Live Here Love Here Small Grant Scheme

2019

Case Studies of successful Live Here Love Here Small Grant Scheme Projects

Re-Flowering the Verges

To re-populate the verges and hedgerows coming into the village with native species wildflowers. Phase 1 of the project which involved planting 18,000 bulbs last year brought much joy to the residents in early Spring. Phase 2 should not only prolong flowering into early summer in future years, but also bring tangible benefits to insect pollinators.

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BIG Project (Phase 3)Highlights this year include erection of the BIG Man wooden feature. He provides shelter and a food source for wild birds and reminds us of our responsibility for looking out for our local environment/community. Over 400 tree saplings were planted, kindly donated by the Woodland Trust and Ulster Wildlife. Further bird and bat boxes have been built or donated. Our wildflower area grew very well, attracting bees and butterflies. A bee hive has recently been purchased and we hope to introduce bees in the spring. The BIG Project has again succeeded in making the local environment more beautiful and boosting community spirit through Adopt a Spot and volunteer days..

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Citizen SeaAll hands were on deck to prepare Seabird for our first major community event on International Clean-up Day in collaboration with local beach cleaning groups, Ocean Conservancy and the Live Here Love Here Campaign. To raise the profile of this day of action, Sea Bird became a mothership and carried 3300 cubic litres of waste collected by 7 Community groups from both sides of Belfast Lough into Belfast Harbour. Our intention was to highlight the amount of plastic waste that enters our local waters and to encourage awareness of marine litter amongst our citizens. Needlessly to say we were overwhelmed by the media attention and social media reach that this action produced. As well as featuring in many of the local papers, our main Facebook post for this action has reached 27.2k users with 3.4k people engaging with the post. We would like to repeat this event around the coastline with more local groups and help to remove as much litter as possible from our local waters.

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Coast Care- Protect our SeashoreThis project set out to protect the important habitats and species of the coastline of the Strangford and Lecale AONB.

Working in partnership with True Harvest Seeds THS and local communities, the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership SLLP Coastal Guardians Volunteers took direct action to conserve important coastal plant species and habitats.

The project involved coastal habitat management, including the removal of marine litter from heavily littered protected habitats throughout the area.

Volunteers also undertook the surveying of target habitats for key species, assisted with seed collection, growing on and replanting. SLLPTHS staff and a range of enthusiasts experts engaged communities and volunteers to develop an appreciation of coastal landscape and biodiversity, through presentations, guided walks, wildlife identification.

This broader approach encouraged a legacy of care, environmental understanding and appreciation, and on-going litter reduction. SLLP staff co-ordinated, managed and promoted all aspects of the project.

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Seppy’s WoodThe Seppy's Wood's project offered practical workshops to volunteers in woodland management and offered volunteers the opportunity to engage in the maintenance of broad leaf woodland.

Volunteers maintained trees and hedges, made paths safe for public use, made signposted routes through the woodland and displayed information posts, indicating the types of trees for education purposes.

Clanrye Group are a social enterprise and all benches and seats were purpose built. A picnic area was developed with two picnic benches.

The second project was in the Peoples Park, where an area in the tranquil garden was developed into a wild flower garden. The involved turning the old ground and adding new soil to form bedding for the wild flower seed.

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Rectory Community Action GroupProject builds on a successful application last year, by Regenerate. A key aspect of that application was to establish a community group to continue the work started. Rectory Community Action Group was formed, constituted and now continues as a catalyst for social sustainable change within the area.

The current phase of project aims to maintain the partnership with Community, Regenerate, ABC council, NIHE, and Out There Services, to build on last years foundation and further develop the woodland and shared areas within the estate. Aspects include further wildflower planting and development of the woodland, general clean up, weeding and planting shrubs to enhance the entrance feature of the area. Most importantly project will reach out to the wider community to educate and encourage participation, to ensure community understand the importance of caring for our environment.

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Clonard PrideSpringvale Learning in partnership with the Clonard Neighbourhood Partnership hosted a family fun day on 8th August in the grounds of Springvale. Funding for the event was provided by Live Here Love Here and Belfast City Council. The event was attended by 300 local residents who had a range of opportunities to avail of including plant your own plant boxes (100 boxes made by students in Springvale).

The event was huge success with a fabulous response from our students who spent hours cleaning the car park, making plant boxes, our catering students prepared and cooked the food etc. and local community volunteers gave up their time to supervise events. The plant boxes were an astounding success and we could have given out three times the amount of boxes on the day. The event also enabled our local community to connect with our students in a meaningful way and transformed the Clonard area into a vibrant, colourful and aesthetically pleasing place to live and work. We were delighted with the overwhelming response and residents requested a similar project next year.

