Groundwork Greater Manchester launched the Eco-Streets competition earlier this year.
The competition provided opportunities to two Greater Manchester communities to each win £6,000 of funding, and dedicated support from Groundwork, to transform un-used, un-loved areas into vibrant, green community spaces.
The We Love MCR Charity heard of this and fell in love with the idea immediately, pledging to double the funding available for City of Manchester projects, meaning two more communities will receive this transformational opportunity.
A panel of judges reviewed nearly 50 applications from across Greater Manchester, scrutinising community need, group creativity and inclusion of nature-based-solutions tackling climate change.
The 2 Manchester winners We Love MCR funded we can announce are:
• Pioneer Quay, Deansgate-Castlefield, Manchester
• Pigeon Park, Longsight, Manchester
With the two other Greater Manchester winners being:
• Blooming Amazing Community Alley, Gorse Hill, Trafford
• The Ginnel Garden, Edgeley, Stockport
Groundwork’s immensely experienced Landscape Architects and Community Coordinators will be supporting the 4 projects throughout the summer to design and install their new community spaces.
Marie O’Neill-Steinegger, We Love MCR Charity’s Grants Officer, was on the judging panel and commented:
“The last 14 months have really shown us how important green spaces are to communities. Having spaces which are outside in nature is so vital for everyone’s mental health, for general physical health and allowing communities to come together.”
“It’s been fantastic reading all of the applicants’ stories and hearing about the great work happening across the city. It was great to meet some of the competition winners and see the inspiring plans they had for the spaces – we can’t wait to follow their progress and see how they develop!”
Amy Wright, who leads the project on Groundwork’s behalf commented,
“Funding for installing and maintaining green spaces can be hard to come by, and we’re so thrilled we’ve been able to support these 4 groups with the means to make their visions a reality. I can’t wait to work with the groups over the next few months and see these climate resilient and nature-friendly Eco Streets come to life.”
The Eco-Streets competition was made possible thanks to funding from the IGNITION project, an EU project which is looking for ways of funding more nature-based-solutions to climate change, and the We Love MCR Charity, who work to improve lives and communities in Manchester.
