Key information
Publication type: Funding prospectus
Publication date:
Contents
1. Overview
The Green Roots Fund aims to deliver a greener, more climate resilient city by providing grant funding to transform London’s neighbourhoods and ensure that all Londoners can benefit from nature-rich environments.
The Green Roots Fund will support a broad range of project types and organisations, with a focus on areas and themes where the need for green and blue space improvements is highest.
We use the term green infrastructure to describe London’s network of parks, green spaces, gardens, woodlands, rivers and wetlands, as well as urban greening features, such as street trees and green roofs.
Investing in green infrastructure enables nature to thrive across our city and urban landscape, improving biodiversity, protecting against climate change, and enhancing quality of life for all.
At a glance
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Total funding: £12m (with potential to increase).
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Award range: £10,000 to £500,000.
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Projects: implementation and enabling projects to create and improve green and blue infrastructure in London. Projects can last up to two years.
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Next deadline: 21 August 2025, 2pm. Deadlines expected twice a year.
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Priority themes: 'Clean and healthy waterways'
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How to apply: Apply using our application form
2. Who can apply
The Green Roots Fund is open to public and civil society organisations that are not-for-profit. This includes (but may not be limited to):
- local authorities
- other relevant public bodies
- housing associations
- 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
- tenants and residents’ associations, or Tenant Management Organisations (TMO).
Applicants must:
- be legally constituted and able to enter into a contract
- have landowner permission to carry out the project if there are on-site elements
- not make more than one application per round.
2.1 Applying as a partnership
Collaboration and partnership working between organisations is encouraged. We welcome proposals from partnerships that build on the strengths of different organisations.
A collaboration might be with:
- private sector partners, such as with Business Improvement Districts
- other not-for-profit organisations, such as landowning organisations and charities.
The lead organisation will take overall responsibility for the delivery and management of the project. They must be a public or civil society sector organisation and clearly identified in the application.
Supporting partners may be involved in more than one application per round. However, they will need to show that they can deliver on all successful applications.
If you’re not sure whether your organisation or partnership is eligible to apply, please contact us on: [email protected].
3. What the Green Roots Fund supports
The Green Roots Fund is open to all projects involving green and blue infrastructure and delivering public benefit.
3.1 Objectives
The Green Roots Fund seeks to deliver against the following objectives:
- Enhancement of green and blue infrastructure in London. This means projects should:
- make London’s neighbourhoods healthier, more nature-rich and climate resilient
- contribute to ensuring that all Londoners feel the benefits of more good quality and better-connected nature that is resilient, valued and accessible.
- Inclusion and involvement of Londoners in green and blue infrastructure. This means projects should:
- contribute to ensuring that all Londoners can access green and blue infrastructure and its benefits
- undertake work that makes Londoners feel welcome and comfortable in green, blue and natural spaces, and involve more diverse sets of groups in management and decision making.
3.2 Funding principles
Decisions around the funding objectives will be delivered through the following principles:
- Evidence driven decisions. This means we'll use robust evidence to demonstrate need and prioritise projects, ensuring public investment is spent on projects that collectively deliver high impact for London.
- Collaborative stewardship. This means we'll expect grantees to share learning and work together with communities and others to maximise impact. We also expect you to ensure appropriate measures are in place to sustain the impact in the longer term.
3.3 What we will fund
Your project could include implementation works such as:
- creation, improvement and/or restoration of green space, waterways, wetlands or other habitats
- rewilding
- tree planting
- species reintroduction
- climate adaptation measures such as projects for flood prevention and urban cooling.
Or it may be focused on enabling works such as:
- community science, activation and outreach
- community micro-grant schemes
- roll out of innovations in maintenance and management
- feasibility studies
- staff and volunteer training
- baseline surveys
- design work.
These are not exhaustive lists and your project could focus on other activities. The strongest projects are likely to include both implementation and enabling works.
Projects may be delivered in:
- one or more locations
- existing green, blue or natural spaces
- areas where there is currently little or no green infrastructure and you want to create it.
All projects should seek to involve Londoners in planning, decision-making or managing funded activities, either in the short or long term.
Projects should include provision for sharing learning to help all Londoners work towards the creation of a greener, more climate resilient city.