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ABC Health and Leisure Trust: ABC Streetscape

The committee and volunteers have spent the last two years refurbishing part of an old mill turning it into a fully functioning community space.

There are plans to rejuvenate the outside area by:

• Painting the outside of the building

• Erecting window boxes

• Willow weaving hanging baskets creating a living wall

• The establishing of an organic community garden that runs educational workshops on topics such as organic gardening, permaculture, food forests, healing herbs, outdoor crafts, coppicing, selling plants, shrubs, seed swap

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Causeway Coast Vineyard: 10,000 hours

10,000 hours was run in the last week of October 2019 and met needs identified by local people, schools and organisations.

The aim was to improve the environment we live in by energising the local community to volunteer and make a difference.

Tasks were completed as identified including:

• Removing graffiti in public areas

• Cleaning beaches by removing litter

• Cleaning and painting outside areas for schools and clubs

• Even cleaning during a snow storm!

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The Cornfield ProjectThe 7.5 acre site at The Cornfield was recently totally regenerated, but was still unfortunately faced with ongoing problems of littering, dog fouling and broken glass.

Several local programmes partnered with The Cornfield Project to raise awareness with everyone looking after the site.

In response to the negative issues, the community were consulted about tackling the problems and devised four innovative nudge- techniques to encourage responsible attitudes.

These included:

• A target wall with collection tray for people who persist in smashing glass creating an outlet that allowed us to collect the broken glass in one tray

• Glow in the dark eyes that followed people to remind them that they were being watched and to pick up litter

• Dog foul bins with basketball nets which encouraged litter to be thrown into them and

• Ballot butt bins for cigarette butts

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Where Wild Things Go The project was delivered in partnership with GSAP, the Bay Road Park Steering Group Derry City Strabane District Council land owners.

It involved community groups, schools and local residents together to make a positive impact on local priority species and habitats at the city’s Local Nature Reserve.

The project organised a biodiversity awareness event in September 2019 - open to members of the public- to learn about local wildlife and in particular the European Protected Species of Bats, that uses this site for foraging. Volunteers were trained to monitor bat populations, provided with training on how to use bat detectors to survey for this endangered species.

Native wildflowers were planted in Autumn 2019 over 2 days. Invasive species on the site and new sucker poplar trees, that are encroaching onto the site, were removed by local volunteers.

A habitat survey of this local green-space was carried out.

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Eco KidzThe project looked at a range of environmental issues including gardening, litter, recycling, dog fouling and biodiversity. We carried out the project between the Community Centre and our allotment site in Ballymagowan. We carried out a mix of both educational and practical activities for the young people with the intention of getting them interested about these issues that are prominent within our area and taking back their learning to their homes.

Through educating and encouraging these young people to take some pride in their area we hoped the project allowed them to take their learning out amongst their families and peer groups. This has the potential to reach a large section of the community and hopefully encourage them to make better choices when it comes to environmental issues.

The young people involved also may have been at the allotment site for the first time and allowed them the opportunity to see what goes on there and how they can get involved and become Eco Champions in their communities. From the project they took bird boxes, bug hotels and other equipment which they can use to look after the area.

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Flax GardenOver generations, Kyle's Mill was a significant feature in the Knockmoyle area. Older people relate stories of the production of the flax plant and the scotching process, associated with the production of linen in the area.

Little remains of the mill, save a trace of the mill damn and the wall surround, close to the original sluice gate.

Friends of the Glens have reinstated the gate using reclaimed oak, reinstated the adjoining stone wall and planted an extensive strip of flax, whilst incorporating a strip of wildflowers to attract insects and wildlife.

It brought together older people with recollections of flax production and enthusiastic schoolchildren; an important aspect of the project.

Signage promoting the environmental importance of the project and highlighting the need for litter and fouling reduction was erected.

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Ederney Love Our Place Project

The project mobilized the community with 30 volunteers participating planting, arranging hanging baskets and watering. There was also a general clean up of the village and painting carried out with residents participating by sprucing up their own homes, businesses and gardens. A great community spirit was on display and people felt better about their area with residents commenting on how well everything looked. There was a lot of creativity with people putting flower displays on bikes and people passing through even commented on the great community spirit and how we are doing everything for ourselves.

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Atlas Urban GardenThis project enabled us to clear and make safe an unused derelict city centre garden. A team of volunteers, machinery and equipment removed soil, rubble, overgrowth and general rubbish and left the site clear and level. The entrance was made safe with paving suitable for wheelchairs, prams and people with disabilities. Learning activities, focus groups and garden gang meetings were held in this space to develop skills, increase and share knowledge and recruit volunteers. Together we created a safe place that will help promote learning, build confidence and skills and improve mental and emotional wellness. Volunteers and participants have designed growing areas, donated plants, seeds and trees ready to be planted when appropriate. Gardening and growing activities, environmental programmes and learning and relaxing therapeutic programmes will be delivered in an outside green environment, in a polytunnel and outside training room large enough to hold training programmes to sow plants to sell to help sustain the project.

