TEP Environment Grant Awardees 2023

Each year, TEP’s Environment Grant offers funding in support of local projects that raise awareness of environmental issues, further the environmental profession and resonate with our core values.

This year we are thrilled to announce our support for two organisations that share a common vision for enhancing the wellbeing and overall quality of life in our communities and surrounding environment.

Our first awardee is The Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust (MGET), an independent Charitable Trust set up in 2010 to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of the Upper Mersey Estuary and related areas. The aim of their project is to assess and monitor the diversity of aquatic species that can be found in the Upper Mersey Estuary, with a focus on planktonic fish and invertebrates. The data gathered will provide information about the role the estuary plays in supporting micro fauna. An additional focus of the project will be to actively engage with the neighbouring community to enhance their understanding of the importance of this habitat type and to showcase the river’s biodiversity.

Estuary prawn
Juvenile goby

Our second awardee is Twiss Green Primary School in Culcheth, Warrington. They intend to utilise the funding to develop a sensory garden and vegetable patch, aiming to encourage outdoor education, boost biodiversity within the school grounds, and offer a chance for children of all ages to engage with the natural environment. The children’s vision for the sensory garden includes plants and flowers designed to attract butterflies and bees, as well as the incorporation of bird boxes and bug hotels to promote biodiversity. The designated area for growing fruit and vegetables will not only improve the sustainability of the school, but will also serve as a tool to educate the children about the benefits of self-sufficiency.

Follow us on social media for updates about these projects, and for information on how to apply for 2024’s round of funding (the application window will open in March 2024).



Previous Awards


TEP has previously awarded funds to:


2022

  • Kingsteignton Wild to create a 2km nature trail connecting two local schools in South Devon.
  • Sustainable Penzance CIC to develop their website and to create an online ‘portal’, containing information, training, resources and support on how to reduce the impact communities and businesses have on the local environment.
  • Our Only World to support a biodiverse marine environment through the modification and enhancement of manmade structures such as sea walls in Cornwall.
  • RE-PEAT to help promote Peat-Fest 2022, a 6-day online festival dedicated to celebrating peatlands and raise awareness of their importance.
2021

  • Croxteth Park Volunteer Group to offer bi-monthly recording sessions for volunteers and local school children using the iNaturalist app, which will feed into local, national and global databases.
  • PLACED Academy who run a free Environmental Academy for 37 students from diverse backgrounds throughout the Liverpool City Region.
  • Kirkby C of E Primary School to facilitate Forest School style sessions for all their children.
  • Friends of the Upper Wye to restore the ecological health of The River Wye for local communities, for visitors to the region, and for all the invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds that also call it home.
2020

  • St Basil’s Catholic Primary School in Widnes to help improve the school’s natural environment.
  • PhD candidate Richard Bentley to identify, map and share information about quiet spaces and their benefits for human wellbeing and the environment.