Grant News

The National Garden Scheme has secured £1.5 million in funding from the Julia Rausing Trust for its Community Garden Grants programme, beginning in 2025.

Already, the first round of grants has distributed £288,876 among 115 community garden projects across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The scheme aims to enable greater public access to green spaces and the health benefits associated with gardening. Projects supported range from therapeutic gardens to youth gardening, urban allotments, and community-run green patches.

Applications for 2026 grants are now open for applications. Eligible applicants are organisations or groups running community gardening projects in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on 20th October 2025.

Previously funded projects have included:

WHISH, Whitby & Esk Valley
A small, parent-led charity working with over 150 children and young people with disabilities or hidden impairments. Their grant was used to transform their garden into a space where children and families who do not have any outside space of their own can grow and cook food, and find a relaxing haven.

The Fathom Trust
The Fathom Trust received funding to create an apothecary garden. This is an expansion of their existing social and therapeutic gardening activities at their hub in the Brecon Beacons.

Belgrave Community Garden, Leicestershire
The “Greening the library patch at Belgrave Community Garden” project converted a derelict patch of land behind a library into a vegetable plot, berry patch, and a wildflower corridor filled with native wildflowers.