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Growing Together: Carryduff GAC Community Allotment

‘Growing Together’ is a collaborative project between Club, the Drumbo/Carryduff Pastoral Council - DCPC and our 5 local primary schools.

Together they have developed a Community allotment and flowerbed with the allotment consists of 8 sectional areas 9m x 1m, surrounding a central herb garden seated area. The 10m Flowerbed and Herb Garden was planted by school children from each of our 5 primary schools.

The Community allotment plots are being utilised by families in Carryduff and has improved public spaces enhancing the local environment, as well as developed the community's sense of civic pride and belonging in the area. 'Growing Together' is entirely volunteer-based with families and schools have contributing to the maintenance and upkeep of these facilities, under the guidance of aHorticulturalist Ms Smart, who holds an RHS Level 2 Horticulture.

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The Community Garden have improved considerably since last year with a full spring and summer season to prepare and grow a variety of vegetables / flowers and plants. With the variety of flowers in the garden , this year has been exceptional with large number s of butterflies , bees and other insects in the garden. This has encouraged birds and frogs into the garden. The local Cubs and Scouts group were involved in planting and harvesting the crop. A great year , appreciated by the local community.

Islandmagee Community GardenM

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Portglenone Paddlers

The waterway around the Portglenone Marina between the Newferry and Clady River was cleaned up. PortglenonePaddlers are a recently set up community paddling group (August 2018) and have been taking groups of up to 24 participants on to the river weekly.

During these trips facilitators and participants noticed a high level of litter trapped along the river banks, impacting not only on the appearance of the river banks but also on the wild life and local environment and ultimately the marine environment downstream.

This drove them to take action and they have cleaned it up using the 2 x Mad River canoes bought with the aid of the small grant.

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Rookery Wood out door class room

This is a wooded area within the village which had been planted by the council a number of years ago, it had been neglected and Castlecaulfield eco Buddies wanted to enhance the area so that more people could enjoy it. The area has an outdoor classroom /storytelling area within the trees and it is hoped that the two schools will use this area regularly to learn about nature and observe the various species inhabiting the area. The library in the wood will encourage children to read and the facilities will also encourage young families to visit the area also.

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Newmills Wildlife Gardening ClubThe project involved the setting up of a Wildlife Gardening Club situated in the village of Newmills helping local wildlife and pollinating insect species by creating 'biodiversity corridors' in the village, as well as fostering a sense of civic pride and stewardship in the area, by those involved directly in the project as well as the wider community.

Elements of the project included:

• Organising a series of talks on gardening and local wildlife

• Setting up of a communal 'tool shed' where local people were able to borrow tools to take part in gardening activities

• Purchase and erection of a notice board within a local community garden helping to promote events/activities

• Mapping the local village to help guide gardening club members on where positive impacts have been made

• Several litter pick events were carried out with young people and adults close to River Torrent

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Killough Bay OrchardA community orchard was built to regenerated a disused piece of land and enhance civic pride. A selection of fruit that included heritage varieties of Apples, Pears, Figs and Hazelnut was planted and to encourage pollinating insects for the above trees, a variety of native wild flowers were added (Violets, Sea Campion, Fumitory)

Killough harbour is a special protective area and the project helped raise awareness of the biodiversity, in line with local diversity action plan of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

The space is used by multiple groups as an outdoor classroom where intergenerational learning has taken place, helping to build social cohesion through practical exercises such as pruning, grafting and budding.

These outdoor activities have promoted and improved the health and wellbeing of the local community.

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Growing Together The project has continued to go really well with thanks to the funding. In May-September we were able to run workshops on Monday evenings with young people aged 14-18years old about investing in their community as they maintained and developed the community garden. In August we run a five day gardening club for children aged 6-11years to which over 25 attended each day. Our local Primary School spent the day at the garden building a bug hotel and learning about the importance of recycling, cleaning up our rubbish, minibeast and the environment. We have a further two schools booked in for the coming weeks to undertake two school days of environmental projects, maintaining the community garden and investing in their own home gardens etc.

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Thank YouThese projects have been made possible by the continued support of the Live Here Love Here partners. Without the financial assistance provided none of these innovative, environmental and community focused projects would have been possible; the projects will not only benefit the communities today but will continue to do so for many years to come.

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Thank you to all our partners for your continued support. Not already a partner but want to support Live Here Love Here? Please contact: enquiries@liveherelovehere.org