Green Roots: projects and case studies
Read case studies and stories from funded projects. Learn from past projects we've funded, their work, impact and key learnings.
London National Park City microgrants
Green Roots awarded £101,650 to London National Park City (LNPC) to provide microgrants for rangers to support nature activities across London.
LNPC aims to enable communities to make their neighbourhoods greener, healthier and wilder. To help do this, they set up a community of 130 volunteer rangers who work with local people across London to drive change.
The project enables delivery of over 100 Ranger-led, local and impactful projects in communities that might not be able to attract funding. Each microgrant ranges from £250 to £1,000 to pay for equipment and materials to support nature activities, small construction projects, planting and hands-on outdoor activities.
The grants help communities to connect with nature and create green spaces that work for them, especially in low-income areas, where access to nature and representation in green space planning are often limited.
The first two rounds of grants helped make:
- local community gardens
- DIY food growing projects
- ‘green’ outdoor classrooms for school children
- community estate composting systems
- rewilded grey spaces
- nature connection events for local communities
- nature discovery walks.
In the first five months, 32 microgrants were distributed – a total of £27,698 in small grants across 18 London boroughs.
Funding has gone towards tools, plants, compost, transport, promotional materials, timber, ponds, polytunnels, maps and all the essential, in-demand resources to equip rangers and the local people they work with everything they need to continue their incredible work.
The micro-grant project will run for the duration of 2025.
The funding has supported London-wide projects, as well as ones in specific areas:
- Barnet
- Brent
- Bromley
- Camden
- Croydon
- Hackney
- Haringey
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Newham
- Southwark
- Waltham Forest
- Westminster.
Building trust
Funding often comes with bureaucracy and complex terms, which can become a barrier for applicants who are often already time poor and volunteering their time.
Through the Green Roots micro-grant funding, LNPC has been able to build a simple, accessible application, grants and reporting system to overcome these barriers and challenges and encourage grant uptake.
Equity and inclusion
In-person research, networking, and word-of-mouth recommendations are essential for broadening the applicant pool beyond the usual suspects and fostering greater equity and inclusion in grant making.
Spotlight: Rewild London Fund
From reintroducing beavers in Ealing to rewilding patches of land in the City, the Rewild London Fund supported 62 projects across the capital between 2022 and 2025. These projects helped to restore nature, support biodiversity and engage communities through rewilding. Learn more from these projects.
See more environment case studies
Information about the Grow Back Greener Fund (2020-2023)
Large-scale, innovative improvements to green and blue spaces and the wider public realm.
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