BRISTOL’S GREEN CHARITIES
FareShare South West, Wildscreen, Bristol and Bath Parks Foundation and Avon Wildlife Trust are the four successful applicants to the Big Give Green Match Fund, a campaign for charities working on environmental issues as part of their core mission. With the four charities representing a variety of causes, here is a little more about what they do in case you are looking to make a charity donation that will go further this month: FareShare South West FareShare South West tackles food insecurity and hunger across the city and does this by simultaneously tackling the significant environmental issue: food waste. Every year more than 250,000 tonnes of food which is processed, packaged, and ready-to-eat is wasted by producers, manufacturers and retailers in the UK supply chain for reasons ranging from inaccurate demand forecasting, packaging errors, damage in transit or retailer rejections. FareShare South West provides a flexible and easy way of working together with food companies to ensure good quality, in-date surplus food never reaches landfill. The money raised will help the charity unlock more surplus food from local food businesses and grow their infrastructure to upscale redistribution by over 20% to their frontline partners, which include homeless shelters, women’s refuge centres, community centres, schools and other charities supporting working with the most vulnerable. Says Julian Mines, CEO of FareShare South West: “We know the overproduction of food is a key contributor to the decline in our environment and climate change. To think so much is wasted whilst thousands across our region go hungry is what drives me and my team. We’re delighted to have been accepted to the Big Give Green Match Fund as we’re determined to be part of the solution to the environmental challenges we face, whilst continuing to be a safety net for those facing hunger in the South West.
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We rely on donations to run our operation, and so during this period of expansion, we hope our supporters will take this opportunity to see the impact of their donation doubled.” Donations: Unlocking surplus food in the South West (thebiggive.org.uk) Wildscreen Wildscreen strives to amplify authentic voices and support the filmmakers of the future by providing a platform and support for natural world storytelling that raises awareness of the chief issues facing ecosystems, endangered species and communities across the globe. One of the charity’s key missions is to increase industry accessibility by addressing barriers and nurturing the filmmakers and conservationists of the future. Sue Martineau, Interim CEO of Wildscreen says “The next generation of natural world storytellers have missed out on many opportunities this year as an impact of COVID-19, with talent from underrepresented groups in the industry being particularly affected. It is vital that we have more diverse representation to impact the global environmental narrative and increase the reach of these important messages. We are fundraising to support our highly accessible training and mentorship scheme that will provide opportunities, experience and equipment to emerging talent and empower them to tell original stories about nature. By using our incredible contacts within the international wildlife filmmaking community we are aiming to create programmes that will have a global reach. Donations: Wildscreen (thebiggive.org.uk)
Bristol and Bath Parks Foundation Bristol & Bath’s park groups & volunteers are the key ingredient in what it takes to make a good park great and the foundation is there to support them. These groups provide opportunities for the local community to come together, increase biodiversity & be active. The Foundation wants to raise funds to support the projects that are proving difficult to get off the ground due to lack of funds, including: sewing wildflower meadows, community gardening, exercise groups and more.
