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Happy World Environment Day!

We have a bumper edition for our June newsletter, including local photography winners, a tool we've created to show the links between SFI and LNRS, and 11 funding opportunities!

2025 Local Nature Photography Winners

The winners of the HEY LNP Local Nature Photography Competition 2025 have been chosen! The theme was People and Nature, with categories for "Health and Wellbeing", "Nature-based Skills" and "Volunteering."  

It is always a difficult task choosing between your entries and this year was no exception. Thank you to everyone who took part for capturing so many wonderful scenes of the brilliant nature in our region. 

The exhibition will be touring East Riding libraries this summer.

England's Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants Open for 2026

England's Rural Payments Agency has opened applications for the 2026 Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants, administered on behalf of Defra.

The grants support a range of on-farm projects intended to deliver environmental benefits. Eligible activities span six groups:

Air quality
Assessments
Boundaries
Improvements
Natural flood management
Water quality

Examples include slurry scrapers under air quality, wildfire checklists under assessments, trees and orchards, education access visits under improvements, leaky woody dams for natural flood management and biofilters for water quality.

Funding limits apply to four categories: air quality has a maximum of £25,000, boundaries, trees and orchards has a maximum of £35,000, natural flood management has a maximum of £25,000 and water quality has a maximum of £25,000. There is no funding limit for items in the assessments or improvements groups.

SFI and HEY LNRS Alignment Tool 

To support farmers and land managers thinking of applying for SFI, we have produced a tool to show how LNRS measures can be supported by the various SFI options available.

The tool can be accessed on the LNP website.

Job Opportunity - YWT River Restoration Project Officer

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is the catchment host for the Yorkshire Derwent Catchment Partnership, and are offering an exciting opportunity to join the team delivering river and species recovery projects, Natural Flood Management, sediment reduction, and lowland peat restoration.

Driving forward new projects including restoration on the lower Derwent SSSI, you’ll remove barriers to fish migration through the Great Yorkshire Rivers Partnership, restore the chalk-fed streams of the eastern Derwent and investigate re-connecting our floodplains for burbot reintroduction.

Closing date: Sunday 21 June 2026

Environmental delivery plan (EDP) survey on Great Crested Newts

Defra is seeking views on designing the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) and EDPs for great crested newts. You are invited to share your views and opinions by completing a short survey available at Environmental Delivery Plans Phase 2: Great Crested Newts.

This online survey should take no more than 20 minutes and is open until 5th June 2026.

BNG Update Consultation

DEFRA have published further information on next steps for Biodiversity Net Gain including their response to the consultation on implementing BNG, and confirmation that it will apply to major infrastructure from November. They have also launched a new consultation regarding potential exemption from BNG for residential brownfield sites.

Growing Green and Blue Health secures new National Lottery funding

HEY Smile Foundation has secured £499,512 from the National Lottery Community Fund to delivert the next phase of its Growing Green and Blue Health Programme. The project will support people to improve their health and wellbeing through nature connection, outdoor activity and practical environmental action.

Building on earlier work across the Humber and North Yorkshire, this new phase will focus on the East Riding of Yorkshire, working with VCSE organisations, nature-based partners and healthcare providers. The programme will prioritise people who face the biggest barriers to accessing green and blue spaces, including those affected by poverty, poor health and exclusion.

Wild Camps: A Research Project On Connecting Young People From Urban Areas With Nature

This short film was co-created by Rewildling Youth with young people and presents some of the findings from their participatory action research project which explored the impact that nature immersion experience on a 5 day Wild Camp with Rewilding Youth had on them.

Funding for this project was kindly provided by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund and The Ideas Fund (The British Science Institute and The Welcome Trust).

As part of this project Rewilding Youth also created a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) Toolkit which includes a training programme designed to support young people, schools and youth projects to carry out their own YPAR project. Contact Charlotte@rewildingyouth.co.uk for more details.

The Wildlife Hero Awards have been created by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to honour the people, groups and organisations whose passion and commitment are helping wildlife flourish across Yorkshire. Every day, incredible Yorkshire folk are taking action for nature — restoring habitats, inspiring others, and proving that collective effort can create real change.

These awards are their chance to recognise those heroes, thank them for their dedication, and share their stories so that even more people are inspired to stand up and make a positive difference for Yorkshire's wildlife.

Do you know a wildlife hero who deserves recognition? 

Nominations close on Friday 14 August 2026.

Crimson Waxcap

Waxcap records

Plantlife have made five years of Waxcap Watch records available online. This is a big step forward in helping this data deliver even more impact for our grasslands and the fungi they support.

The dataset brings together records from across the UK, showing where waxcap fungi occur and helping identify species rich grasslands that are important to protect. Collected by volunteers taking part in Waxcap Watch across the UK, it’s a powerful example of citizen science supporting real world conservation.

By making this data open access, Plantlife are removing barriers for researchers, land managers, planners, students, and communities so it can be explored, used, and built upon more widely.

