A SECOND £750,000 Living Places and Spaces Fund has been launched by Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd to help support communities in creating greener and more sustainable spaces.
Applications for the scheme will open on November 9 in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund.
Grants from £1,000 up to £10,000 are to be provided for selected projects.
Mr O’Dowd said: “There is a growing awareness of our collective responsibility to address the climate crisis and the need to work together to save the environment.
"The aim of the Living Places and Spaces Fund is to give local communities the power and the funding to make their local changes to improve and protect their environment. Similar to the first fund, which provided 107 grants, to develop eco gardens; the planting of native trees and wildflowers to encourage biodiversity and pollinators, I am delighted to be putting in place a further £750,000.
"I encourage community and voluntary groups, schools and charities to apply when the fund opens for applications on 9 November.”
Kate Beggs, National Lottery Community Fund Northern Ireland Director, said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Department for Infrastructure to reopen this programme to support local communities to create greener, safer and more sustainable local spaces.
"The 107 awards made in the previous round of funding really benefited local communities across Northern Ireland and I have no doubt we will see some great community-led ideas coming through for this round of funding."