Rewild London Fund 2023

London's most valuable and special places for wildlife are identified by the Mayor and London boroughs as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) through the local plan making process. Section 1.1.1 provides more information about SINCs and how they are protected

Most SINCs are managed by boroughs or other public bodies and offer opportunities for Londoners to enjoy nature close-up. However, it is estimated that 40-60 per cent of SINC sites are not covered by any regular management to conserve or enhance their special biodiversity and fewer than half of London’s boroughs have access to in-house ecological advice. Priority habitats for conservation are listed in the London Environment Strategy (see section 1.1.2 of this guide).

The Mayor recognises that not all grant managers have access to the expertise needed to plan and deliver the types of essential projects this fund will support.  To help more applicants to access and meet the aims of the fund we have partnered with London Wildlife Trust (LWT) to provide expert support to those organisations who need it to help them take more action for nature.  

Grant funded projects will be offered advice and support from LWT during project delivery. This support is funded as part of the programme and will be allocated to projects based on need and the availability of relevant experts. Requests for LWT support will be triaged by Groundwork London who will be providing grant management support for this Fund (see section 4.1).  

It is expected that projects will typically be allocated 0.5-1.5 days of specialist support from LWT over the course of the project depending on need. LWT’s involvement will help ensure the projects are exemplary by providing a ‘critical friend’ role, offering advice and sharing knowledge. Expertise on offer will include:   

• habitat management, restoration and creation advice
• how to integrate projects into existing management plans
• advice on the suite of habitat and species surveys required: what surveys might be needed and who to contact (not survey delivery).

Please note that the funded support from LWT will not include any elements of project delivery. Their time cannot be used for: carrying out or writing methodologies for site surveys; writing management plans; supervising contractors or writing tender documents for contractors/consultants; providing volunteers or marketing and communications support for your project. If your project requires more detailed and/or ongoing ecological expertise and support, please include this in your grant budget.

Applicants should consider the following when deciding if their project meets the aims of the fund: 

Project size and ecological relevance

Applicants should be able to demonstrate that their proposed project is of appropriate scale for its ecological and landscape context. Applicants should use this information to decide which funding programme to apply for (smaller projects of £10,000 - £50,000 or larger projects of £100,000 - £150,000). Projects must deliver ecologically appropriate outcomes in terms of the types of habitats being restored and created and the size of these habitats. This is particularly relevant to projects seeking to improve connectivity between or buffer or expand SINCs.  

Applicants should also explain how their proposed project responds to the priorities in local Biodiversity Action Plans and/or fits within local strategies for nature’s recovery or other relevant plans or strategies.      

Long-term outcomes

We will not fund routine or one-off habitat management activities unless the application demonstrates there is a plan in place to secure appropriate management long-term. For example, we would not fund a project to clear scrub from a degraded grassland site that does not demonstrate how the site will be managed in the future to prevent it scrubbing over again, but would fund a project to clear scrub and install fencing or other infrastructure to support ongoing management.

Sharing best practice and public engagement

We will expect grant recipients to share their knowledge and best practice to help accelerate the changes required across London to create healthy, sustainable places and to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.

Applicants should identify how they will share best practice within their own organisation and with other organisations across London. All successful projects will be required to work with the GLA to develop a case study of the project to share good practice and learning that can be adopted elsewhere, with a target audience for these case studies being fellow land managers and other active in the sector in London. 

Applicants will also be expected to work with the GLA on communicating about their projects, for example through producing videos and social media content.

Applicants should demonstrate how they will engage the public and/or schools with their project, for example by organising open day(s), citizen science or other volunteer components, guided walks, talks or education sessions. Applicants should also consider how their project can support activities that enable underrepresented communities to better access nature. 

Permissions and risks

Projects will need to be delivered by March 2025. If your project requires permits, such as those from statutory agencies, or other permissions these should either be secured at time of application or be on track to be secured by the time a grant agreement is signed (i.e. by January 2024). We expect any risks to project delivery to be identified and mitigated. Please contact us in advance of submitting your application if you need help understanding what permissions will be required to undertake your proposed project. You can contact us with any questions via [email protected] or to arrange a phone call. 

Equality 

As a public-sector organisation, the GLA must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty and the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct which is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. It must advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who don’t have that characteristic. As recipients of public funding, successful applicants will also need to meet this Duty.

See section 5 for more detail on the application questions you will need to answer and how to complete the application form.  

