Through the Government Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you could get a grant to cover part of the cost of replacing fossil fuel heating systems with a heat pump or biomass boiler.
You’re eligible for a grant if all the following are true. You must:
- own the property you’re applying for (including if it’s a business, a second home, or a property you rent out to tenants)
- have installed (or plan to install) your new heating system on or after 1 April 2022
- be replacing fossil fuel heating systems (such as oil, gas or electric)
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 We’ve put together a list of great sources of funding for schools and young people that relate to nature and the environment. These are outlined below. Feel free to share with your local schools and youth groups.
Local School Nature Grant
This fund is open to early years, primary and secondary schools. If successful, a school could get £500 worth of outdoor equipment (from raised beds to waterproof clothing), a free outdoor learning training session, and access to expert webinars and discounts. There are a few rounds of funding taking place this year so make sure not to miss out.
Forestry Training Fund
This fund will cover 100% of training costs for short, practical forestry courses. Courses can cover specific skills (e.g. coppicing) and broader learning (e.g. managing a woodland). The fund is for those considering a change of career or seeking to build skills in forestry.
Development Woodland Officer Programme
An opportunity to study the professional forester apprenticeship, a three-year paid degree-level forestry apprenticeship. The Forestry Commission is looking for “driven individuals who are eager to support ambitious tree planting plans and ensure our precious woods and forests continue to flourish for generations to come."
Outdoor Essentials Grant
This grant provides schools with £500 towards transport and travel costs to outdoor learning venues.
Tomorrow’s climate scientists
The fund aims to give students a chance to address climate and biodiversity issues. Schools can apply for grants of up to £3,000 to run investigative STEM projects in partnership with STEM professionals from academia or industry.
 We've put together some top tips for reducing waste at any street parties for the King's Coronation events:
- Avoid single use items like plates, cutlery and utensils. Everyone could bring their own or you can hire items.
- Swap cling film for storage containers.
- Plan who is bringing what food to avoid duplicates and wastage. Make food last longer on the day by covering it and making sure it isn’t in direct sunlight. Share leftovers and freeze what you can.
- If you have any food waste this can be recycled using your kerbside food waste caddy which is collected weekly.
- Reuse or borrow decorations or make your own.
Make sure you pick up all your litter and recycle what you can.
In the first 2.5 years of a baby’s life, they will have needed at least 4,000 nappy changes. Disposable nappies will be sent to incineration or landfill at a cost to our environment.
Using reusable nappies doesn’t have to mean going full-time to make a difference. Every day you choose to reuse, you will reduce waste and avoid consumption of single-use plastic.
West Berkshire Council can help you - we offer cash back for reusable nappies and also offer free trial packs.
Flood defence projects planned for Lambourn, Thatcham and Newbury have been boosted by a £6.3 million contribution from the Environment Agency.
The funding, which is a combination of a Defra grant and a contribution from Thames Valley Flood and Coastal Committee, will see the completion of the north and east Thatcham flood alleviation projects, which will help to protect 110 properties. It will also enable the design of a flood alleviation scheme for the Memorial Fields in Thatcham, which will be delivered in 2024/25 to protect a further 180 Thatcham homes.
Project Groundwater supports communities to be more resilient to groundwater flooding. The six-year programme is working with communities in 9 high-risk flood areas of the Chiltern Hills and Berkshire Downs. It is led by Buckinghamshire Council in partnership with five other local authorities and Flood Community Groups.
Lambourn Valley and Pang Valley in West Berkshire are included in the pilot where the project will gather local knowledge about floods and look at developing solutions on the ground, to ensure residents are better prepared for groundwater flooding. Findings from the project could benefit hundreds of communities and thousands of properties at risk of groundwater flooding across the region. The project's findings will also support a national understanding of how to manage groundwater flooding.
If you visit or live in the pilot areas, read more by clicking on the button below.
The Countryside Code helps people enjoy the countryside, while giving it the respect it deserves.
There are clear rules for those travelling through the countryside in vehicles; guidance on respecting others using the countryside and those who work in it, and for dog walkers to who are advised to take home dog poo and use their own bin if there are no public waste bins.
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In each of the last 9 years of the partnership, BBOWT invested approximately £100,000 of their own resources to develop and improve the sites now under their care.
