{"id":32212,"date":"2022-01-12T16:49:01","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T16:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=32212"},"modified":"2022-01-12T16:54:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T16:54:00","slug":"ihbc-features-heritage-form-the-urban-doorstep-mayor-announces-ambitious-new-plans-to-rewild-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=32212","title":{"rendered":"IHBC features \u2018Heritage form the urban doorstep\u2019: Mayor announces ambitious new plans to rewild London"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-32213\" src=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/St-James-Park-London-Marcin-Bialek-Wikimedia-Commons.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" \/>The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new \u00a3600,000 Rewild London Fund, to help restore London\u2019s most precious wildlife sites and create more natural habitats for plants and animals to thrive.<\/h3>\n<h6><em>image: St James Park &#8211; Marcin Bia?ek, CC BY-SA 3.0 &lt;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/h6>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\">\u2026\u00a3300K of funding for 40 \u2018Keeping it Wild\u2019 traineeships\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\">\u2026 Access to green space and nature .\u2026 a matter of social justice and health inequality\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n<p>London Assembly writes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"paragraph\">Mayor announces new fund to help restore some of the capital\u2019s\u00a0most treasured natural sites\u00a0and improve biodiversity<\/li>\n<li class=\"paragraph\">Plans unveiled for\u00a040\u00a0\u201cKeeping it Wild\u201d traineeships to help young people who are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled or from areas of economic deprivation, to develop vital green skills<\/li>\n<li class=\"paragraph\">Mayor confirms the first 45 projects to be supported by his \u00a36m investment in green spaces<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced a new \u00a3600,000 Rewild London Fund, that will help restore London\u2019s most precious wildlife sites and create more natural habitats for plants and animals to thrive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">There are 1,600 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) in London, covering 20 per cent of the capital. These include\u00a0the\u00a0world-famous nature reserve Richmond Park, Sydenham Hill Wood and the downlands in Bromley and Croydon that inspired Charles Darwin\u2019s discoveries.\u00a0Currently only around half of these sites are being\u00a0appropriately\u00a0managed to conserve or enhance their special wildlife<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">The\u00a0new Rewild London\u00a0Fund will be delivered with expert advice from London Wildlife Trust and will support 20-30 of these sites to ensure that London\u2019s special species thrive, from creating new homes for stag beetles to water voles in newly restored waterways and helping birds like swifts and house sparrows to flourish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">The Mayor\u00a0has also announced a further \u00a3300K of funding for 40 \u2018Keeping it Wild\u2019 traineeships for young people aged 16-25. The traineeships, delivered with the London Wildlife Trust, will support young Black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners, as well as young disabled Londoners and those from areas of economic deprivation,\u00a0to develop vital green skills and help to remove barriers to entering the sector.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">Sadiq also announced plans for a \u201cRewilding Roundtable\u201d event that will explore opportunities for more ambitious, innovative projects\u00a0to support nature in the capital. These plans will help make London a leader in urban rewilding, from restoring rivers to reintroducing species currently absent from London<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">Today\u2019s announcements build\u00a0on\u00a0the policies that the Mayor introduced in his London Plan, including robust protections for green spaces and the Green Belt, as well as the \u00a36m investment in green spaces and climate resilience launched in June 2021, with the first beneficiaries of that funding also announced today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">The Grow Back Greener Fund has awarded \u00a31.4m\u00a0&#8211; including \u00a3500,000 from Thames Water &#8211; to 45 community projects that will create and improve green spaces and boost climate resilience. As well as helping to rewild London, these projects will increase access to green space, reduce flood risk and improve water quality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">Access to green space and nature is not just an environmental issue, but a matter of social justice and health inequality. The\u00a0Mayor\u00a0wants all Londoners to live within a 10-minute walk of green space, and the projects receiving funding today will help to achieve that goal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">Projects funded through the Grow Back Greener Fund include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"paragraph\"><b>Greening, Growing and Rewilding<\/b>, led by Roots4Life, which will enhance a new green space in Greenwich with a wildlife pond and meadows.