Applications are open to:

• local authorities
• civil society organisations which manage land or are working in partnership with the landowner. These could include:
  • registered charities including charitable incorporated organisations
  • formally constituted community groups
  • social and not-for-profit businesses including community interest companies and social enterprises
  • community benefit societies.

Applications must be from a formally constituted organisation that has an organisational bank account and is able to enter into legal contracts. You cannot apply as a private individual. 

We welcome applications that involve different organisations; however, the lead applicant must be the primary manager of the land. If they do not own the site, they must provide evidence of landowner permission and approval for the proposed project with their application. 

Successful applicants who receive funding offers must sign a grant agreement before the project can start.

Payments will be made according to the following schedule:

• 50 per cent upfront, on return of signed funding agreement
• 50 per cent on completion, subject to submission of a satisfactory final monitoring report and proof of expenditure.

We understand some organisations may have cashflow difficulties. We are happy to discuss alternative payment schedules for successful projects, including a mid-project grant payment.

The Rewild London Fund can support a range of costs as long as these are contributing to the delivery of the project, and to the core aims of improving London’s SINCs and making the city’s ecological network more resilient.

Costs that can be supported by the Rewild London Fund, with no restrictions

This includes both capital and revenue costs, such as:

• purchase of trees and plants for habitat creation
• purchase of other materials to improve SINCs and create new habitat
• fencing, paths and other site infrastructure that is directly related to SINC habitat improvements and management 
• machine and equipment purchase or hire to create or restore habitat
• staff and/or contractor costs for project delivery, including labour, design, project management, volunteer management 
• specialist fees, for example, an ecologist or arboriculturalist; surveys or monitoring; GiGL fees; volunteer expenses
• payment of administrative costs directly related to delivery of the work, e.g. consents for works on river
• event costs, such as training workshops for staff,volunteers or contractors 
• PPE or other equipment necessary for safe project delivery.

Costs that can be supported by the Rewild London Fund, with restrictions

• a maximum of 10 per cent of the total grant can be used for maintenance costs associated with establishment of new habitats that will be incurred beyond the end of the project period (that is, after March 2025). 

Costs that cannot be supported

The Rewild London Fund cannot be used towards the following costs:

• land purchase
• capital items that are not primarily about improving SINCs – for example, improving a building or other grey infrastructure 
• “business as usual” activities – for example, routine maintenance
• works that are legally required of the landowner/ manger, for example protection, management and/ or restoration of SSSI features (for which the SSSI is designated), delivery of agri-environmental scheme targets or woodland management grants subject to existing contract agreements, or maintenance of a Public Right of Way
• projects where the specific elements being applied for have already started or are a direct continuation of existing work. We will fund projects that expand previous or existing projects that have worked well (i.e. are new programmes) and stand-alone habitat creation or restoration projects within a larger programme of site improvement works  
• core staff costs or other core costs that are not project specific.

The application and delivery timeline are outlined below. Applications will be managed by Groundwork London, who will be happy to answer any questions you have about the application process, or about your project. Groundwork London is part of a federation of charities mobilising practical community action including on the environment.

Please email [email protected] with any questions or to arrange a phone call.

We will be holding two optional applicant information webinars on the following dates. We suggest that first-time applicants join the first webinar to allow enough time for additional questions and/or further support. The same content will be covered at each session:  

• Thursday 12 October 2023, 3:00pm - 5:00pm – Register via Zoom.
• Thursday 2 November 2023, 5:30pm-7:30pm – Register via Zoom

This will be an opportunity to hear more about the aims of the fund, the application process and assessment criteria. It will give you a chance to ask questions and receive advice on completing your application. 

Section 5 of this guide provides more detail on completing the application form and the assessment criteria. 

If your grant application is successful and you are awarded funding, Groundwork London will be your first point of contact during your project delivery period.

You will be assigned a grants officer who will be able to help you with queries, discuss any changes to your project, and help with the required grant reporting and payments. If you require more specialist advice and support from LWT you will be able to request this via Groundwork London (see section 2.1) and they will also work with LWT on project monitoring.  

Groundwork London will host a programme induction session once funding has been awarded, to help successful applicants understand the requirements of the programme and answer any initial questions. This will also be an opportunity to meet other grantees and share ideas. 

The application form for the Rewild London Fund is split into six sections, which will be used to assess your project’s suitability for the fund. A copy of the application form can be found in Appendix A. Before accessing the form online, you will be asked a series of gateway questions. These questions are designed to check whether your project proposal is eligible for the fund. They are not scored, but all projects must meet the basic eligibility criteria.

