Conservation projects in the Yorkshire Dales and Sheffield's Forge Dam to benefit from £40m Government green jobs funding

Ninety charities will benefit from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund across 600 sites, announced today by Natural England.

Among the projects being backed are a floodplain conservation scheme in the Dales National Park, a project to rejuvenate Sheffield’s Forge Dam and another to St Nick's nature reserve in York to expand a green corridor across the city and introduce endangered species of beetles.

Another of the winning projects is the Don Catchment Rivers Trust, which conserves wildlife in the South Yorkshire river and is set to receive just over £181,000.

National heritage organisations including the Canal and River Trust, the RSPB and National Trust will benefit from seven-figure slices of the funding.

Charity Trees for Cities, which has planted more than one million urban trees since 1993, will receive £1,229,600, which they will use to plant 55,000 trees across 83 coastal locations.

The funding is delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission, with the hopes of opening opportunities to young people interested in working in the environment sector.

Tony Juniper, Natural England chairman, said the projects would benefit local communities as well as delivering long-term economic growth.

“I know from experience how this fund will be able to help a new generation of passionate young environmentalists take the first few steps in their careers,” he said.

“I can think of fewer more important investments in our future than that.”

This is the second round of funding of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, with winners from the first round being announced in October 2020.

Jonathan Dent, Natural Habitats Manager at St Nick's, said: "We have been developing this project for a number of years so it is incredibly rewarding for the hard work to have finally paid off.

"York is blessed with some amazing natural green corridors. Much of the biodiversity interest is within its wetland and grassland habitats, mainly associated with the river corridors, Ings land or flood meadows.

"Green Corridors York will work across the Clifton Ings, Fulford Ings and Tang Hall and Osbaldwick Beck corridors to create new and enhance existing habitats to benefit endangered species such as tansy beetle and water vole.

"Through close working with local nature conservation groups, land owners and communities we will bring people together to have a bigger impact across the corridors and improve the resilience of core wildlife sites such as Fulford Ings SSSI.”

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