Green infrastructure shown to reduce stress and boost mood

New research published by South Korean researchers in the Building and Environment Journal has found that green infrastructure improves mental well-being by reducing stress and promoting relaxation.

Green infrastructure was also shown to have a positive impact, both physically and physiologically, by cooling and reducing heat stress.

Wildlife on the next series of banknotes

The Bank of England are designing the next series of banknotes, and will use nature, with a particular focus on wildlife, as the theme for their next series of banknote designs.

Working with a panel of wildlife experts from across the UK, they have produced a shortlist of animals, native to the UK, that could be used as the central image on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.

You can vote for which animals you would like to see on the next series of banknotes by 3 July 2026.

Funding Updates

Environment Agency launches 2026/27 round of Local Resource Option Screening Study applications

These studies are fully funded and help groups of farmers and growers assess local water resource challenges and identify practical solutions to build water resource resilience. This follows a successful two years supporting 33 studies, including over 190 farms.

Groups of farmers can apply between 25 May to 05 July, 2026.

Case studies from last year’s round and more information on the LRO Screening Study programme is now published on the EA Water Hub. 

UK Nature Impact Fund

The UK Nature Impact Fund (‘UK Nature’) is a pioneering investment platform targeting high-quality projects directed at the recovery of biodiversity across the UK.

Its first investment vehicle, the Big Nature Impact Fund LP, finances nature restoration projects in England, seeking to generate long-term revenues by selling credits in the UK’s nature markets.

The Big Nature Impact Fund reached a first close of £64.6 million in May 2026 and is currently fundraising towards a final target of £90-120 million.

Funding for Local Action on Climate Challenges (UK)

ChangeX, a registered charity, has opened the ServiceNow Community Improvement Fund in the UK in collaboration with ServiceNow. The funding is intended to support communities to take local action on climate challenges by backing sustainable infrastructure and nature-based solutions.

Network Rail Community Tree Planting Fund Accepting Applications for 2026 Funding Round

The Tree Council and Network Rail are working in partnership to support community tree planting. Together, over the past five years, they have established 400,000 trees in more than 100 communities across the UK.

Grants of between £2,500 and £10,000 are available per application.

Round 1 application deadline is Sunday 19 July. A second round may open if funds remain, but this is not guaranteed. Please apply early to avoid missing out.

Branching Out Fund Accepting Applications for 2026/27 Planting Season

The Tree Council is offering grants of between £250 and £2,500 for schools, constituted community groups and charities, community interest companies, Tree Warden networks, and other organisations across the UK to deliver tree-planting projects during the 2026/27 Winter planting season.

Deadline for application is Sunday 19 July, or earlier if funding is fully
allocated.

Do it for East Yorkshire Fund

Do it for East Yorkshire (DifEY) is a funding programme from East Riding of Yorkshire Council. It supports community groups, charities and voluntary organisations to deliver new or additional activity that benefits local communities.

The fund will support projects that strengthen social infrastructure, culture and volunteering; improve community spaces and accessibility; enhance safety and how places are perceived locally; and deliver environmental and green space improvements.

Applications will only be accepted for grants between £1,500 and £5,000.

Blue Influencers

Blue Influencers is a Youth led project, which gives a group £560 to kickstart their project, and then up to £5000 for further work. The money can be used to make a difference, fund trips, improve education, and give them a chance to make a difference in their community and spread their new knowledge to people around them. There must be a link to water, and in Hull we have many open land drains, and we are lucky to live near the Humber and seaside.

If you have a group (School/club/home schooled for example) that wish to make a difference, either in the garden they have available to them, or the wider area, please get in touch. The target age range is 10 to 14 (Up to 21 if they have SEND.)

If you do not know much about water or wildlife, you can be guided throught the process.

For more information, contact Rebecca.Clinton@childdynamix.co.uk 

Building Resilience Programme to Support UK's Freshwater Ecosystems

Bupa Foundation Green Community Grants

Bupa Foundation Green Community Grants offers funding to charities, not-for-profit organisations, local authorities and social housing providers to make local places and spaces greener – ensuring happier and healthier communities across the UK.

Grants are available up to £2000. Applications close on 30th June.

Grocer’s Charity Grant

The Grocers' Charity was established in 1968 by the Grocer's Company and awards about £1 million each year to UK registered charities. It receives about 1,000 applications each year with around 14% of applicants receiving a grant.

UK registered charities with a turnover of £500,000 or less can apply for one-off grants of up to £5,000, including for environment and conservation projects.

Warburtons Small Grants for Autumn Projects to Support British Families in Need 

Warburtons Community Grants provides small grants up to £400 to support charitable organisations towards broader activities which improve Health, Place or Skills for families in their community.

Get in touch!

Do you have any projects you wish to share with us? Want to hear more about our work? email us at heylnp@eastriding.gov.uk