<\/li>\n<li class=\"paragraph\"><b>Water Quality Nature Solutions<\/b>, led by Canal and River Trust in Brent and Barnet, which will improve water quality and support wildlife at the Brent Reservoir, one of London\u2019s key nature sites<\/li>\n<li class=\"paragraph\"><b>Oakthorpe\u00a0School\u00a0SuDS\u00a0and Wetland<\/b>, led by London Borough of Enfield with\u00a0Oakthorpe\u00a0Primary School and Thames21, which will\u00a0de-pave\u00a0and transform the school playground with new rain gardens, alongside a new wetland nature trail at the Tile Kiln Open Space next door.<\/li>\n<li class=\"paragraph\"><b>Buried Seeds Project<\/b>, led by The Soul Shack CIC, a youth-led project to create a community healing garden on a disused green space in Kennington<\/li>\n<li class=\"paragraph\"><b>Ram and Magpie Community Garden<\/b>, led by Spitalfields City Farm, which will create a new 500 square metre community garden on a disused and inaccessible piece of land next to the farm in Tower Hamlets, co-designed with the community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:<b> \u201c<\/b>The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. In London, we need to take bold action to ensure that we not only halt the decline of biodiversity in our natural environment but pave the way for growth and change. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve announced my new Rewilding Fund, which will\u00a0help\u00a0restore the capital\u2019s precious wildlife sites, improve biodiversity and ensure all Londoners\u00a0have\u00a0a thriving web of nature on their doorstep.?And as part of our Green New Deal, we\u2019re supporting young Londoners to gain the skills required for jobs that help secure a future for London\u2019s natural environment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">\u201cI am proud to have helped London to be recognised as the world&#8217;s first National Park City in 2019, and this funding shows my commitment to protecting that\u00a0status and\u00a0doing all I can to protect London\u2019s amazing network of green spaces, rivers and natural habitats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">Director of Learning, Youth &amp; Communities at London Wildlife Trust, Leah McNally, said:\u201cWe are absolutely delighted that the Mayor of London will be supporting London Wildlife Trust\u2019s hugely successful \u2018Keeping it Wild\u2019 traineeship programme for young people aged 16-25. Paid opportunities like these are a fantastic springboard into a career in nature conservation and are vitally important in supporting under-represented young people who face barriers to accessing jobs within the green economy. We are really excited to also be supporting the Mayor of London\u2019s \u2018Rewilding Fund\u2019 which will have a positive impact on improving Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) in London, for both people and the wonderful wildlife that we share our great city with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">Environmentalist and\u00a0non-executive board member of the DEFRA,\u00a0Ben Goldsmith, said:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m so excited to be working with the Mayor on this new rewilding taskforce for London. All people need experience close connection with nature in their lives, and yet for many Londoners this is a remote possibility today. From green rooftops to pocket parks, nest boxes for peregrines and swifts, rewiggling streams and reintroducing long lost native species, our plan is to weave wild nature back through the very fabric of our city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">Thames Water CEO, Sarah Bentley, said:\u201cWe\u2019re really supportive of the ambition to make sure every Londoner lives within 10 minutes of green spaces and I can\u2019t wait to see the wonderful community gardens and wild places these projects will create. We know improving access to nature is so important for people\u2019s health and wellbeing and these community projects will leave a positive legacy for generations to enjoy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\">\u201cThe Grow Back Greener Fund closely connects with our own aims to protect the environment and invest in the communities we serve. Green spaces provide sustainable urban drainage, giving rainfall a place to be soaked up rather than mixing with sewage in our drains. With climate change having more of an impact on the capital, we all have a responsibility to take action. We\u2019re working hard on reducing our carbon emissions to Net Zero by 2030 and these projects will help our collective action to support climate resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.london.gov.uk\/press-releases\/mayoral\/mayor-announces-ambitious-plans-to-rewild-london\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more&#8230;.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new \u00a3600,000 Rewild London Fund, to help restore London\u2019s most precious wildlife sites and create more natural habitats for plants and animals to thrive. image: St James Park &#8211; Marcin Bia?ek, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=32212\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32212"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32225,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32212\/revisions\/32225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}