We are now into the 10th year of our successful Partnership with BBOWT who are managing West Berkshire Council countryside sites including Greenham Common and others. BBOWTs achievements have been many and varied over the years. They have however implemented projects supported by council funding, grant aid and through their own investments to improve access at a number of sites, including Greenham Common, Snlesmore Common and Padworth Common. There have also been visitor improvements at the Nature discovery centre where a new bird hide has been installed in the nearby Nature reserve. You may already be aware of the recently renovated visitor area within the Centre itself.
Since 2015, 47% of the habitat features on Countryside sites, some of which are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, have improved in condition. 87% of habitat features are now in either what is defined as Favourable or in a Recovering condition. Favourable condition means that the SSSI’s habitats and features are in a healthy state and are being conserved by appropriate management. Natural England’s objective is to achieve ‘favourable condition’ status for all SSSIs.
Buses are a convenient and relatively cheap way to travel, so why not use the bus to get to work or shopping, attend an appointment, go for a bite to eat in the local eateries, take in some of the outstanding scenery, or meet friends and family.
The national £2 Fare Cap scheme has been extended until the end of June 2023. A single journey is capped at £2, a return journey at £4. The list of those taking part in West Berkshire can be found here. If you are travelling with family or friends why not take advantage of the Connect Group Day Ticket (available for up to 4 people), the ticket can be bought on the bus or in advance on Newbury & District's app.
An “early bird” concessionary fare ticket has proven to be very popular, it can be purchased for a reasonable rate before 9:30am on weekdays for anyone boarding with a valid bus pass.
There will continue to be announcements about your local buses in coming months so do look out for them.
 Recently, we launched Liftshare, which is a car sharing platform, as a pilot scheme for local residents in East Garston, Chaddleworth, Great Shefford and Hungerford.
If you are often travelling alone and wondering how inefficient it is when others are probably doing similar journeys, or you need to be somewhere and just don’t have the means to get there, then this could be for you!
Sharing journeys using the ‘Liftshare’ scheme is flexible and you only share with people who you choose to connect with – you remain in complete control. Only residents with West Berkshire postcodes can sign up to the group so it’s very much a local initiative. This is a positive step for the community, the environment and your bank balance too!
Residents who live near or travel to the areas included in the pilot are invited to find out more and give it a go by signing up for free online
Could you ‘go wild’ for 30 days?
 30 Days Wild, the UK’s biggest nature challenge run by The Wildlife Trusts, invites people of all ages to connect with nature every single day during the month of June. Families, care homes, community groups or individuals. Last year over 500,000 people took part in the challenge including 114,245 households, 11,740 schools, 898 care homes and 1,384 businesses.
Whether tuning into the sound of bird life, eating outside, visiting your local woods by moonlight, building a den, a bug hunt, planting seeds, discovering a local park, build a bug hotel or starting a diary of your day-to-day wildlife sightings.
The Green Weekend in the Lambourn Valley talk schedule is now confirmed on Saturday 29 April and includes Ken Neal from West Berkshire Draughtbusters and Charlotte Hitchmough from ARK on Rain Gardens and how they help our rivers.
Weather and climate scientist Sir Brian Hoskins is speaking on Sunday evening and at the closing event on Bank Holiday Monday 1 May, Dr Pat Watson will cover everything you need to know about climate change including the likelihood of a mass extinction event, common citizen, industry and government delay & denial strategies, how to meaningfully reduce our carbon footprint (both directly and indirectly) and how we can help to restore nature. There will also be green financial information from Attivo Financial Planners.
Action for River Kennet is our local River Trust for the River pang and River Kennet.
Could you ‘bash a balsam’, spot a redd, recognise an endangered water vole, monitor our water quality (with training) or help fix an eroded river bank? There are many ways to join in and help - No prior experience is required !
To find out more information about volunteering with ARK in the River Pang & River Kennet Catchments, please contact Volunteer Co-ordinator Anna Forbes via email anna@riverkennet.org or 07780381709
Could you help with the River Lambourn habitat improvement works on 21 July, 9 or 16 August? Our project runs 10am - 4pm in Newbury.
No experience necessary. To sign up to volunteer or for further information please contact: anna@riverkennet.org
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