More than £300,000 is being made available for Scotland's urban communities to reconnect with their green spaces.

The Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) initiative aims to expand access to green spaces and encourage people throughout Scotland to feel more connected with nature.

The first round of applications last year resulted in SNH granted £190,000 to six projects across the Central Belt. The scheme are designed to involve people and groups within the community, with an emphasis on helping people see the value of their local green spaces in different ways.

Various projects include involving people in rewilding green spaces around Glasgow and the Clyde Valley, and increasing the numbers and types of people visiting The Hidden Gardens in Glasgow's Southside.

Funding will be allocated from the £500,000 Green Infrastructure Community Engagement Fund, managed by SNH as part of the Scotland's European Regional Development Fund Programme.

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To be eligible, projects must;

• Be located in a town or city with a population of more than 10,000. Priority is given to schemes which benefit one of the 15% lowest areas in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

• Have a total value of between £50,000 and £120,000. SNH's funding covers up to 40% of the costs, with the remaining 60% from match funding or the applicants own resources.

• Primarily involve revenue costs to support the employment of staff or contractors to work with communities (rather than capital spend on physical works).

• Have a planned completion date of no later than 30 September 2019.

Mike Cantlay, SNH Chair, said: "We are always looking for ways to not just make green spaces more attractive and accessible but to encourage people and communities to see the value in improving their local green spaces.

"Getting out into nature makes people happier, healthier, and more connected to other people in their community. And there are also benefits to local economies: research has shown regular access to nature helps people develop skills and the confidence to seek and find jobs.

"The projects we saw last year set a high bar and we were delighted to see the enthusiasm people had for engaging with their local communities. We look forward to receiving what's sure to be an equally imaginative set of applications this year. For example, given that 2018 is the Year of Young People, projects may want to think about how to better involve their local youth."

The deadline for applications to be submitted is 03 April 2018. For further details, visit here.

(LM)