The Green Scythe Fair is pleased to announce the successful projects in its Community Green Awards 2021, in recognition of the amazing efforts so many community groups have continued to make through the pandemic.

Having had to cancel the Green Scythe Fair two years running, the Committee felt it was important to keep supporting green initiatives in the local region and therefore assigned £2000 for awards to groups who have:
• come up with innovative ways of overcoming the challenges of the pandemic
• benefited one or all of the following: local community, wildlife, the environment.

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Three awards of £500 each were given to:
 

Transition Town Wellington, for their Gardening for Wildlife Campaign
Innovation and involvement with community, through:
• Involving over 500 households with information, inspiration, materials, practical help, incentives and online resources
• overcoming lockdown restrictions through use of Online platforms (Facebook campaigns, What’s App groups, Instagram and You tube channels) as well as Pop up Shop window wrap display in Wellington town Centre
• Developing an interactive Wildlife Map of their area, using a design that to allows other towns and villages to add their own maps and sightings

 

​Bear Cat collective, for The Honesty Jar Henstridge

• Swapshop where people bring items and take things in exchange or put a contribution in the pot, also offering a click and collect service
• Keeping tonnes of unwanted items out of landfill throughout all lockdown period, and providing a source of many essential items while most shops were shut
• Valued inclusive service for the local community especially those on low budget, families with young children are able to obtain clothes, shoes, books, homewares etc
• Fabric and sewing supplies for masks and shopping bags, also sewing and carpentry workshops
• Run by volunteers, who sort, repair and quarantine items in purpose-built shelter, and attracting volunteers from all walks of life, valuing skills in the community

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 Beautiful Bourneville for Covid-safe nature-inspired outdoor community projects in Weston-Super-Mare
• Benefiting wellbeing of people in an area of high deprivation, reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation
• Transformation- developing positive narratives for their area
• Encouraging local people through ideas on Facebook page, to help and protect local wildlife and green spaces through small achievable activities that could be carried out during lockdown
• Small group activities helping people to re-socialise safely after a period of isolation/lockdown

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And two runner-up awards of £250 each to:

ACE ARTS for their Woodland Wellbeing sessions
• Building community through safe nature-based creative activities
• Exploring themes of connections and resilience
• Working in partnership with agencies to refer participants
• Working with natural materials and building knowledge of wildlife

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Milbourne Port Primary School for Creating and developing a wildlife meadow on the site of a disused sports pitch
• Focusing on outdoor education as a means of developing wellbeing and restoring relationships
• Promoting nature and bio-diversity in the local community.

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Hannah Aitkin, chair of the judging panel, said:  “It has been wonderful to learn about so many positive projects that have continued during the lockdown periods – it has been very difficult to make our selection from the 11 applicants, and we have tried to include as many as possible by splitting the 4th Award between 2 projects.”