About Us
Background & History
Over the last 9 years the Action Earth campaign has supported thousands of projects and people in making a positive difference to their local environment. We challenge local communities to identify ways in which they can protect and enhance their built and natural environment to improve their quality of life and safeguard the environment for future generations.
Campaign Objectives
- To empower people at local level to make improvements that will improve the quality of their life.
- To involve people as volunteers on locally based environmental projects.
- To increase the number of volunteers taking part in environmental work.
- To help groups and organisations attract new volunteers.
- To provide volunteers with practical skills and a range of volunteer opportunities that will be fun and educational.
What do we do?
- Provide small grants to local voluntary and community groups to help them purchase the tools, equipment and materials needed.
- Provide local people with information and the opportunity they need to take part (often for the first time) in a local volunteering activity.
- Offer local groups help to develop and publicise new projects and volunteer opportunities.
- Support and encourage local projects that provide opportunities for volunteers to learn new skills.
- Provide people with information about environmental issues, sustainability and encourage them to develop more sustainable, healthy lifestyles.
What we achieved in 2008
- 955 projects registered in total
- 574 Projects registered in England
- 206 Projects registered in Scotland
- 175 Projects registered in Wales
- Over 18,000 volunteers took part
We asked all of the projects to complete a survey form with details of their projects. The results were as follows:
| Land improved (metres sq) | 517,788 |
| Bird/bat boxes constructed | 842 |
| Trees planted | 3,189 |
| Bulbs/flowers/shrubs/seeds planted | 43,683 |
| Metres of canal/river bed cleared | 11,249 |
| Tonnes of cans or paper recycled | 699 |
| Sacks of litter collected | 3,294/ |
| Metres fencing/walling constructed or hedgerows planted | 1,315 |
| Metres of ride/track/pathway improved | 120,262 |
