Welcome to the May newsletter for Going Green Together, our campaign supporting voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations tackle the climate crisis and work towards Net Zero.

This month is No Mow May! Hold off cutting your lawns and green spaces this month to allow wildflowers to bloom, providing food for important pollinators and helping wildlife to bounce back in your local area.

Groundwork and the Cadent Foundation have announced Stay Warm, Stay Well: a new £6m programme to support those living in fuel poverty across England. Groundwork's Green Doctors will be visiting homes and offering practical guidance on energy saving, behaviour change tips and referrals to other local support services, including debt advice and food banks. Over the course of three years over 14,500 consultations will take place, with a particular focus on vulnerable households.

The North East & Yorkshire Net Zero hub is providing an 80% subsidy on energy audits for community energy groups: an important step in the development of new community energy projects. Through this programme, groups can bid for a consultant to complete an energy audit for a single building or site. The window for applications is open until the 2nd June, and audits must be completed by completed by 30th September 2024.

E.ON has developed a resource outlining how the NHS is paving the way to becoming the world's first Net Zero health service by 2040. This guide showcases the NHS's efforts in tackling climate change, enhancing healthcare, and overcoming economic hurdles through innovation and strategic energy management, and is a valuable resource for NHS partners in understanding its strategy going forwards.

Do you know how your local council is performing in tackling the climate and ecological emergencies? Climate Emergency UK have developed Climate Action Scorecards to assess the environmental progress of councils, and they're a great way to identify areas of improvement and examples of best practise.

Thursday 16th May, 10-11.30am, online

Tuesday 18th June, 10-11.30am, online

• No Mow May | Wednesday 1st to Friday 31st May
• Wear it Green Day | Thursday 16th May
• World Bee Day | Monday 20th May

Up to £100k. Deadline Sunday 5th May.

This grant scheme supports urban and rural community energy initiatives, and can be used for the development of clean energy projects, battery storage, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging points, and fuel poverty alleviation schemes such as energy efficiency, retrofit, and advice projects. It does not provide capital funding for the installation of projects themselves.

Up to £50,000. Deadline Wednesday 15th May.

This fund supports community and environmental improvement projects through the Landfill Communities Fund and Scottish Landfill Communities Fund, distributing funds contributed by SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK.

The fund typically covers the purchase of materials/equipment and the appointment of contractors. Capital projects may be considered, but funding is not available for projects over multiple sites.

Up to £10k. Deadline Tuesday 11th June.

Believe Housing is providing grant funding between £5,000 – £10,000 to support community investment programmes and to deliver innovative projects that put their customers on a pathway to improving their lives. The fund is available for no-for-profit groups in County Durham, and the application for projects includes those promoting a greener, fairer future by reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Up to £10,000. Deadline Monday 15th July.

Eligible organisations within Northern Powergrid's geographical area can apply for up to £10,000 of funding to support their community energy project. The fund aims to help community organisations start up, build capacity and explore the feasibility of new projects. Over the last two years, it has supported 17 projects across the region, from energy advice services to feasibility studies for new generation projects.

Going Green Together is a VONNE Climate Action Alliance initiative hosted by VONNE. Registered Company in England Number: 4061592. Registered Charity Number: 1084083