3.4 What we won't fund
The Green Roots Fund will not support:
- projects and activities that will not benefit members of the public
- projects that are not related to green or blue infrastructure
- projects that cannot be completed and reported on within two years
- private individuals
- routine maintenance
- one-off habitat management activities with no plan in place for appropriate long-term management
- activity that has already taken place or that is a continuation of existing work
- works that are legally required of landowners or managers
- activity outside Greater London
- buying land (acquisition)
- core costs (for example existing staff or rent) that are not project specific.
3.5 Priority themes
Priority themes will be set for each funding round.
These themes will reflect the most up-to-date sector priorities and seek to drive impact against priority needs.
We'll share priority themes around three months before each application deadline.
Applications that respond to these themes are likely to score highly in assessment, but projects that are not linked to a priority theme will still be supported if they meet the Green Roots Fund criteria.
The process will still be competitive, and high-quality applications will stand the best chance of success.
Current priority themes
This is a fixed priority theme throughout the Green Roots Fund. It reflects the Mayor’s commitment to creating clean and healthy waterways.
4. How much you can apply for
The Green Roots Fund has £12m available to distribute from summer 2025 to spring 2028.
Grants will range from £10,000 up to £500,000. You can apply for an award of any amount in this range at any of the five grant rounds.
Value for money is a key part of our assessment criteria. It’s important that you develop the budget for your project with care and apply for what you need to achieve your project objectives.
4.1 Match funding
All projects will need to provide or secure at least 10 per cent match funding from alternative sources. This can be:
- in cash – for example, from another grant or from your own funds, or
- in kind – for example, donated materials, staff or volunteer time.
You do not need this fully secured when you submit your application. But we’ll need written confirmation of the funding before we release any payments.
You can use Green Roots funding itself as match funding against other funding to support larger and more ambitious projects.
However, where our funding is less than 60 per cent of the total project budget, we'll need:
- 75 per cent of other funding confirmed when you submit your application
- 100 per cent of other funding confirmed when you sign a grant agreement with the Greater London Authority (GLA).
4.2 Calculating volunteer time in your budget
You should calculate the value of volunteer time as follows:
- use the London Living Wage for “unskilled” volunteering. This is classed as a task that can be carried out with basic or no training
- use a typical hour or daily rate for the task or profession, for volunteering time that relies on specialist skill.
4.3 Eligible costs
Grant funds can support a range of costs that contribute to the delivery of the project, for example:
- materials
- plants
- small items of equipment
- staff costs
- travel and subsistence
- contractors and consultants
- marketing and publicity
- grants provided to end beneficiaries
- event costs
- volunteer expenses
- volunteer time
- tree care
- tree aftercare
- monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
5. Key dates and timelines
The key dates for the first round of the Green Roots Fund are:
- Application deadline: Applications must be submitted in the online portal by Thursday 21 August 2025, 2pm.
- We intend to notify applicants the outcome of their application in November 2025.
Further rounds are expected in:
- January/February 2026, with decision in March 2026.
- Summer 2026, with decision in Autumn 2026.
- Winter 2026, with decision in Spring 2027.
- Summer 2027, with decision in Autumn 2027.
Although applications are reviewed on these timescales, you can submit anytime for review at the next deadline point. There may be short closures for system updates. Read more about how to apply.
There is no appeals process for unsuccessful applications. Read more about what happens after you've applied.
5.1 Project timelines
When applying, you should consider how long your project will take from start to finish and include that timeframe in your application. This should include:
- preparatory work
- securing any permissions
- project implementation
- reporting.
You will need to submit project milestones, which will be your project plan, setting out key activities in your application.
Project activity should not start until a grant funding agreement has been signed; we cannot fund any activity that takes place before we have decided to fund your project. You should plan to start your project at least three months after the application deadline.
We can support projects for up to two years.
If your project involves physical work to one or more sites, we require project outputs to be maintained for a minimum of two years. This is to ensure your project’s benefits are maintained into the future.
5.2 Permits and permissions
If your project requires permits, such as those from statutory agencies, or other permissions these should be:
- secured at the time of application, or
- on track to be secured by the time a grant agreement is signed (around three months after the application deadline).
We’ll ask about your plans to secure permissions in the application. You should clearly identify securing of permissions within your project risk assessment.
You must have evidence of landowner permission when you apply.
5.3 Environmental impact
It’s important that projects do not have a negative impact on the environment. You should strive to meet the highest possible sustainability standards to support delivery of target outcomes relating to:
- climate change mitigation
- energy
- water
- materials and waste
- air quality
- adaptation
- biodiversity.
