Castle Bromwich Hall and Gardens Trust are delighted to announce that, following a public vote we have won £20,000 from Severn Trent’s special community fund. The fund was set up especially as part of the water and waste company’s Nature and Carbon Neutral Partnership with the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The early 18th century gardens and surrounding historic parkland are a surprising green haven surrounded by some of the most industrialised landscapes of East Birmingham and Solihull. The project will enable the small charitable trust to continue its work of further restoration, care and community engagement with the precious and protected landscapes.
Going for gold with a public vote
Twenty of the thirty three projects applying from across the wide Severn Trent Region have a share in the £250,000. The Gardens’ ambitious programme made a bid for the Gold category which was set to win £20,000. After a campaign led by volunteers to win the public vote they were delighted to win.
“We’re so grateful to all our supporters who voted and delighted that other people value the green spaces here on the edge of Solihull and Birmingham as much as we do” says Glynis Powell General manager of the Gardens Trust.
“All of the projects which entered were so deserving and showed the amazing determination of people to look after their environment and the planet. We’re proud to be part of that. “ She continued.
Going with the Flow
Over the next eight months the project will be working with specialists and volunteers across the formal gardens and the wilder Parkland to:
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Build a rainwater harvesting system to save 30,000 litres of water each year to nurture, grow and conserve the 600 different species of flowers and plants in the Gardens
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Rescue a neglected wild habitat and important historic ‘holloway’ in the Parkland to help maintain the habitat for birds and bats
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Support the sustainable management of a 400 year old garden and landscape which has over a 150 mature trees. Our mature trees absorb about 25 tonnes of carbon each year! Some of them are over 100 years old; they’re helping save the planet, just be existing.
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and central to it all give local young children their first experience of nature and the wild through forest school, foraging, wildlife detective and other creative events