All Saints Action Network
Greening All Saints
All Saints Action Network is an established community development trust working to achieve long-term change in the All Saints area of Wolverhampton.
They offer support services to the community including a tool library to give residents access to a range of tools and equipment.
They also operate a community enterprise “ASAN Wood Saints” which collects unused wood and recycles it into furniture. ASAN has a successful Community Garden with a weekly gardening club.
The grant is going towards creating a family playground.
Caption for image: (L-R) Iftikar Karim, All Saints Action Network (ASAN) secretary, Nichola Fenemore, ASAN finance and operations manager and Shobha Asar-Paul, ASAN chief officer, in the organisation's Mike Swain Memorial Garden which will host environmental workshops thanks to Community Green Grants funding.
The proposed project is to turn an unused carpark at the back of their community and business hub into a family playground. Funding had been secured through landfill funding for resurfacing and playground equipment. WMCA Community Green Grants has awarded £20,206 for the biodiversity elements of the project. This will include installing a wildlife pond, raised beds, habitat boxes and bird boxes. ASAN will work with organisation The Crafty Gardener CIC to facilitate environmental activities on the site for children and families. Part of the grant will also be used to improve the existing community garden and support the gardening club.
The unused car park area which will be transformed into the community playground.
The project will increase the availability of green space to children and families in All Saints and give them the opportunity to learn about nature through hands-on activities.
In a joint statement, Maureen Johnson, ASAN trustee, and Shobha Asar-Paul, ASAN chief officer, said: "We are more than delighted to have been awarded this grant to enhance Greening All Saints. Through this funding, our All Saints family playground will be transformed into a space that connects families with nature and helps children learn about the environment and natural habitats.
"Local specialists will work with us in building a pond that attracts wildlife and develop a planting scheme bringing colour, vibrancy and life to what was a disused car park.”