Ecominds

Ecominds is a grant programme which helps people with experience of mental distress get involved in local environmental projects that improve mental and physical health.

Ecominds, which is run by Mind as an award partner of the Big Lottery Fund, is looking to fund smaller projects with grants of up to £20,000 due to the phenomenal success of the other funding sizes. How to apply

The programme has £7.5 million which it will distribute to around 125 new and existing projects in England. We believe that Ecominds projects are highly effective in reducing the stigma surrounding mental health issues and help create a society that treats people with experience of mental distress fairly, positively, and with respect.

Ecotherapy and Ecominds

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Mental health and the environment

Read our report
Ecotherapy: mental health and the environment

Ecominds projects promote ecotherapy - work and experiences in outdoor environments. There is growing evidence that green exercise provides great benefits for health and well-being.

Examples of projects

Community horticultural and agricultural projects
Walking and rambling groups
Wildlife habitat or other site creation or renovation
Clearing open spaces for community use
Graffiti removal projects
Environmental protection (such as rebuilding a flood plain)
Creating or renovating urban green areas (such as 'Adopt-a-Space' schemes whereby a group adopts, maintains, improves, and makes accessible a specific location)
Installing signposts to encourage community environmental awareness (such as clear signs in the countryside for ramblers)
Recycling projects, such as furniture, glass, and white goods (for example, reclaiming discarded furniture and doing it up to sell)
Community agricultural projects linking gardeners and producers with local selling opportunities
Producing artwork in public places and in enclosed spaces (for example, mosaics in parks, sculpture in hospitals)
Exchange schemes giving opportunities to experience and learn about other environments and community activity
Learning new environmental skills (such as making garden furniture, dry stonewalling, thatching)

What's new?

To date, Ecominds has awarded 53 grants worth over £4.5million in total. The only band of funding still available is small grants (up to £20,000), and the deadline for these applications is noon on 30 April 2010. With less than six weeks to go, Ecominds would like to encourage projects to consider carefully the funding criteria, and if you feel your project is a match, then send in a small grant application. Find out what else is new at Ecominds.

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