New green spaces have been created across the city-region thanks to community-led projects. 103 spaces have now been transformed since 2022, funded by the Mayor’s Greater Manchester Green Spaces Fund.
The latest round of the fund awarded money to 17 successful projects, empowering community groups across the city-region to bring their ideas for improving local space to life and make Greater Manchester greener.
The projects bring communities together and encourage residents to get involved in nature recovery, from volunteering opportunities and building green skills to learning how to grow their own food and look after green spaces.
Successful projects backed in the latest round include:
- ‘The Secret Garden’ by Blackrod Primary School in Bolton: An unused, overgrown space on the school site will be transformed into a community garden for children, families and community members. Education is at the core of this project, where volunteers will help people learn about growing healthy food and supporting biodiversity. The goal is to create a closer-knit, healthier community while providing accessible green space for all.
- Cleaner, Green and Safer Canals by the Canal & River Trust: This project plans to make central Manchester’s waterways cleaner, greener and safer for everyone. Working with local volunteers, the group will improve green and blue spaces between Lock 87 and 88 on the Rochdale Canal, and between Lock 1 and Lock 3 on the Ashton Canal. The main aim is to empower local people to care for and use the canals on their doorstep, for everyday physical activity, active travel and to connect with nature.
- Brinnington Covid Memorial Gardens by Green Thumbs Community Allotments in Stockport: Transforming an unattractive concrete space into a Covid Memorial Garden and multi-use green space. The group plans to create a unique place where people can reflect, remember lost loved ones and take a moment for their own wellbeing. The area will be used to host activities where people can learn new growing techniques, learn more about nature, and work together to maintain the environment for future generations.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:
“It has become increasingly apparent over recent years that green spaces where nature can flourish are vital – not just for our local wildlife but our residents’ health, physical and mental. We’re currently developing our first Greater Manchester plan for nature, which will be the foundation for nature recovery across the city-region. It’s great to see these incredible community groups who care so much about their areas flourish with the help of the Green Spaces Fund.
“With more than a hundred projects, the Green Spaces Fund is making a huge difference to people’s lives and I’d like to thank each and every one of the brilliant community group members, volunteers and local businesses that have got behind it and brought it to life. It’s a remarkable movement, helping make Greater Manchester a greener, fairer place to live for all.”
Notable successes of the fund to date include:
- 374,114m2 of green space improved, 22,015 trees and plants introduced, and over 100,000 people across Greater Manchester have engaged with completed Green Spaces Fund projects.
- Northern Lily, a group who received support in the fund’s second round, received national attention when their thriving community garden won the RHS and BBC The One Show’s ‘Growing Together’ award on September 13, 2024: a nationwide competition celebrating the positive impacts of community gardening. You can read more about their urban oasis in Oldham here.
- The Friends of Low Hall Nature Reserve in Wigan received over £30,000 from the Green Spaces Fund to restore the neglected reserve. Repairing large sections of damaged paths, reprofiling the wildlife pond and installing a self-guided rubbing post trail for families to enjoy has resulted in hundreds of new visitors to the site and notable boost in biodiversity. You can read more about this ambitious project here.
The Green Spaces Fund is managed by the Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF). A pioneering body created in partnership with the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, GMEF brings together communities and funding bodies keen to channel their resources into addressing environmental problems.
Daveen Wallis, Co-Founder of the Greater Manchester Environment Fund, said:
“Everyone has a role to play in nature recovery, so it’s great that we have been able to back such a vibrant mix of local groups across Greater Manchester. They really demonstrate the benefits that green spaces can have to the health and happiness of our communities, bringing together people from all walks of life in celebration of nature.
“We now want to build on the brilliant progress made so far by collaborating with more partners from across the city-region, those who want to make a difference to nature. So if you are a corporate organisation that wants to help us take the Green Spaces Fund to new heights, please reach out to us!”
View the full list of recpients of the fifth round of Green Spaces funding here.