The application form sections are:

• Section 1: About your organisation – these questions are designed to check whether your organisation is eligible for the fund, and to enable due diligence checks to be carried out. They are not scored, but all organisations must meet the eligibility criteria
• Section 2: About your project – these questions provide an overview of your project, the activities that will take place and the outputs you aim to deliver. They are not scored, but will be used for initial screening to check that your project meets the core aims of the fund
• Section 3: Meeting the aims of the fund – these questions form 60 per cent of the assessment of your project (15 per cent for each question). They allow you to go into more detail about what your project will achieve and enable us to assess how well your project meets the aims of the fund. Further details of the assessment criteria are outlined below
• Section 4: Delivering your project – these questions form 20 per cent of the assessment of your project. They allow you to demonstrate how your project will be delivered successfully, on time and within budget, and safely.
• Section 5: Project budget – this question forms 20 per cent of the assessment of your project. It allows you to demonstrate that you have thought about the costs of your project, and that it delivers good value for money.
• Section 6: Equalities Monitoring - this information is used to monitor the different backgrounds of grant applicants and recipients. It is not part of the assessment and is optional. 

Your application will be assessed against the criteria outlined below.

Application form section 3: Meeting the aims of the fund

These questions form 60 per cent of the assessment of your project (15 per cent for each question). They allow you to go into more detail about what your project will achieve and enable us to assess how well your project meets the aims and priorities of the fund.

1. How will your project increase the resilience of the SINC network, respond to the ecological emergency and contribute to the London Environment Strategy habitat targets?

Your answer to this question should focus on why your project is needed and why the location of your project is a priority. 

You should describe how your project fits within the wider ecological network and responds to priorities in local strategies and plans to respond to the climate and ecological emergencies. This could include priorities for sites, habitats and species identified in the London Environment Strategy, the London Rewilding Taskforce report, Biodiversity Action Plan, Local Nature Recovery Plan, Green Infrastructure or Open Spaces Strategy and/or Local Plan.  

You should explain the significance of your project in terms of location and size within the local ecological network and provide a map showing the location of your project site/s and any key ecological connections that are relevant to the project. 

2. What will your project do to enhance a Site(s) of Importance for Nature Conservation, improve habitats at sites which then aim to qualify for SINC status, and/or improve ecological connectivity between SINCs?

Your answer to this question should focus on what your project will do to address the need or opportunities that you described in response to question 1. This is where you must tell us about the key outcomes or outputs from your project (section 3.5 of the application form enables you to list the outcomes and outputs that your project will deliver).

You should provide details about your proposed activities (set out in your Project Plan – see Application Form Section 4 below) and the anticipated environmental benefits. 

Where relevant, you should include information about how any new habitats created will be accommodated and work within the existing site use to demonstrate that they can be maintained in the long term.   

You should include full details of how you will improve the condition and resilience of the site or SINC network and/or enable site management and further improvements to take place in the future. Please note this requirement also applies to species-focused proposals. These projects will need to demonstrate how they will result in the uplift in the quality and/or extent of the SINC(s), including the priority habitats for which the SINC is designated.  If significant changes to the existing habitats within the SINC are proposed as part of the project, the rationale for doing so needs to be set out in order to demonstrate that there will be a net uplift in SINC quality/quantity.  

You should also provide details of any ecological surveys or management plans that will be undertaken or produced through the project and explain how these will be used.  

You should also provide details of consents or permissions that might be required (for example tree works in a Conservation Area), and to what level these have progressed at the time of application. 

You should provide a map denoting the areas of your planned activity and provide details of the area of habitat that will be restored and/or created in Ha. 

3. How will you ensure that your project leaves a positive legacy and supports the site(s) to be better managed in the long term?

Any project must have a clear plan for maintenance, to ensure that the benefits of activities to improve the space are fully realised. In order to support this, up to 10 per cent of any grant can be spent on maintenance required to help with the establishment of newly created priority habitats beyond the end of the project.  

Your answer to this question should detail how any maintenance budget will be spent, who will be responsible for maintaining the new or improved space, and how any volunteering or community involvement to help manage the site will be sustained if relevant. 

If the project includes surveys or monitoring, then you should describe how these will inform future management. 

Your answer should also describe any staff training that will be delivered to increase skills and help to ensure the appropriate long-term management of the project site(s).

