Eden ProjectA programme designed to inspire people to connect to nature has been awarded more than £2m of funding from the National Lottery.
The Eden Project scheme – called Nature: Connection and Recovery – aimed to make nature central to boosting health and wellbeing while giving communities tools to take action on climate change, programme leaders said.
They said Dundee, Morecambe, Liverpool, Belfast, Newport and Cornwall would benefit from nature-based activities, including nature recovery work, food-growing and art.
Sam Alford, from the Cornwall-based Eden Project, said the three-year scheme would “highlight the role of nature in helping to solve the climate emergency”.
“By the end of the three years, more people in communities across the UK will have had the opportunity to help shape and participate in nature connections and recovery activities, helping to restore and regenerate natural spaces near to where they live,” he said.
The programme also involves the Gwent, Ulster, Lancashire and Scottish wildlife trusts, health company Intelligent Health and the Ashken Family Foundation.
It aimed to “reach people and communities experiencing poverty, disadvantage and discrimination and will support them with the skills needed to help mitigate the climate crisis”, said the Eden Project.
Liz Watchorn, from the the National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Helping people to reconnect with nature is vital for our planet and our wellbeing and, thanks to National Lottery players, this project will have a lasting impact on communities across the UK.”
The Eden Project said the programme would begin in 2026 in St Austell, Morecambe and Liverpool, with further areas to be announced later in 2026.
