with nature.

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Sea otter in water
Published: 09/08/2021
News
Could otters be returning to Greater Manchester?

Recent sightings of otters are suggesting that the heavily industrialised rivers in Greater Manchester are showing signs of significant improvement, encouraging them to come back to the region.

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Andy Burnham speaking at a conference
Published: 09/08/2021
News
Green Summit Heralds Bold Green Future for GM

Following his election, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, announced his ambitions for making Greater Manchester one of the leading green cities in Europe.

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Take action…

To make a big change, we must all take small actions. Becoming greener and making an impact is easier than you might think. We have put together a range of blogs, articles, toolkits and checklists to help you make a start.

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Although we set out with a simple mission to reduce plastic waste, we’ve quickly realised that it’s just one piece in the sustainability puzzle. One of the biggest, but most easily attainable actions we can achieve is to look at where our goods come from and reduce the carbon footprint needed to get a product from manufacturer to consumer. Many of the products we stock are made by local, independent manufactures, who provide us with a wide range of things from reusable face wipes, wax food wraps, face coverings, soap bars, plant pots, kitchen cloths/sponges and butty bags.

Carl from Lentils and Lather

Our aim is to start changing the habits of families in Greater Manchester by getting them to ‘borrow’ rather than ‘buy’ brand new toys. We’re making sure that toys can be reused again and again by children who need and want them – and they are not just sitting in a cupboard or under someone’s bed.

Kim from That Toy Thing

The best part of upcycling is that old furniture is often better made than the equivalent flat-packed furniture we get today and with a little bit of time, love and care, you can create a completely unique piece of furniture for your home that no one else will have. I also love that these pieces of furniture have a history of their own and through transforming and updating them we can breathe a new lease of life into them.

Hannah from Tread Softly

The Green Recovery Challenge Fund is providing a further boost to the ambitions of the Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership to create a thriving, inspirational and connected landscape. It supports the recovery of wildlife through habitat creation and improvement as well as community recovery through providing opportunities for local people to develop skills, knowledge and beneficial connections to their local natural environment.

Jo Kennedy, Coordinator of the Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership

The reason I signed up to the Green Homes Grant scheme was two-fold, selfishly the measures will add value to the properties and make them more valuable in the future. But more importantly it benefits the tenants, keeping them warmer and prevents problems like damp and condensation. Ultimately measures like external wall insulations should keep tenants happier and ensure they remain in the house for longer.

Neil, Rochdale property owner

We used to think we didn’t have enough time to shop on our local market because we were working; how wrong we were?  We discovered it is an amazing place to shop for plastic free. We swapped tea bags for tea leaves and coffee jars for beans which we buy from The Market Grounds on Ashton Market – well worth a visit as the homemade cakes are delicious. All the stall holders have been amazing, not one of them minds us taking our containers to be filled with meat from the butchers. We get our bread, cheese, fruit and veg from the market too.

Julie from Ashton-under-Lyne

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

Although becoming carbon neutral is important to our organisation, it’s a lot of work for a small team to put the measures into place. The Journey to Net Zero course has given me practical, step-by-step advice that has made it easy for me to lay the foundations for our organisation to be able to take action and achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral.

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

The Business Growth Hub has given us focus and extra knowledge. They’ve helped us form the base to grow sustainably and work efficiently as a team while making us conscious of our environmental impact as a business.

 

Ollie Birchall, Founder of Nutri Bar

I’ve not really been a cyclist throughout my life, more of a runner to be honest. And certainly not commuted. But I just thought if I’m going to change, surely now is the moment to change. I’m feeling the personal benefits of doing it. You just feel better when you come into work. It clears your head. There are benefits of cutting congestion, cleaning up the air. Everyone benefits when people cycle.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

We think our water fountain is INCREDIBLE, it’s the perfect place for people to ‘refill’ and help themselves to any of the free edibles we’ve got growing in Market Place. We’re so grateful to all the organisations that helped make this happen. Alongside the plastic free motion that was passed by council and helped us achieve our first Surfers Against Sewage objective and in turn our Plastic Free Community status, it shows real commitment in reducing plastic waste and supporting our community.

 

Pete Fillery, Plastic Free Rammy and Incredible Edible Ramsbottom

I guess I’ve always been what you would call a conscious consumer. I’ve always detested plastic bags, all of my skin care products at home are plastic-free, vegan, and sustainable. My toothbrush is made of bamboo, there’s no plastic anywhere in the house. Everything in the salon has to be vegan – that was the first rule for me. We started with one brand of haircare products that was vegan, organic, and Fairtrade, but the distributor in the UK was wrapping all of the deliveries in plastic, and it felt really needless, so we ditched them.

 

Rachael, Gronn eco-salon in Bury

Although becoming carbon neutral is important to our organisation, it’s a lot of work for a small team to put the measures into place. The Journey to Net Zero course has given me practical, step-by-step advice that has made it easy for me to lay the foundations for our organisation to be able to take action and achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral.

 

Kat Mulhall, Victoria Baths Trust, Manchester

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