As a minimum, you should include:
- avoiding the use of harmful chemicals such as herbicides
- not using peat or peat-based products
- ensuring timber is from a sustainable source
- reducing the need for fossil fuels where possible.
We want to see interventions that are resilient to climate change and not a contributor.
6. Prepare your application for assessment
Your application will need to include information on:
- your organisation
- project partners
- the project, including activity milestones, budget and risk register
- equalities monitoring (not assessed and optional)
- supporting documents, including proof of landowner permission.
6.1 Organisation and project partner details
These questions will check whether your organisation is eligible for this funding. It also lets assessors carry out due diligence checks, such as reviewing organisational accounts or cashflow.
They are not scored, but all organisations must meet the eligibility criteria depending on the grant amount requested.
If you’re applying as a partnership, the lead organisation should complete this section, as they will receive and be responsible for funding.
They’ll also need to tell us about any project partners. So who else is involved and what their role is in project delivery.
6.2 Project information
We will assess this section, and your project plan, budget and risk register against the Green Roots Fund criteria.
- Ambition and impact – explain how you’ll deliver on the Green Roots Fund objectives
- Need and opportunity – explain why your project is needed
- Inclusion – explain how you’ll include a diverse range of Londoners
- Deliverability and long-term legacy - share key documents and explain how your grant will deliver on the proposed impacts.
Each criteria forms 25 per cent of the assessment.
First you’ll need tell us some basic information about your project, including where it will take place.
Tell us what your project will do and why.
This is a key question that will enable assessors and decision makers to quickly get a sense of your project and what it will deliver.
If you’re successful, this description will be used to describe your project in our files, publicity and may be published on the GLA website.
Tell us how your project will deliver against the Green Roots Fund’s objectives.
Here you should tell us what your project will achieve. The strongest projects will demonstrate how this funding will unlock benefits or be transformative for London.
We’ll ask about the type of project and the themes it best fits against.
You’ll also need to tell us about the total cost of your project and the grant value you are applying for in this section.
You’ll need to explain why your project is needed and what the impact would be if your project did not happen now.
Project proposals must be evidence-led, clearly demonstrating how they meet specific needs. The proposal must provide public benefit against that need.
Need may arise from:
- human need – such as access to green space, physical and mental health benefits of green infrastructure, equity, etc
- nature’s need – priority habitat, biodiversity, nature networks, priority species, etc
- climate resilience or adaptation need – such as resilience of habitat, or human adaptation need in relation to flood, heat or other climate impacts
- a combination – for example, water quality for nature and human needs.
Opportunity means that projects should sit comfortably within their wider context. They should be the most appropriate action at their location at this time. The project might be one piece in a wider jigsaw, unlocking or completing something else or forming an appropriate next step.
Your application should show:
- how the proposed activities address the needs and opportunities you’ve identified
- that your proposals are appropriate and suitable to the ecological, landscape and other contexts you’ll work within.
Projects should fit in with or respond to local strategies, such as nature recovery, biodiversity, open space and growth.
In this section, you’ll need to tell us:
- which local groups or communities are currently not making use of your project location
- how your project will engage and involve more diverse communities
- who will be involved in the day-to-day delivery of your project.
The Green Roots Fund aims to address inequalities in access to green, blue and natural spaces. Projects should create opportunities for communities to actively engage in transforming their local environments.
Projects should empower Londoners to shape the future of their neighbourhoods. We encourage applications that champion bold community-led action to create greener, healthier and more climate resilient places.
The strongest projects will consider the impacts for Londoners and plan to involve them in delivery, management or maintenance, and decision making. This includes looking at the demographics of the area and identifying underrepresented communities, based on income, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, gender, sexuality and other characteristics.
Research tells us the following groups have been historically excluded from nature and are generally under-represented in green infrastructure as users and in decision making. You should consider your local community and tell us about your plans to include:
- people from minority ethnic groups
- deaf and disabled people
- people from lower socio-economic backgrounds
- women and girls
- older people
- younger people.
Projects can include activity that will support applicant organisations to engage and involve more diverse communities. This might be:
- at the places they manage
- with activities they run
- with the management and decision making for that place.
All projects will need to demonstrate inclusion.
