Kids get muddy thanks to SRP’s Good Neighbour Fund
CHILDREN across North and South Lanarkshire are set to learn more from their adventures in the great outdoors thanks to a £1,000 windfall from the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project’s Good Neighbour Fund.
Muddy Adventures Community Group, which encourages children and families to engage and learn through nature, has been chosen to receive the Good Neighbour Fund £1,000 Summer Bonus.
The group currently runs outdoor forest school sessions for 60 youngsters between the ages of 4 and 12, in Strathclyde Country Park.
It comes as Scottish Roads Partnership, (SRP), the company responsible for delivering the £500m upgrade of the M8, M73 and M74 motorways on behalf of Transport Scotland, launched a £1,000 Christmas Bonus.
Muddy Adventures, a non-profit community group based in Motherwell, hopes to be able to double its current numbers and buy vital equipment including childproof cameras and art supplies with the £1,000 award.
Spokeswoman Malissa Bell ,said: “This is fantastic news. This money will go far and the children will love it.”
SRP made a further £500 award to 3rd Blantyre Scout Group earlier this year, to purchase two outdoor shelters to help with the Scout’s conservation project in Redlees Urban Fringe Park near Blantyre in South Lanarkshire.
A total of £15,000 has been set aside to offer payments to local groups and organisations through the Good Neighbour Fund with recent recipients including: the Celtic Boys 2002 Youth Football Team in North Lanarkshire and the Community Learning & Development Partnership Friday Night Project in Coatbridge.
Gabriel Valtueña-Ramos, General Manager for SRP, said: “The Good Neighbour Fund was set up to help build relationships with those communities affected by the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project. We’re delighted these grants will leave a positive legacy long after the project is completed.”
The Good Neighbour Fund £1,000 Christmas Bonus is now open for applications, offering community groups within close proximity to the project the opportunity to double the usual, £500 grant available under the initiative.
Applicants must meet one of the following criteria: provide education and skills development; support a community initiative, group or charitable organisation; or benefit the local environment. Each application will be assessed by the Good Neighbour Fund panel.
The deadline for applications for the Good Neighbour Fund £1,000 Christmas Bonus has been extended and entries must be received no later than Friday, 16th December, 2016. Applications received after that date will still be considered for grants of up to £500.