Over 100 grants worth over £560,000 are being awarded to community groups across the UK to help transform local areas into vibrant community green spaces.

The grants, awarded by environmental charity Hubbub and funded by Starbucks have been allocated to community groups and projects that aim to increase local access to green space, upskill communities, bring people together in nature and / or build climate resilience.

Examples of winning projects include:

• The development of a Live Theatre Community Garden in Newcastle to extend the work of the theatre into an outdoor space
• The creation of a kitchen garden and sensory area at a Flexible Childcare Hub in Fintry, Dundee, creating opportunities to involve the local community in growing fresh produce
• A green space at DrMz, a youth drop-in centre in Carmarthen, for young people to take part in food growing and build their sense of community and responsibility
• The development of a tactile community garden to enable blind and partially sighted people to enjoy a green space in an accessible way in Wolverhampton
• The installation of heating and lighting to provide year-round access to a new walled garden pavilion in Birkenhead, creating a safe outdoor space for local communities including women and girls, children’s groups and refugees and asylum seekers

A map has been created to show all of the winning projects and locations with many providing volunteering opportunities to local residents. Local Starbucks stores will also be providing volunteers and used coffee grounds for growing and composting.

The fund originally set out to support 50 projects with grants totalling £300k but the overwhelming number of strong applications received resulted in Starbucks almost double the funding to support 100 projects.

The Nature Hubs funding announcement comes as recent research* commissioned by Hubbub revealed that more than a third of people (33%) in the UK currently spend less than an hour a week in nature, however 46% are keen to spend more of their spare time outdoors.

The poll showed that 8 in 10 people (81%) in the UK feel better after spending time in nature.    However, over half (57%) faced barriers to spending more time outdoors, including having no green space at all nearby, outdoor spaces being dirty or unpleasant and feeling unsafe in local green spaces.

The Nature Hubs scheme is funded by the Starbucks 5p Cup Charge and is part of Hubbub’s and Starbucks’ wider ambition to build stronger, greener communities across the UK. The fund aims to improve access and connection to nature in the communities Starbucks serves, by creating green spaces within a 5km radius of Starbucks stores.

Gavin Ellis, Co-founder at Hubbub said:

“Access to safe and inclusive green spaces, particularly in urban areas, is so critical to our mental, physical and social wellbeing. Improving the green spaces in our towns and cities also helps to improve biodiversity, cool our streets and provide fantastic opportunities to grow fresh produce. The Nature Hubs initiative is designed to make these natural spaces – and the many wonderful ways to engage in environmental activities within them – much more accessible for everyone.

“We received so many incredible applications from community groups across the region and are really excited to work with all our new Nature Hubs partners to see the impact that these varied and ambitious plans will have on local communities.”

Culture Warrington, in partnership with Warrington Museum, has received Nature Hubs funding and will use the grant to further develop its community roof and learning garden, situated at the top of Golden Square Shopping Centre car park. The space is designed to strengthen and extend the links between nature and climate change and the school curriculum. A weather station will be installed to help schools study hard data around temperature changes in green spaces Vs grey urban spaces, while the grant will also fund a new programme of artist-led workshops and events.

Amanda Moore, Education and Learning Officer at Culture Warrington, said:

“This garden will be an invaluable tool for education around climate change and biodiversity for children. It’s designed to act as a bridge between our museum collections and the living world around us. We’re delighted to receive this Nature Hubs funding to enable us to extend our programme of community activities and workshops as well as recruit more volunteers to experience and share the joy of time spent in nature.”