Community Group Led by the Wild CIC engages children, families and individuals in nature led learning, outdoor education, and conservation activities
Based at Whites Woods Farm in Ashford, Led by the Wild CIC is an example of the type of organisation that the new Kent Community Foundation Fund for the Environment would like to support.
Led By the Wild is a ‘not for profit’, organisation, that brings together forest, farm, and meadows, providing group sessions for the local community to give children and adults the freedom and opportunity to explore their curiosities, unlock their imagination and embrace nature’s great playground.
In August 2021, Led by the Wild received £6,000 from Kent Community Foundation towards their ‘Nature Nurture Project’. At the heart of the Nature Nurture conservation project are ten themed conservation weeks, where individuals, families, schools, and community groups will participate in activities which both educate and contribute towards the conservation plan. Themes for the conservation weeks will include birds, bugs, butterflies, moths, bees, bats, mammals, flora and fauna, fungi and pond-life.
Alison Body, Director, Led by the Wild, said, “We don’t just want to conserve the wildlife and natural environment at Whites Wood Farm, we want to take steps to ensure it thrives in every way possible. Our world faces unprecedented climate challenges; pollution, loss of habitat, unsympathetic and unsustainable land use, and exploitation of our natural resources is decimating our wildlife and countryside. It is a fundamental part of our ethos that we promote and nurture a love of nature through our education and community projects.”
Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation, said, “We really admire the aims of Led by the Wild CIC, to protect and promote thirty acres of our county’s beautiful countryside and they are a great example of the type of project our Fund for the Environment is looking to support. The fund is open for applications and we would love to hear from other groups in Kent and Medway who need financial support to progress initiatives including planting trees, regenerating hedging, organising litter picks, and beach cleans, or providing community gardens.”
To find out more about Kent Community Foundation’s Fund for the Environment visit www.kentcf.org.uk/fund-for-the-environment or call, 01303 814500
About the Fund for the Environment
The Kent Community Foundation Fund for the Environment will award average grants of £4,000, to project’s that improve local spaces and encourage more sustainable ways of living, that understand the link between poverty of life and poverty of environment and try to improve the most affected communities. These may include the planting of trees and hedging regeneration, restoration of local habitats, organised litter picking, and beach cleans, community garden projects, projects focused on educating children about local wildlife and nature, projects focused on learning about growing and cooking your own food or projects using solar panels or insulation to make community buildings greener.
www.kentcf.org.uk/fund-for-the-environment
About Kent Community Foundation
Grant-maker Kent Community Foundation has been finding, funding, and supporting some of the smallest voluntary organisations in the county for twenty years. In this time, it has distributed over £45 million to support thousands of small charities and deserving causes where a modest sum of money can make a significant impact.
They are part of a UK wide accredited network of forty-seven Community Foundations who are committed to improving the lives of local people and communities, particularly the most vulnerable, isolated, and disadvantaged by matching those who want to help, with those who need the help.
Responsible for more than eighty philanthropic funds, Kent Community Foundation is unrivalled in its knowledge of local causes and assists individuals, families, and businesses, who want to help, to establish and administer their own charitable funds.
