Blue Spaces - Wales
Blue Spaces – Wales is a new initiative to support imaginative approaches to looking after local freshwaters – rivers, streams, lakes, canals and ponds.
As part of this, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is launching an open call for ideas and projects in Wales. We are interested in unusual partnerships and imaginative ways to engage people in protecting and restoring their local freshwaters. Through Blue Spaces – Wales, we want to find and support organisations to develop their ideas and explore their potential to become longer-term, sustainable place-based initiatives.
We’re offering grants of £10,000 to £60,000 to support organisations to develop their ideas. We’re looking to support work that:
Aims to improve freshwater habitats and species in a place.
Engages with and is shaped by the diverse communities in a place particularly those who experience discrimination or face barriers to accessing nature, as well as landowners, land managers and farmers.
Involves new and unusual collaborations and ambitious partnerships, engaging with local communities and a range of charity, public sector or corporate stakeholders.
Has benefits for people and communities – for example: flood risk management, opportunities for access to and enjoyment of freshwater, engaging in citizen science, links to community-led regeneration and enterprise.
Is ambitious and has a longer-term vision to deliver, or is seeking resources to co-create a vision with communities and partners.
Has the potential to leverage partnership funding to develop innovative approaches to funding (including private investment).
Is pioneering by breaking new ground, or using tried and tested models to push things forward in a new way.
Who can apply
Organisations whose work is legally charitable including:
Registered charities
Social enterprises, Community businesses (e.g. Community Interest Companies) and other organisations with an asset lock clause in their constitution to protect against private gain.
Projects working primarily in Wales (although elements may be cross-border with England)
See our FAQs for the full list of eligibility criteria.
Eligible expenditure
Grant size: £10,000 to £60,000
Terms: grants awarded should be spent within a year
We are also developing a learning approach to support and facilitate learning for funded projects, and sharing what we learn more widely. Blue Spaces - Wales: FAQs - https://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/latest-news/blue-spaces-wales-mannau-glas-cymru-call-for-expressions-of-interest/faqs/
How to apply
We will be open to expressions of interest on 21 March 2023 and will close at 5pm on 2 May 2023.
In the expression of interest, applicants will be asked two questions in addition to some information about their organisation. See our FAQs for more information.
Further guidance and a sample application form will be made available in early March.
Register your interest
We are hosting a Q&A webinar on 21 March at 12 noon where the team will share our thinking behind the Blue Spaces programme, what we hope to achieve and what we’re looking to support. There will also be plenty of time to answer your questions.
The webinar will be recorded and shared on our website the following day.
If you’re not able to attend or watch the webinar, but would like to learn more about Blue Spaces – Wales, do still register for the webinar, so that we can keep you posted with updates about the programme.