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Severn Trent has announced a new focus for its Community Fund to celebrate its partnership with Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Starting in January 2022, the Community Fund will be looking to fund local community projects that specifically aim to take care of nature and the environment.

Grants of £5,000, £10,000 and £20,000 will be available for non-profit organisations and local charities with an income of less than £500,000 averaged over three years. Organisations from across the Severn Trent region will be eligible to apply for support for their new project idea. The Community Fund will be looking for community projects linking to one or more of the following themes:

• Green spaces: Projects that create and enhance green spaces and offset carbon, for example creating natural habitats, such as ponds and wildflower meadows;

• Recycling and making the most of resources: Projects that help to reduce the carbon footprint of community spaces and activities, such as through recycling and energy saving;

• Water saving heroes: Projects that preserve water and reduce usage, including grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting.

Community Fund Officer Natalie Cunningham said: “As the Official Nature and Carbon Neutral of supporter of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the idea of temporarily refocusing our Community Fund to support projects that help take care of nature and look after the local environment was an obvious thing to do. We hope that the fund will create some fantastic opportunities for communities right across the region to get some nature positive projects up and running. And the best part is that all of our wonderful customers get to vote on their favourite project and have the final decision on which projects are successful.” 

Through its Community Fund, Severn Trent has committed to giving away more than £10 million over five years to support local community projects and make a real difference in the communities it serves. The fund is overseen by an independent panel made up of Severn Trent customers who will shortlist the best projects, and for the first time, projects will then be taken to a public vote so that every Severn Trent customer will have the chance to have their say and vote for their favourite. 

As part of Severn Trent’s partnership with Birmingham 2022, the company has also committed to creating 2022 acres of forest, as well as 72 tennis-court-sized Tiny Forests within urban areas across the West Midlands. Each Tiny Forest will be linked to one of the nations and territories competing at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The 2022 acres of forest, intended to be based in the West Midlands, will feature native species, and will not only help local people reconnect with nature, but will also help offset the carbon generated by the Games.

The application window for the new Community Fund theme will open in early January 2022 and close mid-February. Finalists will be shortlisted by an independent Community Fund panel and public voting will begin in April.

For more information and to register your interest, visit www.stwater.co.uk/community-fund-care-for-nature