Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has named the successful projects that will be funded through the £500k Community Environment Fund, launched last year.

The 58 successful projects are set to contribute to the city region’s target of being net carbon zero by 2040, improve people’s surroundings across the Liverpool City Region, while also bringing health benefits, encouraging long-term behavioural change and promoting community engagement and participation in environmental education programmes.

The projects include Sefton Council’s Clean Air Crew which has been developed by teachers to engage with children and families on air quality and encouraging behaviour change; ReStore St Helens, a project upcycling furniture in a deprived area reducing items ending up in landfill while supporting residents; and carbon literacy training to local community groups, supporting them to turn their commitments into local climate action.

Other projects include creating community gardens, wild flowering meadows, composting projects, understanding our carbon footprint, reducing food waste, boosting bee populations and encouraging cycling.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“Since I was elected Mayor, tackling the climate crisis has been one of my top priorities and I was proud that we were the first Combined Authority in the country to declare a Climate Emergency in recognition of the scale of the challenge we face.

“But it’s not something at we can tackle alone and that’s why I launched the Community Environment Fund: to empower local communities to take action to improve their local environment. Together, lots of small actions can help us make a big contribution to making our region cleaner, greener and more sustainable.

“There were some fantastic projects put forward and I’m excited to see the impact they have over the coming months and years.”

The successful Community Environment Fund projects support the following themes:

• Climate change and resilience
• Air quality and transport
• Water
• Accessible green spaces, habitats and biodiversity
• Waste and resources
• Health and wellbeing
• Carbon and environment literacy
• Energy reduction
• Food and agriculture

Gideon Ben-Tovim, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Climate Partnership and of Nature Connected, established to act as an advisory body to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said:

“Our local action here can make a real difference to a global problem. We have seen over lockdown how much people care about their local environment, and how important it is to their lives.

“Applications to the Community Environment Fund have been breath-taking in their range and scope.  As a city region we will be able to build on that enthusiasm and take action through these projects.”

Cllr Gill Wood, Deputy Portfolio Holder for Low Carbon and Renewable Energy, said:

“It is very exciting to be at the point where we can put the money from the Community Environment Fund to work.  These community projects can make a real and immediate difference to people’s lives. This activity on the ground all goes towards dealing with the challenge of climate emergency. I look forward to it having an impact on the wellbeing of the people who live here in our city region.”

Stephanie Jukes, Sefton Council, who leads on their Clean Air Crew project, said:

“We’ve been working on the Clean Air Crew within Sefton for some time now, as an educational tool that children and their families can use to learn about air quality and changes they can make as individuals and families.  Funding from the Community Environment Fund means we can now expand the Clean Air Crew to the whole of the Liverpool City Region and we can’t wait to get started.”