We’ll assess the deliverability of your project by considering how you plan to use a grant to deliver on your proposed impacts.
The strongest projects will be well-planned, showing a clear connection between their identified need, the activities and budget. You’ll need to think carefully about what happens when the award has ended.
Your project activity milestones, project budget and project risk register are key to demonstrating this criteria.
Project activity milestones
You’ll need to tell us your project’s key activities and milestones. This is to show you have a well-thought-out project, which is well resourced with realistic and achievable timelines.
You should programme your project activities carefully and include:
- items that have a significant cost
- activities that need time or effort, such as gaining permission or securing extra volunteers
- any activities that are tied to a season, for example planting trees.
Make sure milestones are spaced out and timed to be achievable. We understand that things change, and circumstances can sometimes lead to adjustments. However, your milestones need to be as realistic as possible to evidence how you’ll deliver the project successfully.
If your application is successful, your proposed milestones are used to monitor your project. See more about monitoring and reporting.
Project budget
Your budget should show:
- the cost of your project
- sources of match funding
- that it delivers good value for money.
We need to understand the whole cost of the project. This is so we’re clear about how much the project is leveraging, and how secure other funds are. You should include total project costs. See the list of eligible costs.
You should also tell us about:
- your previous experience of managing budgets
- any systems or policies you use to manage income and expenditure.
All organisations must have processes in place to manage the grant.
Eligibility checks during the assessment will be proportionate to the grant value requested. For example, if you request the maximum grant value, you must have robust financial policies and procedures (including procurement rules).
All organisations should keep effective monitoring and financial systems, so you can clearly identify costs funded by the GLA.
Tree aftercare
If your project is planting trees, you must ensure that they are maintained and cared for.
You must replace trees planted under the programme if they die within the first 3 years. We may claim back all or part of your grant if you do not undertake the aftercare required for the trees you’ve planted.
We can help with costs to support aftercare of your trees.
If your project includes significant tree planting (defined as planting more than 20 standard or similar trees), you can include costs for aftercare in your budget. You should plan to have the first season of maintenance within your grant period, and evidence this activity and expenditure in your final grant claim. You can then claim aftercare for up to two further seasons with your final grant payment. You must evidence these costs at that point with a letter from an authorised person confirming the funds will be ringfenced for this aftercare only. It can be up to 30 per cent of your total grant.
If tree planting is only small part of the project, your costs for aftercare should be proportional to the number and costs of the trees.
Project risk register
You will need to include your project risk register. This shows where you’ve identified potential risk and planned mitigation to reduce or address the risk.
You should score each risk according to:
- how likely it is to happen (probability)
- how much impact it would have.
You should mark the total score (probability x impact) with a red, amber or green rating.
Red risks are likely to need further actions to reduce their impact on your project’s success. This should include health and safety risks and mitigations.
6.3 Safeguarding and equalities monitoring
If your project proposes to work with children, young people or volunteers, you’ll need to evidence that you have a valid safeguarding policy in place.
Equalities monitoring questions are optional and not assessed. We ask to understand who is applying for our funding and ensure equitable access.
6.4 Supporting documents
You may include a small number of short documents to support your application. These should be limited to things we require, such as landowner permission and partners confirming their involvement.
We will not read extensive documents such as feasibility reports, etc. Please do not include them. You should reference them in your application and summarise their findings where relevant to the assessment criteria. We’ll request them if they are needed in our decision making.
6.5 Monitoring and reporting
All projects should allow for data collection and submission to allow us to monitor progress of your project. Our project monitoring will be proportionate to the grant amount.
When putting together your budget, you should consider how you’ll manage project monitoring. You may want to consider including an allowance of 3-5 per cent of your grant in staff time to cover monitoring.
All projects should consider doing an evaluation. This should be proportionate to the grant value. You can run your evaluation internally by existing staff or externally by an independent third-party.
For projects over £200,000, we strongly advise getting an external evaluation. You could increase the monitoring budget to 7 per cent to accommodate both evaluation and monitoring.
Project monitoring will be based on the milestones and outputs proposed in your application. But all projects will need a monitoring review at least every six months.
In the application, you’ll need to select the relevant indicators and provide a target for each one. You’ll also be able to add custom outputs beyond the list for your project delivery. You'll need to measure and report against the indicators selected during project monitoring.
Greenspace data and records
You will need to provide any habitat data or species records generated through the project to London's local environmental records centre, Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL).
