NEW FUNDING FOR RECOVERY AND WELLBEING REWILDING PROJECTS

SEVEN REWILDING PROJECTS across Britain, which focus on community and public wellbeing as well as landscape recovery, are to be awarded up to £15,000 each from Rewilding Britain’s Rewilding Innovation Fund.

One of the projects is led by Spains Hall Estate in Essex, in partnership with the Wilderness Foundation, a charity that works on mental-health initiatives with the NHS. Another beneficiary is the Yorkshire Rewilding Network, a charity that will be investing in further projects such as the Rewilding Festival this spring.

The charity has already been granted planning and listed building consent for the café but the new application to redevelop the landscape requires the diversion of a public right of way. If the plans are approved, work is due to commence shortly. rhs.org.uk

HTA welcomes biodiversity planning system

In Scotland, four projects are to receive funding, including the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST), a communitybased charity that works to recover marine habitats around Arran and the Clyde.

The Rewilding Innovation Fund has been made possible through funding from Evolution Education Trust, Charles Langdale, The Vintry and Dormywood Trust.

Rewilding Britain will make several funding rounds each year and the next opportunity to apply will be spring 2023. rewildingbritain.org.uk

CALL FOR ENTRIES TO BBC GARDENERS’WORLD BORDER COMPETITION

THE ORGANISERS OF the BBC Gardeners’ World events are appealing for entries to its Beautiful Borders competition at the Autumn Fair 2023, which takes place from 1 to 3 September at Audley End in Essex.

The competition offers seasoned garden designers, first-time creators and design students alike the perfect opportunity to make their mark and to gain experience in building a small show garden.

The theme for the nine-square-metre borders will be ‘My Garden Escape’ and judges will be looking for imaginative designs that provide inspiration for small gardens and challenging spaces. Visit bbcgardenersworldlive.com, or contact Horticultural Manager Lucy Tremlett at lucy. tremlett@immediate.co.uk; applications must be submitted by 2 May 2023.

The publication of Scotland’s draft Biodiversity Strategy has been welcomed by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), which engaged with the authors earlier in 2022 on behalf of its 83 Scottish member businesses, which include garden centres, tree and plant growers, and landscapers. These groups called for a Government focus on Scottish- and other UKgrown trees and plants for procurement and ‘green spaces’ investment, and they also backed the strategy’s focus on greenhouse planning and development. hta.org.uk

Design for BBC’s new Birmingham home revealed

A sustainable landscape and urban realm being created by Grant Associates will transform an area alongside the branch canal that was once used to transport tea to the Typhoo building in Digbeth. It is currently being redeveloped to house the BBC’s new studios in Birmingham and the re-imagined public realm will open up views towards the area’s historic warehouses and canal while providing a pedestrian-focused setting for the Typhoo Wharf Masterplan. This will connect HS2 and Paternoster Place to the BBC Birmingham Studios before the doors are opened to BBC staff in 2026.

grant-associates.uk.com