New Marine Environment Fund welcomes applications

Thanks to donation from the Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund we welcome applications to a new Marine Environment Fund.

Cornwall’s beautiful world-famous landscapes and marine habitats are one of the defining features of the county, cherished by locals and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who holiday in the area each year. The image of the wild, untouched coastal landscape is seen throughout the art and literature that influences the public perception of the peninsula. However, these landscapes and places are now under immense threat. The world-wide challenges of climate change, pollution and sea level rises will have a very real impact on the towns and communities of the county.

The new Marine Environment Fund is focused on stimulating widespread community education and engagement in marine environmental action and research across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The programme will support existing projects and new ideas, encouraging innovative initiatives that engage with the community.

We expect your project to address one of the following themes:

1. Community Action: Projects centred on instigating, continuing or expanding community involvement in mitigating the impact of pollution or climate change on our coast.
2. Improving infrastructure: Projects centred on providing the means through which locals and visitors can better care for the marine environment.
3. Innovation: Projects which create new and innovative ways to solve the problems of littering, pollution and climate change in Cornwall.

The expected grants available is anticipated to be in the range of £1,000 to £5,000, although higher or lower awards are available depending on the circumstances. As part of the grant assessment process, we will seek to understand and collect details on community involvement and environmental impact.

Funding from the CCF allowed the Friends of Bosvigo School to create the Cornwall Coastline Connect & Protect project to enable 10 and 11 year-olds at this school in Truro to engage in social action and develop a passion for conserving their local environment. The new project is aimed to combine a variety of activities, including Rock Pool surveying, environmental art, beach cleans, and surf lessons. As well as creating young citizens interested in the key environmental issues of the day, the project also aimed to provide emotional and social support for those who had been badly affected by the Covid-19 crisis, giving them new experiences and providing them with a focus on the future beyond Covid.

Thanks to the new funding the CCF will be able to support similar project, and other new initiatives, across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Please express your interest in this fund on our website here and we will send you an application form.