GiGL can help you with every step of the process, from generating data, through to analysis and publication of your project's results.
Please contact them early in the project planning process to discuss:
- how they can support you
- the data standards and formats they require you to use
- what data and information they already hold that may be useful to your project
- the associated costs of their involvement, so you can factor them in to your application.
6.6 Application form template and guide
For a more in-depth guide to the questions we'll ask, please download our application form template and guidance.
7. Support for your application
We'll hold an online webinar before each deadline or provide access to a recording from a previous round. Find out more on our webinar page.
You can see example projects the Mayor of London has supported before on our case studies page. These will give you an idea of what is delivered for different funding amounts and project types to support your project development and application. See projects and case studies.
If you need more support with your application, please contact us on [email protected].
8. What happens next
Once applications and supporting information are received, we’ll complete eligibility checks and assess applications.
You’re unlikely to hear from us during assessment, unless we need clarifications.
8.1 Who will assess applications
After each deadline, GLA officers and technical experts will assess grant applications against the criteria.
We’ll also consider the balance of projects at each funding round. This is so we fund varied projects for lots of different people and groups across Greater London.
We expect high demand for this funding. The GLA will not be able to fund all good projects that meet the criteria.
8.2 If your application is successful
Successful applicants will be notified in line with the published decision date.
At this point, you will get a dedicated GLA grant officer. They will work with you to complete the grant funding agreement. You will have a dedicated grant officer for the duration of your project.
Sharing best practice
All grant recipients will be expected to share their knowledge, learning and best practice to accelerate the creation of a greener, more climate resilient city.
We expect applicants to communicate their projects with us, for example through producing social media content and providing quotes and case studies for press and promotion. Projects delivered on the ground will be expected to provide signage indicating funding support.
Support for successful grantees
Grant recipients are expected to attend workshops and sharing sessions with our support partner (to be appointed).
Acknowledging our funding
Grant recipients are expected to publicly acknowledge that the Mayor of London is financially supporting their projects.
This should include on:
- site signs
- posters
- online, in social media or other communications.
We’ll provide guidance on how to use our logo and will need to approve all materials before production. You should include costs for items such as signs in your budget.
Payment terms
Successful applicants who receive an offer of funding must sign a grant agreement before the project can start.
Grant payments will be made in three stages:
- 50 per cent on signing the grant funding agreement and completing project specific conditions, if applicable
- 40 per cent once you have evidenced that you have spent 80 per cent of the first payment, and on completing appropriate agreed milestones
- 10 per cent when you have finished your project and we have received project completion documentation.
If your project includes aftercare costs for significant tree planting, we will pay this with the final 10 per cent when we have received the required confirmation. The middle payment will be adjusted accordingly.
8.3 Unsuccessful applications
We know that there is likely to be a high demand for Green Roots funding and we will not be able to fund all good applications. You'll be notified if you're unsuccessful. There will be no appeals process and no formal feedback for applications.
9. How to apply
When you’re ready to get started, you can apply using our application form.
9.1 Working on your application
We aim to keep the application form open between deadlines, so you can work on your application at a time that suits you.
The form may close temporarily after an application deadline for system updates. All complete applications will be removed from the system for assessment.
It will re-open again after this, so you can continue working on any draft applications ahead of the next round's application deadline date.
9.2 Submitting your application
We will announce priority themes for each round three months before the deadline.
If you have a project in mind or you’re working on an application, this is a good time to review your plans against the priority theme, finalise your application and submit.
If your project is not yet well developed, please continue to work on your submission and wait for another funding round. We expect strong competition for the Green Roots Fund. It’s worth taking the time to develop your proposal to stand a better chance of success.
If you submit an application soon after a funding round closes, please be aware that we won’t assess it until the next funding round closes. You may want to leave it in draft, then review and submit shortly before the deadline, in case anything changes.
10. Request other formats and languages
Contact us for a large print, Braille, disc, sign language video or audio-tape version of this document:
- Address: Greater London Authority, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE
- Telephone: 020 7983 4000
- Email: Submit a request using our contact us form
You will need to give your name, postal address and state the format and title of the publication you require.
For a document summary in your language, call or contact us at the address above.
Related documents
Green Roots Fund: application form guidance
Green Roots Fund: application form template
Green Roots Fund: funding agreement template