Additional Information
Introduction and background
It is a European Commission requirement that the schemes and measures within the RDP should report on the physical outputs that have been delivered but also that Member States should report on the outcomes that have been achieved by the activities that have been undertaken. The evaluation must be undertaken at set points over the programme period and must be done by independent external evaluators and should also satisfy Welsh Government requirements as joint funders of the programme.
Going Green for a Living Community Land Trust Ltd otherwise known more locally as Open Newtown are a not-for-profit social enterprise, operating under a community land trust model and registered as a company limited guarantee (Company No 10976887) incorporated on 22nd September 2017. During 2020 Open Newtown coordinated a pilot project called “Where the Severn Smiles”. Whilst disrupted by Covid-19 it laid foundations of:
• A strong partnership of organisations in the area coming together to collaborate in a way that enables our natural resources to be linked to people’s wellbeing.
• A way of working that supports not-for-profit organisations.
This partnership, led by Open Newtown, is now awaiting confirmation of a 24-month project to take the learning from the pilot stage and develop the partnerships and natural asset services into sustainable services. Now forming a part of the green recovery for Wales’ economy, but with the real chance of positioning Newtown as a leading community in showcasing sustainable development. This “Resilient ecological Network Pilot” initiative is described as:
Bringing together new nature-based partnerships at a replicable market town scale, engaging many more people & businesses (both urban & rural) in sustainably managing their natural resources alongside piloting new models of delivery.
Placing young people and their role as ‘ecological observers’ at the evidence-based heart of the project, underpinning understanding and awareness. Marrying this with the piloting of viable long-term solutions for green prescribing and business wellbeing / resilience and beginning to pilot ecosystem service payments with landowners.
In a little more detail, there are five workstreams.
• Workstream 1 – Wellbeing of People in Green Spaces through developing a Green Prescribing Service. This is formed through a partnership of Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, Cultivate Cooperative and Oriel Davies Gallery and builds directly on the work of the 2020 pilot in delivering a programme of wellbeing sessions to tackle health issues.
• Workstream 2 – Wellbeing and Resilience in Business through Nature-Based Business Resilience. This is a new partnership between Circular Economy Mid-Wales, Ponthafren Association and Robert Owen Community Banking Fund collaborating to support the town businesses to connect better to their environmental assets, shortening and greening supply chains, building increased resilience.
• Workstream 3 – Sustainable farming around our town takes Open Newtown into the rural landscape around the market town with a partnership involving the Severn Rivers Trust and Robert Owen Community Banking Fund, supporting farm-based work on sustainable land management and ecosystem service payment.
• Workstream 4 – One Planet Generation- combines the direct employment of a Youth Engagement Officer within ENRAW Project with the undertaking of a One Planet Audit for the town, setting a baseline for how we use our environmental assets.
• Workstream 5 – Open Events- is a new investment for Open Newtown that will see us working on collaboration with Oriel Davies Gallery on supporting a series of town events and investing in a Communications manager role to support the engagement of as wide an audience as possible.
(WA Ref:112746)
Relates to the following project/programme financed by EU Community Funds: Where the Severn Smiles – Resilient Ecological Network Pilot (82441)
The buyer considers that this contract is suitable for consortia bidding.
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