4. How will your project capture best practice and share approaches and learning? How will your project engage the public and support activities that enable underrepresented communities to better access and actively participate in managing important wildlife sites?

Your answer to this question should demonstrate an awareness of how your proposed activities fit in the context of London’s SINC network, and the potential wider benefits of your project.    

You should provide details of any monitoring that you will undertake and how the results from this or other learning from the project will be used to inform management of other SINCs and/or shared with relevant networks.   

All successful projects will be required to work with the GLA to develop a case study of the project to share good practice and learning that can be adopted elsewhere by fellow land managers and others active in nature conservation in London. Applicants will also be expected to work with the GLA on communicating about their projects, for example through producing videos and social media content. Time should be factored into your project plan to do this.   

Finally, demonstrate how you will engage the public and/or schools with your project, for example by organising open day(s), citizen science or other volunteer components, guided walks, talks or education sessions. Projects should consider how they can support activities which enable underrepresented communities to better access nature. Your answer should demonstrate an awareness of local communities to your site(s).

5. What outputs and outcomes will your project deliver?

This section will be used to understand what your project will deliver. For example, number of SINCs improved or connected, area of SINC improved and area of priority habitat restored / enhanced.

Application form section 4: Delivering your project

These questions form 20 per cent of the assessment of your project. They allow you to demonstrate how your project will be delivered successfully, on time and within budget, and safely.

1. Project permissions

This will establish the extent to which your project has the required permissions and consents to begin delivery.  

2. Project plan

In this section you should set out the key milestones for your project, the timeline for achieving them, and the actions you will need to take. Your project must be completed by March 2025, and the timeline should reflect this. Your answer should demonstrate that you have a well-thought-out project plan, with realistic and achievable timelines. 

3. Risk register

In this section you should outline some of the key risks to your project, and how you will mitigate these risks. You should score each risk according to its likelihood of happening (probability), and how big an impact it would have. The total score (probability x impact) should be assigned a red, amber or green rating. Any red risks may need further mitigation to ensure that they don’t prevent your project from being successfully completed. 

This should include health and safety risks and mitigations. 

Application form section 5: Project budget

This question forms 20 per cent of the assessment of your project. It allows you to demonstrate that you have thought about the costs of your project, and that it delivers good value for money.

Your budget should be as detailed as possible and should follow the guidelines on eligible costs outlined in section 3.3 above. It’s useful to get at least three quotes for major items and check the costs for smaller items with reputable suppliers.

Approximately 10-22 projects will share funding, divided into two funding programmes:

1. Approximately 10-20 smaller grants of between £10,000 and £50,000.
2. Two larger grants of between £100,000 and £150,000 for flagship projects. Examples of projects could include 'daylighting' of a lost stream or extensive reedbed creation.

The amount requested from the Rewild London Fund by each applicant should be a genuine reflection of the funding need of the project, rather than aiming for the upper limit of the funding programme applied for without justification. This will allow the panel to award funding to a greater number of projects. 

To be eligible to apply for the larger grant amount, you must have a transformational, flagship project idea. If you believe you have a suitable project and want to discuss it further, please get in touch at [email protected]. If you are successful, the reporting and monitoring requirements may be more than stated in this guide, and may include a site visit.

Once you have submitted your application, it will be assessed according to the following process:

1. Sifting: initial review of all applications for eligibility, including: organisation, delivery timelines, grant amount, project remit. Ineligible applications will be rejected at this stage.
2. Shortlisting: all applications are scored by a minimum of three assessors from the Greater London Authority (GLA), London Wildlife Trust (LWT) and Groundwork London, according to the criteria outlined above. Applications that score less than an agreed threshold will be rejected at this stage.
3. Grants panel: shortlisted applications are reviewed by the grants panel for a final funding decision. The panel will include officers from the GLA, and LWT, as well as independent nature conservation experts. The panel will review applications collectively to ensure a breadth of project types and locations, in line with the priorities of the fund.
4. Site visits (if required): LWT officers will carry out site visits, if required, to confirm the suitability of proposed activities before grant funding is offered. 

We expect final funding decisions on all applications to be made by January 2024. During the assessment process, we may contact you to clarify points in your application, ask for more information or arrange a site visit.

As we anticipate a high volume of applications, unfortunately we may not be able to fund every good application. The grants panel will prioritise those applications that most closely fit the assessment criteria and will also consider the location and type of projects to support a balanced programme across London.

Any offer(s) of funding will be made subject to you accepting a grant agreement which must be signed before your project can start.