Natural Environment

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Natural Environment
Published: 01/09/2023
News
More community projects receive Green Spaces Fund boost as Round 4 opens for applications

Learn more about the community-led projects that have received funding.

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Green Spaces
Natural Environment
Published: 08/06/2022
News
Green Spaces Fund applications now open

The Greater Manchester Green Spaces Fund offers small grants to communities to improve and create local green spaces.

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White Stork
Natural Environment
Published: 25/04/2022
Blog
The White Stork – An International Symbol of Peace?

James Walsh, aka @MancunianBirder, writes about his research on the White Stork and why he thinks it should be an international symbol of peace.

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Natural Environment
Published: 20/04/2022
Blog
Learning from the Living Lab – five key benefits

Exploring the impact of nature-based solutions at the University of Salford’s Living Lab.

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Schools
Natural Environment
GM Green City
Green Spaces
Published: 11/04/2022
News
Learn Live: Improving our rivers, estuaries and coasts

The Environment Agency are hosting a ‘Learn Live’ session aimed at schools about improving our rivers, estuaries and coasts.

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Greenery by Manchester's waterways, credit: Alan Wright
Natural Environment
Published: 10/03/2022
Blog
Delivering a Natural Capital Approach in Greater Manchester

Krista Patrick, Natural Capital Coordinator at GMCA, offers an overview of findings from Greater Manchester’s time as an Urban Pioneer City Region.

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Image of a bird box on a living wall
Natural Environment
Published: 09/03/2022
Blog
Engaging communities on nature-based solutions: five lessons from the IGNITION project

With IGNITION coming to a close in the Spring, what have we learnt about the opportunities and challenges of communicating climate adaptation and nature-based solutions to a citizen audience? 

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Natural Environment
Green Space
Published: 09/02/2022
News
Investing in Nature: Lessons from Greater Manchester

Three years of research, innovation and implementation, IGNITION GM will be sharing lessons learned at a one-day conference on 30 March 2022.

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River Tonge, Bolton lined with greenery
Natural Environment
Published: 09/02/2022
News
Natural Course: The final fourth phase

The fourth and final phase of Natural Course, an EU LIFE Integrated project, is now underway running until the end of March 2024.

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Pomona illustration
Natural Environment
Published: 09/02/2022
News
Biodiversity Net Gain Explained

Nature and biodiversity are in decline across England. In Greater Manchester, initiatives across the public, private and third sectors are seeking to reverse this and deliver the wider environmental and socio-economic benefits that improving our natural environment can bring.

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Image of a bird box on a living wall
Natural Environment
Published: 20/10/2021
News
IGNITION Hackathon

The IGNITION team are inviting university students, schools and youth groups to take part in a free-to-attend, in-person hackathon event to mark COP26.

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Green Summit 2020 Zoom call participants
Natural Environment
GM Green City
Published: 16/11/2020
News
Green Summit 2020: your natural environment questions answered

Throughout this year’s Green Summit, we asked viewers to post their questions each day for our speakers to answer.   We tried to answer as many as we could by the live chat stream, however there were some questions which needed a more thorough answer.   This is our response collated from colleagues and partners…

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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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