An exciting new partnership between We Love MCR Charity and Groundwork has successfully awarded four local communities with the funds to transform unused areas and turn them into green spaces.
After one of Manchester’s most iconic charities, We Love MCR, heard of Groundwork’s competition, it fell in love with the idea immediately and hopped on board to double the funding available for projects within the borough. This has meant four communities have now been awarded this transformational opportunity.
The generous donation is helping to bring more ideas to life and will equip communities with the skills to design, install and maintain natural features to create communal spaces.
A panel of judges reviewed nearly 50 applications from across Greater Manchester, scrutinising community need, group creativity, and inclusion of nature-based-solutions that tackle climate change.
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The four lucky winners are Pioneer Quay in Deansgate / Castlefield; Pigeon Park in Longsight; Blooming Amazing Community Alley in Trafford; and The Ginnel Garden in Edgeley, Stockport.
Pioneer Quay is a canal-side site based in Castlefield, which has been disused and neglected for a number of years, and this funding aims to transform it into a real hub of community activity and a vital green lung in the heart of the city centre.
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The team behind the transformation planned for Pigeon Park – which is the informal name for a prominent triangle of grass in the centre of Longsight that’s gained its nickname thanks to the flock of pigeons that congregate there – are hoping the space will become somewhere people will stop to “read a book or just enjoy a bit more of what nature has to offer.”
Blooming Amazing Community Alley is an unusual wide-sectioned alleyway that backs onto a primary school in Gorse Hill, where there’s been flytipping, contaminated bins and broken glass for many years – but this funding offers the opportunity to transform the alley into a creative and inclusive community space.
The Ginnel Garden in Edgeley is an intergenerational project that engages neighbours of all ages in growing, creating and spending more time together, and while some creative steps have already been taken to improve the space, the group are keen to create a climate resilient alleyway which could help to inspire other communities.
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Funding will help Pioneer Quay become a vital green lung in the heart of the city centre / Credit: WLMC
Funds will equip communities with the skills to design and install communal spaces / Credit: WLMC
Speaking on the awarding of the whopping £24,000 funding, Marie O’Neill-Steinegger – Grants Officer at We Love MCR Charity, who was also on the judging panel – said: “The last 14 months have really shown us how important green spaces are to communities [and] having spaces in nature is so vital for everyone’s mental health, for general physical health and allowing communities to come together.
“It’s been fantastic reading all of the applicants’ stories and hearing about the great work happening across the city.
“We can’t wait to follow their progress and see how they develop.”
Groundwork’s experienced landscape architects and community coordinators will be supporting each of the four projects throughout the summer to help design and install their new community spaces ready for use.
“Funding for green spaces can be hard to come by, and we’re so thrilled we’ve been able to support these four groups.” Amy Wright from Groundwork Greater Manchester added.
“I can’t wait to see these climate resilient and nature-friendly Eco Streets come to life.”
Featured Image – WLMC
UK News
Remarkable Lake District rescue of dog missing for THREE WEEKS
Daisy Jackson
A dog who was missing for almost three WEEEKS in the Lake District has, miraculously, been rescued.
Little Teddy went missing on 2 August, disappearing from his owner on Helvellyn.
Volunteers from Keswick Mountain Rescue Team spent the following weeks searching for the scrappy dog, with one eventually hearing him barking from Dry Gill.
The poor dog had got stuck in the gill in a dangerous location that required a full team of seven to bring him to safety.
Remarkably, Teddy appeared to be uninjured, though he had lost quite a bit of weight after three weeks living wild on the fell.
His rescuers gave him a small amount of food before securing him in a rucksack and carrying him back to Swirls car park.
The whole rescue took around three and a half hours, when Teddy was reunited with his very relieved owner and taken to the vets.
Teddy making his way down from HelvellynTeddy the dog was part of a rescue mission in the Lake DistrictTeddy was rescued after three weeks missingCredit: Keswick Mountain Rescue
Keswick Mountain Rescue said: “The team are absolutely delighted to share this update, as the news of this missing dog had deeply affected so many people across our local community.
“A remarkable outcome after nearly three weeks on Helvellyn, and a huge well done to everyone who kept searching and never gave up on Teddy.”
The mountain rescue team is funded entirely through donations – you can use ‘Buy me a coffee’ to make a small donation HERE, or donate the normal way HERE.
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
21st June 2021 
