Vital Regeneration has been awarded a grant of  £20,000 under the Big Green Challenge Plus. The funding will promote low-cost and no-cost energy savings and go towards the recruitment of Community Green Champions to spread the environmental message in local communities in Westminster.

The Big Green Challenge Plus is a partnership between the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change and NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts).

Vital Regeneration developed the innovative Get on the Greenside project. The aim is to encourage residents living on estates to reuse and recycle their waste and the funding will be used to extend this to include the promotion of energy efficiency and living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Project Manager, Marie Monaghan, said, “We work with residents living on social housing estates in Westminster to deliver activities such as a community composting service for food waste on the Church Street Estate and Eco Kids Clubs in local schools teaching young people about environmental issues. When residents have the right information about how to be greener in their lifestyle choices, they’re very committed to learning and doing more for the environment.”

The funding awarded by the Big Green Challenge Plus programme will be used to deliver an energy efficiency project to residents of Church Street and Queens Park which will include:

•  Recruitment of Community Green Champions
•  Promotion of low-cost, no-cost ways of saving energy
•  Design and delivery of an Energy Fair
•  Provide support to 5,000 homes in improving energy efficiency in the home
•  Engage 100 households to work with for a year to make a 15 per cent reduction in their household emissions
•  Promote positive environmental behaviour at community events, schools and community groups